Yahoo – AFP,
Ljubomir Milasin, 14 Sep 2014
 |
Pope
Francis married 20 couples from different social backgrounds during a ceremony
at St Peter's basilica in Vatican City, on September 14, 2014. (AFP, Alberto
Pizzoli)
|
Vatican
City (AFP) - A single mother, people who have been married before and couples
who have been living together "in sin" were married by Pope Francis
in a taboo-challenging ceremony at the Vatican on Sunday.
In another
signal of the openness of his papacy, Francis asked to marry 40 people from
different social backgrounds who would be a realistic sample of modern couples.
Popes very
rarely perform marriages -- the last one was in 2000.
Marriage
"is not an easy road, it's sometimes a contentious trip, but that's
life", the pope told the couples, both young and old, as their families gathered
for the solemn two-hour ceremony.
"It's
normal that couples fight. That always happens, but don't end the day without
making peace, even a small gesture is enough," said the pontiff, who
donned a red robe for the occasion rather than his usual white.
One of the
couples he married was single mother Gabriella and her partner Guido, whose
previous marriage was annulled by an ecclesiastical tribunal.
The last
time a pope performed a marriage was under the leadership of John Paul II in
2000, and before that in 1994.
It comes
three weeks before a major synod of the Catholc Church will discuss the
divisive issues of marriage, divorce and conception.
The church
ban on allowing divorcees who have remarried to receive communion is one of the
key topics up for debate, and resolving deep divisions over the issue inside
the church is seen as a key test of Francis' leadership.
Francis has
shown himself more open than his predecessors on the subject of marriage, and
has spoken of more realistic attitude to social problems, raising the issue of
broken marriages and abandoned women.
Last
January he baptised the child of a single mother in the Sistine Chapel along
with the daughter of a couple who had not been married in a church.
Related Article:
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.