In highly anticipated documents released by the Vatican on Friday, Pope Francis issued a number of rulings and opinions to be observed by Catholics around the world. Despite his seemingly progressive views, it is clear the pontiff will never condone same-sex marriage as a sacrament blessed by the Catholic Church. And while divorce is “still an evil,” he wrote, Catholics should encourage non-remarried divorcees “to find in the Eucharist the nourishment they need to sustain them in their present state of life.” He added, “It is important that the divorced who have entered a new union should be made to feel part of the church.” The apostolic exhortation, a 256-page document called Amoris Laetitia (Latin for “The Joy of Love”), offers no new top-down edicts. And compared to exhortations past, it calls on Catholics to have “tolerance and understanding.”
CHEAT SHEET
TOP 10 RIGHT NOW
- 1
- 2
- 4
- 5
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10