✣ Pope withdraws marriage invalidity comments
What happened? Pope Francis said that a “great majority” of Catholic marriages are invalid, before withdrawing the comments. He said “a culture of the provisional” means that “a large majority of our sacramental marriages are null: because they say, ‘Yes, all my life,’ but they do not know what it is they are saying.” The Pope was speaking informally at a meeting of Rome parishes. In the official transcript, “a great majority” was changed to “a portion” – with the Pope’s consent, said the Vatican. What the media are saying The irreverent website Gawker led with “Pope Francis to Catholics: Your Marriage is a Sham”. The New York Times columnist Ross Douthat called the Pope’s claim “extraordinary, irresponsible and ridiculous”. “The Catholic Church has never taught that you need a comprehensive theological understanding of the nature of marriage to enter into one,” Douthat tweeted. “What you need are valid consent, an intention of permanence and fidelity, and an openness to children.” Modern culture might have made these less common. “But the idea that modern issues make most marriages invalid implies a way higher standard of “true” marriage than the Church ever proposed.” Meanwhile, The Australian quoted a “senior Australian bishop” as saying the remarks proved the Pope was “no theologian”.
