New Cardinal: Refusing Holy Communion to all divorcees was a “great injustice”

Rejecting Holy Communion to the divorcees in fresh relationships is simply a large injustice – says the fresh Cardinal, Jean-Paul Vesco of Algeria.

On 8 December, a consistory was held in the Vatican, on which Pope Francis presented the Cardinal's figures to the fresh members of the College of Cardinals. As we know, 1 of the criteria of selection is for Francis to be close to his “ pastoral line”. This includes the fresh Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, a French Dominican from the Diocese of Oran, Algeria.

In an interview with the LifeSiteNews portal, the cardinal stated that "a large injustice" is to prevent holy divorcees who live in a second relation from being allowed into communion.

This position was presented in 2015, even as a bishop.

At the time, he argued that “for him” adultery was simply “having 2 people in life at the same time”. – The discipline of the Church toward divorcees in remarriage has long been hard on me. In fact, it made me angry, and it was due to the unnecessary suffering that this discipline caused people, despite their peculiar situation. – said then.

The 62-year-old Cardinal Vesco spoke to LifeSiteNews a fewer days ago in Rome. He confirmed his position on Holy Communion for divorcees.

– It was a great, immense injustice. – he said. – The claim that all situation is about adultery was simply false and unfair – he added.

As the cardinal stated, it is good that the apostolic adhortation “Amoris laetitia” changed it. As he stressed, it is about distinguishing the situation of a individual who abandons his household from 1 who has been abandoned.

– It's 1 thing to leave individual behind and the another to be left behind by your partner and 1 day make a decision about a fresh life, to fall in love, to rebuild something and have children. That's it. – he said.

– All these situations were treated the same. It was unfair.e – added.

Divorcers in re-union cannot accept Holy Communion unless they live in a fresh union in purity, taught St. John Paul II in "Familiaris consortio".

The Church pointed out that matrimony is not a private but a public matter; so a individual in a second relation who does not live in purity cannot enter the sacraments.

Pope Francis acknowledged in the “Amoris laetitia” that a different approach is possible on the basis of “difference” of individual situations, as the fresh Cardinal Vesco said.

The change he introduced was accepted only in part of the Catholic world; many bishops stand in the position that persons in re-union sexually active cannot be admitted to Holy Communion regardless of whether they bear the primary blame for the dissolution of matrimony or not.

This practice of the Church is based on the Gospel, since the Lord Jesus said, “Everyone who dismisses his wife, but in the case of fornication, exposes her to adultery; and whoever takes the departed wife commits adultery” (Mt 5:32).

Sources: LifeSiteNews.com, PCh24.pl

Pache