In 1981, John Paul II released Familiaris Consortio, a document which stated that unless the divorced and remarried abstain from sex, admitting them to Communion would “objectively contradict that union of love between Christ and the Church which is signified and effected by the Eucharist”.
In 2016, Pope Francis’s apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia called this teaching into question. “It is possible that in an objective situation of sin … a person can be living in God’s grace, can love and can also grow in the life of grace and charity, while receiving the Church’s help to this end.” A footnote adds: “In certain cases, this can include the help of the sacraments.”
