Pope Francis and the Catholic vision of marriage

Will Francis affirm the indissolubility of marriage?

Marriage
(Image credit: iStock)

The Vatican is holding a big meeting of bishops, called a Synod, to discuss issues of the family. And one issue front and center is whether Catholics who are divorced and remarried can receive communion. Unlike my colleague Michael Brendan Dougherty, I can't imagine that Pope Francis will reverse Catholic teaching on the indissolubility of marriage.

According to Catholic doctrine, someone who is in a state of serious sin cannot, for their own spiritual protection, receive communion. And according to Catholic doctrine, drawn from the mouth of Jesus himself, marriage is indissoluble. If you were married in a valid Catholic wedding, then get divorced and remarried, you are committing adultery in the view of God, which is a serious sin.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry

Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry is a writer and fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. His writing has appeared at Forbes, The Atlantic, First Things, Commentary Magazine, The Daily Beast, The Federalist, Quartz, and other places. He lives in Paris with his beloved wife and daughter.