Pope Francis fails to persuade majority of bishops on remarried Catholics

[rug]

As three-week synod nears end, hopes of reforming church’s approach to family dealt blow – but pontiff has likely won over enough to pursue change in future

Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Rome
Friday 23 October 2015 09.28 EDT

Pope Francis has failed to convince an overwhelming majority of bishops who have convened in Rome to change church rules that forbid remarried Catholics from receiving communion.

The result is a significant blow to the pontiff’s hopes to reform the church and bring people back to the faith who feel it is too far out of step with the realities of marriage and divorce.

But even without a clear mandate from hundreds of bishops who are clearly divided on the topic, Francis has likely succeeded in persuading enough of them to recognise the importance of the issue to give him the political cover he needs to possibly pursue changes in the future.

Of about 13 small groups within the synod of bishops, which met to discuss ways in which the Catholic church ought to confront changes in the modern family, two groups were adamantly opposed to taking action while others either failed to reach consensus or believed the issue required more study.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/23/pope-francis-fails-to-persuade-majority-of-bishops-remarried-catholics-synod-family

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

1. Who better to make laws about marriage than a group consisting solely of unmarried men?

I once had a conservative Catholic tell me that unmarried priests had a better understanding of marriage than married couples because they could look at it objectively. I replied that was saying that those who have never been in the military have a better understanding of war than combat veterans do.

[rug]

2. The mechanics of this are interesting.

Putting aside the two groups that opposed a change, I'd like to know what was going on inside the eleven groups that failed to reach a consensus. Sounds like MIRT.