Pope Francis married 20 couples yesterday, some of whom had already lived together and had children, in the latest sign that the Argentine Pontiff wants the Catholic Church to be more open and inclusive.
In the first wedding he has performed in his 18-month-old papacy, Pope Francis took each couple through their vows in turn – including Gabriella and Guido, who already had children and thought such a marriage would be impossible, official broadcasting service Radio Vaticana said.
Church must end its obsession with teachings on abortion, contraception and homosexuality
“The people getting married on Sunday are couples like many others,” the diocese of Rome said in a statement. “Some already live together, some already have children.”
The ceremony was the first of its kind in the Vatican since Pope John Paul II presided over a wedding in 2000, when he was the leader of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics.
Pope Francis, who is the first non-European Pope in 1,300 years, has expressed tolerance regarding other topics that are traditionally taboo in the Church, asking “who am I to judge?” a gay person “who seeks God and has good will”. His approach contrasts with that of his predecessor, the German Pope Benedict, who said that threats to the traditional family undermined the future of humanity itself.
Bishops from all over the world are due to come to the Vatican in October for a major meeting on the family, which the Jesuit Pope referred to in the homily to yesterday’s Mass as the “bricks” on which society is built.
The bishops are expected to discuss issues such as marriage, divorce and contraception at the synod, from October 5-19.
The Pope has said the Church must end its obsession with teachings on abortion, contraception and homosexuality, and become more merciful, or risk collapsing “like a house of cards”.
Meanwhile on Saturday Pope Francis referred to the spate of conflicts around the globe today and said they were effectively a “piecemeal” Third World War, condemning the arms trade and “plotters of terrorism” sowing death and destruction.
“Humanity needs to weep and this is the time to weep,” Pope Francis said in the homily of a Mass during a visit to Italy’s largest war memorial, a large, Fascist-era monument where more than 100,000 soldiers who died in World War One are buried.
The Pope began his brief visit to northern Italy by first praying in a nearby, separate cemetery for some 15,000 soldiers from five nations of the Austro-Hungarian empire which were on the losing side of the Great War that broke out 100 years ago. “War is madness,” he said in his homily before the massive, sloping granite memorial, made of 22 steps on the side of hill with three crosses at the top.
“Even today, after the second failure of another world war, perhaps one can speak of a third war, one fought piecemeal, with crimes, massacres, destruction,” he said. In the past few months, Pope Francis has made repeated appeals for an end to conflicts in Ukraine, Iraq, Syria, Gaza and parts of Africa.
Last month the Pope, who has often condemned the concept of war in God’s name, said it would be legitimate for the international community to use force to stop “unjust aggression” by Islamic State militants who have killed or displaced thousands of people in Iraq and Syria, many of them Christians.
In his homily, Pope Francis condemned “plotters of terrorism” but did not elaborate.