German bishops plan guidelines for divorced, remarried

by Christa Pongratz-Lippitt | Dec. 21, 2016

While bishops in two German dioceses have announced guidelines instructing priests to allow some divorced and remarried Catholics to receive the sacraments, the Vatican's doctrinal chief has reiterated that the church's teaching on the indissolubility of sacramental marriage provides no exceptions.

Bishop Karl-Heinz Wiesemann of Speyer, Germany, announced in an interview Dec. 17 that he will publish guidelines on how priests in his diocese should accompany divorced and remarried Catholics who want to receive the sacraments. Wiesemann said that Pope Francis has made this possible in individual cases after appropriate accompaniment by a priest.

"In Amoris Laetitia" — the apostolic exhortation Francis issued in April responding to two Synods of Bishops that discussed family life and marriage — "the pope says that, without changing church doctrine, we must distinguish between the different circumstances people live in," Wiesemann told the German daily Mannheimer Morgen.

"We priests are not here to replace a person's conscience. Francis wants us to be spiritual companions and not lords over people's faith. We should accompany people and help them to find the right way based on their faith. Catholics should find their church helpful, Francis has underlined, and that is what I would like to contribute toward," Wiesemann said.

https://www.ncronline.org/news/people/german-bishops-plan-guidelines-divorced-remarried