Catholics ponder remarriage

Press, 19 December 1985, Page 44

Catholics ponder remarriage

NZPA-Reuter Vatican A Catholic prelate has told a special bishops’ synod in Rome that the Church should be more merciful to divorced Catholics who remarried. The Church does not permit divorce, and Catholics who divorce and marry again cannot receive Communion or fully participate in Church life. The Most Rev. Karl Berg, Archbishop of Salzburg, Austria, suggested that such nle might be readmitted le sacrament of Com/munion after a period of ' penance. His proposal to the twoweek synod, called by Pope John Paul H to assess developments in the Church since the second Vatican Council of 1962-65, was disclosed at one of two daily news briefings but no details were given. The issue has become more urgent in recent years because of the growing number of divorced Catholics who have remarried outside the Church. Catholics who divorce and remarry can receive Communion only if they abstain from sex, having what the Church defines as a brother-

and-sister relationship. The Catholic Church does not recognise a remarriage unless it follows the death of one partner or an annulment of the first marriage granted by the Church. Catholics who divorce and remarry are not totally excluded from the Church and can attend Mass, share in other activities, and have their children baptised and taught in the faith. In other views expressed to the Synod, several bishops from developing countries said that Churches in their areas needed more freedom to experiment with new ideas.

Archbishop Raphael Ndingi Mwana a’Nzeki of Kenya, said that there should be more freedom in trying to blend traditional Church teachings with local culture, particularly in Africa. Africans wanted to be authentic Christians but also authentic Africans, he said. Bishop Anselme Titianama Sanon of Bourkina Fasso, and Bishop Anthony Mayala, of Tanzania, said that the Church in Africa should be allowed to develop diverse theological methods.