Denver Catholic

3 DENVER CATHOLIC | FEBRUARY 25-MARCH 10, 2017 Vatican Notes BY CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY D iffering opinions continue to emerge in the debate on whether those divorced and remarried may receive communion, following confusion on Pope Francis' post-synodal apostolic exhoration, Amoris laetitia (The Joy of Love). The head of the Vatican office charged with interpreting Church law has published his personal opinion that divorced-and-remarried persons who want to change their situation but cannot may be admitted to Communion without living in continence. "The Church could admit to Penance and to the Eucharist faithful who find themselves in an illegitimate union when two essential conditions occur: they want to change the situation, but they are unable to fulfill their desire," Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio, 78, claims in his booklet "Chapter Eight" on Amoris laetitia, released last week. In the text, Cardinal Coccopalmerio extensively quotes Amoris laetitia, saying chapter 8 illustrates both the clear doctrine of the Church on mar- riage, as well as the conditions in which, due to "serious" repercussions, couples living in irregular unions might be able to receive Communion. However, he noted that, as said in Amoris laetitia, there are many com- plex factors contributing to why mar- riages fail and irregular unions are so common, such as abandonment by a spouse, cultural stigmas, or other "mit- igating factors." Cardinal Coccopalmerio stressed that while he believed the desire to change one's situation despite the inability to do so is enough to receive communion, the conditions must be "carefully and authoritatively discerned" on the part of ecclesial authority, which would typ- ically be the couple's parish priest, who knows the couple "more directly" and can therefore o¡er adequate guidance. Cardinal Coccopalmerio was absent from his book presentation, and it was presented instead by Orazio La Rocca; Fr. Maurizio Gronchi; Fr. Giuseppe Costa, SDB; and Alfonso Cuateruccio. Cardinal Gerhard Müller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has on multiple occasions main- tained that Amoris laetitia, in continuity with Church teaching, says that divorced and remarried couples may not receive communion, unless living in complete continence. In an interview with Il Timone earlier this month, he said that Amoris laetitia "must clearly be interpreted in the light of the whole doctrine of the Church." He said that St. John Paul II's teaching in Familiaris consortio, that the divorced and remarried cannot take communion except when living in complete conti- nence, "is not dispensable, because it is not only a positive law of John Paul II, but he expressed an essential element of Christian moral theology and the theol- ogy of the sacraments." Confusion on this point, he said, stems from a failure to accept St. John Paul II's 1993 encyclical Veritatis splendor. Cardinal Müller suggested that in order to quell the confusion gener- ated by the di¡ering interpretations of Amoris laetitia, everyone ought to study the Church's doctrine, beginning with Scripture, "which is very clear on marriage." "All of us must understand and accept the doctrine of Christ and of his Church, and at the same time be ready to help others to understand it and put it into practice even in dišcult situations," he stated. Observing the di¡erence between the statements of Cardinal Müller and Cardinal Coccopalmerio, Dr. Edward Peters, a professor of canon law at Sacred Heart Major Seminary, wrote that "the Church's arguably two highest-ranking cardinals in the areas of canonical inter- pretation and the protection of doctrine and morals are in public, plain, and dia- metric opposition with each other con- cerning a crucial canonico-sacramental practice. 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(720) 259-4393 (recorded 24 hr. reservation line) or register on-line at seminars.TheHughesLawFirm.net 1974 Specializing in Peace of Mind SM Complimentary refreshments and snacks served • Free convenient parking FREE 90 Minute Workshops Lakewood Heritage Center 801 S Yarrow St., Lakewood 80226 (Just off Wadsworth Blvd. and Ohio Ave.) Saturday, March 11th at 10am or Thursday, March 16th at 2pm Eloise May Library 1471 S Parker Rd., Denver 80231 (NW Corner of Parker Road and Florida) Tuesday, March 14th at 2pm or Saturday, March 25th at 10am Fort Collins Senior Center 1200 Raintree Dr., Fort Collins 80526 Saturday, March 18th at 10am Parker Library 20105 Mainstreet, Parker 80134 Saturday, March 4th at 10am or Tuesday, March 9th at 2pm A presentation at Vatican Radio about Chapter 8 of Pope Francis' "Amoris laetitia," on Feb. 14, 2017. PHOTO BY DANIEL IBANEZ, CNA

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