Study seeks way to Communion for remarried divorcees

The great majority of German bishops would like to see remarried divorcees being allowed to receive the Sacraments under certain specified circumstances.

“The search for a theologically responsible and pastorally appropriate accompaniment for Catholics whose marriages have broken down and who have married again in a register office is a pressing challenge for the Church worldwide as divorce and remarriage are often the beginning of alienation from the Church,” the president of the German bishops’ conference, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, said presenting findings of a special working group of the  bishops’ conference on the subject in Bonn on 22 December.

Even happily married, committed Catholics found the present rulings both “incomprehensible and unmerciful”, the bishops say. Only very few remarried divorcees see annulment as a solution as they do not think that their first marriage simply never existed. The assurance that remarried divorcees continue to be part of the church community is seen as  in “strong contrast” to the ban on them ever being allowed to receive the Sacraments, the findings show.

“Do Scripture and tradition really reveal no other way,” the  bishops conclude. The findings will be used in preparations for the Family Synod in October.