Bishops call on priests to welcome irregular couples

Priests should not rush to judgement about the rights and wrongs of “irregular” couples and patchwork families, the bishops’ conference of England and Wales has warned.

In a document for the clergy reflecting on marriage and family life, in the interval between the two synods on the subject called by Pope Francis, the bishops tell the story of the “Church of the pure” Donatist heresy, which was denounced by St Augustine in 411.

The Donatists saw themselves to be the sole representatives of the true Church, but St Augustine explained that it was only in the final reckoning that evil could be separated from righteousness.

“It is not for us to make rash or premature conclusions … What Augustine implies is that we aren’t in a position in this life to pass judgement on others. Only Christ can see the full picture and will reveal it on Judgement Day,” the bishops’ document states. It also invites priests to think about how they prepare couples for marriage, and assist those whose marriages have broken down.

They are invited to reflect on how divorced people experience being part of the Church, and how they are welcomed and included in parishes.

“If people come to you who are living in ‘second unions’, what is your pastoral practice? Do they come to the sacraments?” the document asks. “Are there cases where you think they might be welcomed to Holy Communion even though their objective situation has not been remedied?”

Meanwhile, lay Catholics are also being encouraged to reflect and give feedback on the reality of marriage and family life ahead of the next Synod on the Family scheduled to meet in Rome in October this year.

The process for reflection and feedback will be made in individual dioceses but could also take the form of parish meetings.

Bishops in England and Wales highlighted the document with pastoral letters last weekend to coincide with the Feast of the Holy Family with a number urging a compassionate approach to those who fall short of the ideal of family life.

The Archbishop of Southwark. Peter Smith, wrote that the Church needed to give a “new start” for those families “which have been broken and grievously wounded through separation and divorce,” adding: “let no one judge them”. Similarly, the Archbishop  of Birmingham, Bernard Longley, wrote: “Christ shows compassion and understanding for those who struggle with family life or fall short of the ideal.” He went on:  “The Church seeks to be a place and a community where we recognise that we all fall short of perfection and where we are called without exception to repentance and forgiveness.”

However, the Bishop of Shrewsbury, Mark Davies, used his pastoral letter to restate traditional teaching on marriage singling out the virtue of chastity for praise, and saying that the synod “does not function like a parliament” and “truth cannot be determined by opinion polls”.

“We believe that the union of husband and wife, expressed in the union of one flesh, must always be open to new life, to the children God may entrust to the couple,” wrote Bishop Davies. “We believe sexual relations belong within marriage alone.”