The following comes from the Diocese of Phoenix website:
Questions and Answers on Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love):
Does Amoris Laetitia change any Church teachings?
No. Apostolic Exhortations do not change doctrine. Canon Law also is not changed by the Exhortation. For example, Pope Francis mentions that “…neither the Synod nor this Exhortation could be expected to provide a new set of general rules… What is possible is simply a renewed encouragement to undertake a responsible personal and pastoral discernment of particular cases… Priests have the duty to “accompany (the divorced and remarried) in helping them to understand their situation according to the teaching of the Church and the guidelines of the bishop.” (300)
What about people who are divorced and remarried? Can they receive the Sacraments?
All Catholics must sacramentally confess all serious sins of which he or she is aware, with a firm purpose to change, before receiving the Eucharist. With divorced and civilly-remarried couples, the truth about marriage as the Church understands it requires abstinence from sexual intimacy in order to be eligible to receive the Sacraments, and as long as there is no scandal or an implication that the Church’s teaching can be set aside. Divorced and remarried persons should not hold positions of responsibility in a parish or carry out liturgical functions. This is a difficult teaching for many, but anything less misleads people about the nature of the Eucharist and the Church. The grace of Jesus Christ is more than a pious cliché: it is a real and powerful seed of change in the believing heart.
Is a person who is divorced and remarried “excommunicated” from the Church?
No. A person who is divorced and remarried may not be eligible to receive Holy Communion (Eucharist), but being ineligible to receive Holy Communion is not excommunication.
What did the Pope say about treatment of people with homosexual attractions?
Section 250 and 251 of Amoris Laetitia speaks to families about helping members with same-sex attraction. It mentions that the Synod Fathers “discussed the situation of families whose members include persons who experience same-sex attraction, a situation not easy either for parents or for children. We would like before all else to reaffirm that every person, regardless of sexual orientation, ought to be respected in his or her dignity and treated with consideration, while ‘every sign of unjust discrimination’ is to be carefully avoided, particularly any form of aggression and violence. Such families should be given respectful pastoral guidance, so that those who manifest a homosexual orientation can receive the assistance they need to understand and fully carry out God’s will in their lives.”
Pope Francis also reaffirmed that marriage is simply a lifelong, committed relationship between a man and a woman: “as for proposals to place unions between homosexual persons on the same level as marriage, there are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God’s plan for marriage and family”. It is unacceptable “that local Churches should be subjected to pressure in this matter and that international bodies should make financial aid to poor countries dependent on the introduction of laws to establish ‘marriage’ between persons of the same sex”.
Bishop Olmstead states a truism — Amoris Laetitia changes nothing, and can change nothing. Nor can Pope Francis change anything regarding providing communion to divorced and remarried Catholics. The importance of the Dubia, for example, is that it requires a clear answer to such questions, including, in effect, whether there are sins, the commision of which bar the sinner from communion, until there is confession and amendment of their lives. In the case of the divorced, this means, as it has always meant, that the affected man and woman must live as “brother and sister” (that is, no sex).
This is simple, not complex as the phony dissemblers of Pope Francis argue. Once you knowingly divorce and do not obtain an annulment, you may…
(Part Deux) ” . . . not receive communion. You. May. Not.
The Vatican II “Implementers” and our Zombie-Liberal friends, urge the presence of ambiguities and complexities so that they may provide their heretical answers. Of course, they say that such “new solutions” are only “some times” results, but this is a lie. Now, the exception proves the rule, and, as can be seen now in Canada, and in Latin America. One’s own conscience — forget the need to have it be “well-formed” — is the current driver of behavior. Selfish, and anti-Christ, activities will largely be accepted, and happily so, by the NewChurch under Amoris Laetitia.
Bishop Olmsted is an excellent bishop! Wish all of our prelates were just like him — including our Holy Father! I saw the interview of Cardinal Burke with Raymond Arroyo, on EWTN’s “World Over Live,” last night– excellent! Of course, the “dubia” was discussed– excellent!! Too bad we couldn’t have Cardinal Burke to be our Pope!
Bishop Olmsted is a true Shepherd who is wisely guiding his flock and anyone else who happens to come across his teachings. Oh, how I wish we could have his twin as Ordinary in San Diego instead of McElroy.
A clarification: A divorced person may receive Holy Communion with or without an annulment as long as they are not dating or remarried. An annulment concerns only the possibility or remarriage, not admission to the Sacraments.