Pope Francis faces the biggest test so far of his Pontificate over the next two weeks as bishops and cardinals from around the world meet in Rome to thrash out their differences over divorce and remarriage.
The extraordinary “Synod on the Family” will ostensibly look at many issues including contraception. But the biggest divide concerns the Church’s doctrine that a Catholic divorcee who remarries without obtaining an annulment cannot receive Holy Communion.
This doctrine is based on the biblical teaching that marriage is for life. Its effect however is often perceived unfair and cruel, especially in the Western Church where divorce has become more common.
It means a devout Catholic woman who is abandoned and divorced by her husband is unable to receive the sacrament at Mass if she remarries without the tortuous process of an annulment.
In the same church, meanwhile, convicted murderers, paedophiles and other criminals who have confessed and received absolution can receive the sacrament with impunity.
More than 250 people are attending the synod, mostly bishops but also 13 married couples.
Source: Christian Today