VATICAN CITY
Crux
By Inés San Martín
Vatican correspondent September 15, 2014
ROME — The Vatican’s top official for the family says that October’s Synod of Bishops will debate altering church rules barring divorced and remarried Catholics from communion, but considers its emphasis will probably be on practical strategies for helping couples rather than changing doctrine.
Italian Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, President of the Pontifical Council for the Family, said that with regard to divorce and remarriage, the synod is more likely to look at better marriage preparation and wider access to church courts for requesting annulments, a process that declares a marriage invalid, rather than changing the current discipline.
Paglia spoke in a September 2nd interview with Crux. He stressed that while the synod will touch on the debate over divorced and remarried Catholics, its real agenda is much broader, including a wide range of ‘profound human problems’ concerning the family.
“We’re focusing on this issue that, though extremely important, isn’t really crucial. We have to consider the children, the elderly, the sick, adoption processes, [and] the lack of intergenerational dialogue.”
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