To defend the Sacrament of Marriage, “you are called to be fellow travelers of all persons and all situations,” to “be ministers of peace and consolation,” said Pope Francis to parish priests on February 25, 2017.
Receiving the participants in a course of formation, organized by the Tribunal of the Roman Rota, on the new marriage procedure, the Pontiff recommended in particular the “care of the littlest,’ who are separated, divorced persons in free unions, in cohabitation.
The Holy Father stressed that for pastors it is first of all the need to put the accent on preparation for marriage: “how many of these young people . . . understand what “marriage” means? He asked, pleading for “a true catechumenate,” which includes “all the stages of the sacramental journey: the time of preparation for marriage, of its celebration, and of the years that follow.”
Priests must also “support those who realize . . . that their union is not a true sacramental marriage and who wish to come out of this situation.” Not as experts of bureaucratic acts or juridical norms, but as brothers who put themselves in an attitude of listening and of understanding,” said the Pope.
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On ZENIT’s Web page:
Full Text: https://zenit.org/articles/popes-address-to-parish-priests-participating-in-course-on-new-marriage-procedure/
