Pope Francis gives his blessing for married couples to split up — sometimes

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last updated 25 June 2015

Pope Francis strayed from the Roman Catholic Church's historically implacable opposition to divorce on Wednesday when he admitted that sometimes "separation is inevitable" and, in some cases, it "can even become morally necessary." However, the pope specified that his stamp of approval only applied to extreme cases, such as "when it comes to saving the weaker spouse, or young children, from more serious injuries caused by intimidation and violence, by humiliation and exploitation, by lack of involvement and indifference." His comments came in light of his larger discussion of the importance of raising children in a healthy, "regular" family environment — part of which requires the protection of children from constantly quarreling parents, he says.

Pope Francis' comments further raise the possibility of a change to church policy in regards to Catholics who have remarried outside the church, The Huffington Post reports. As rules currently stand, those who have remarried outside of the Catholic Church are not able to receive Communion.