Pope: Marriage is forever

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis opened a divisive meeting of the world’s bishops on family issues yesterday by forcefully asserting that marriage is an indissoluble bond between man and woman. But he said the church doesn’t judge and must “seek out and care for hurting couples with the balm of acceptance and mercy.”

Francis dove head-on into the most pressing issue confronting the meeting of 270 bishops during a solemn Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica: how to better minister to Catholic families experiencing separation, divorce and other problems when the church’s teaching holds that marriage is forever.

He insisted that the church cannot be “swayed by passing fads or popular opinion.” But in an acknowledgment that marriages fail, he said the church is also a mother, who doesn’t point fingers or judge her children.

“The church must search out these persons, welcome and accompany them, for a church with closed doors betrays herself and her mission and instead of being a bridge, becomes a roadblock,” he said.

One of the major debates at the synod is whether divorced and civilly remarried Catholics can receive Communion.

Francis launched the synod process two years ago by sending out a 39-point questionnaire to bishops, parishes and ordinary Catholic families around the world asking about their understanding of and adherence to church teaching on family matters. Their responses showed a widespread rift between official Catholic teaching and practice, particularly on sex, marriage and homosexuality.