TestBuzz

I HAVE a special interest in the debate – not always either charitable or favourable to the Holy Father – surrounding the reception by the Church (not only Bishops) of this important teaching of Pope Francis.
This is, in part, because I believe that everyone has a right to love. Simple as that. Second, that I believe this document is a litmus test for the message of Pope Francis in the renewal of the Church.
To date I have found the clearest explanation in the policy of the Maltese Bishops. I know that it is considered too liberal by many/most other Conferences of Bishops but I can both understand it clearly and have considerable sympathy for its respect for individuals and their religious freedom of conscience.
More recently the Maltese bishops remarked that their own guidance on the teaching owed much to the remarks of Pope Francis to the Argentine bishops when he recommended allowing Holy Communion for some civilly remarried divorcees.
Archbishop Charles Scicluna made this remark in the first interview since January 13 when he proposed the teaching that “remarried divorcees can receive Holy Communion after a period of discernment, with an informed and enlightened conscience, and if they are “at peace with God”.
Of course, many others have argued that this is in contradiction to current Church teaching and it is. But I see no other interpretation of the teaching than this and, somehow, although I am theologically limited, this is precisely what the Pope meant and I am not in favour of dissenting from the Holy Father. Just how the two positions can be reconciled, as far as I can see, depends on the modification you can allow for between the teaching and the pastoral practice around the fulcrum of conscience. I must defer to the experts on this question.