Teaching on divorcees unchanged – Vatican

The Vatican has stressed that private telephone conversations with the Pope do not alter church teaching after a phone call Francis made to a woman married to a divorcee, in which he reportedly told her that she could receive Communion, made international headlines, writes James Macintyre.

The Pope is alleged to have told Jacqueline Sabetta Lisbona, who, like him, is from Argentina, that she could receive the Eucharist despite the fact she entered a civil marriage with a divorcee whose first marriage has not been annulled. Mrs Sabetta Lisbona and her husband have two children.

A Vatican source confirmed to The Tablet last week that the telephone call took place, but would not elaborate on details.

A number of bishops and cardinals have said they would like to see the Church’s ban on remarried divorcees receiving Communion lifted, and Pope Francis has hinted that the Church should adopt a more merciful approach, but others want the ban to remain.

The issue is to be discussed at a Vatican synod on marriage and family life in October.

In a statement, the Holy See press office said that telephone calls made in the context of Pope Francis’ personal pastoral relationships “do not in any way form part of the Pope’s public activities” and the consequent “media amplification” cannot be confirmed, and is a source of “misunderstanding and confusion”. Changes to church teaching “are not to be inferred from these occurrences”, it said.