Pope Francis is urging Christians to show more understanding and leniency towards divorced couples as well as those who decide to remarry, saying it is not right to excommunicate them.
Speaking during the General Audience at St. Peter's Square, Vatican City, on Wednesday, Pope Francis touched on the cases of divorced and remarried couples, saying "the Church well knows that such a situation contradicts the Christian Sacrament." However, he said that does not mean that these individuals should no longer experience "mother's heart; a heart which, animated by the Holy Spirit, seeks always the good and the salvation of the person."
"It is important that they experience the Church as a mother attentive to all, always disposed to listen in encounters," he added.
By doing so, he said those who are divorced and those who enter new unions "may live and develop their adherence to Christ and the Church with prayer, listening to God's word, frequenting the liturgy, the Christian education of their children, charity, service to the poor, and a commitment to justice and peace."
At the same time, Pope Francis said showing love and kindness towards those who have experienced failed marriages will help these parents raise their children better "with an example of convinced and practiced faith," rather than treating them "as if they were excommunicated."
"If we look at these new ties with the eyes of young children... we see ever more the urgency to develop in our community true welcome toward people living in these situations," he said.
Pope Francis believes that children from failed marriages do not deserve to suffer more than dealing with a broken family. As such, he said Christians should "not add additional weight beyond what the children in this situation have to bear."
