Pope Francis on Sunday (October 7) asked faithful to pray to St. Michael the Archangel, “to repel the attacks of the devil who wants to divide the Church” during his weekly Angelus at the Vatican.

The leader of the 1.2 billion Catholics ordered a “thorough study” of all documents in Holy See offices concerning disgraced former U.S. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the Vatican said on Saturday (October 6) in its first response to accusations that have shaken the Catholic Church.

In a statement, the Vatican appeared to be committing itself to examine the paper trail on the McCarrick case, quoting from speech Francis made in 2015 in which he said “We will follow the path of truth wherever it may lead”.

President Donald Trump plans to nominate Callista Gingrich as ambassador to the Vatican, the White House said in a statement on Friday.

She is the wife of former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich and produces documentary films on public policy and history.

The announcement came as Trump embarked on Friday on his maiden foreign trip as president, which will include a visit to the Vatican.

Pope Francis on Saturday criticised the naming of the U.S. military’s biggest non-nuclear explosive as “the Mother of All Bombs”, saying the word “mother” should not be used in reference to a deadly weapon.

The U.S. Air Force dropped such a bomb, officially designated as the GBU-43 Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) on suspected Islamic State fighters in eastern Afghanistan last month. The nickname was widely used in briefings and reporting on the attack.

“I was ashamed when I heard the name,” Pope Francis told an audience of students on Saturday. “A mother gives life and this one gives death, and we call this device a mother. What is happening?”

Pope Francis is set to meet U.S. President Donald Trump on May 24 in a potentially awkward encounter given their opposing positions on immigration, refugees and climate change.

Pope Francis has said he is willing to consider ordaining older married men as priests in isolated communities, but has ruled out making celibacy optional to tackle a shortage of clergy.

The shortage has prompted calls from some progressives to end the ancient tradition of celibacy for Roman Catholic priests.

Such a move would represent revolutionary change for the Catholic Church and would likely face massive resistance.

Reformers, however, have long suggested that the Vatican could ordain “viri probati” — Latin for men of proven character — who tend to be older, with grown-up families if married.

In an interview with Germany’s Die Zeit newspaper, the pope said this option could be considered.

“We have to give a thought to whether viri probati are a possibility. We then also need to determine which tasks they could take on, such as in isolated areas, for example,” he was quoted as saying.

He ruled out, however, opening the priesthood to all married men or watering down the Catholic Church’s commitment to celibacy, which is seen as a virtue that frees priests to devote their lives fully to serve God.

“Voluntary celibacy is often discussed in this context, especially in places where there are shortages of clerics. But voluntary celibacy is not a solution,” he said.

Prominent Catholics representing both the progressive and conservative wings of the U.S. church voiced support on Friday for the pope’s suggestion, with both camps seeing the move as a practical solution to the chronic shortage of priests.

A U.S. university report published in 2015 said the world’s Catholic population had increased by 57 percent, or 445 million people, between 1980 and 2012, while the number of priests over the same period had dropped by 17 percent, or 20,547.

In Brazil, the nation with more Catholics than any other, the faithful also expressed support for the viri probati idea.

“If he (a priest) had a wife and children, he may have a much fuller experience, which could help those around him,” said Paulo Franca, attending an afternoon Mass at the Santa Luzia Church in Rio de Janeiro.

The church has already sought to address a potential shortage of priests by promoting the use of deacons — male clerics who can be married and sit just behind priests in the church hierarchy. They can officiate at baptisms, funerals and weddings, but are not allowed to celebrate Mass, hear confessions or anoint the sick.

The growth in the number of deacons has made U.S. Catholics more comfortable with the idea of married men playing an important role in services, said Bill Donohue, chairman of the conservative-leaning Catholic League.

“My only concern is how this will impact on those priests who are single,” Donohue said in a phone interview.

“You have a lot of funerals on weekends, there are weddings and what not. I can see a situation where a married priest would say, ‘I have to go to my kids’ soccer game, I have responsibilities that you don’t have.’ They have to think this through a bit more.”

In Buenos Aires, where Pope Francis was formerly archbishop, some locals applauded his more progressive leanings.

“I think Francis is causing a great revolution in the church … if other religions have it (marriage) why not? Maybe priesthood could even be offered to women,” said Mirta Cortizo.

Letter from Pope Francis Conveyed through Cardinal Tauran and sent to British Muslims

Message for the month of Ramadan by Cardinal Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. Cardinal Tauran is Pope Francis’s principal advisor in Christian Muslim relations and the theme of this letter is that of mercy.

Pope Francis has declared this year to be a Jubilee Year of Mercy for Catholics – a time when the Catholic Church seeks to promote and implement the mercy of God. In his letter Cardinal Tauran explores the fact that “Christianity and Islam both believe in a merciful God”.

This is the text of the letter received:

PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE
MESSAGE FOR THE MONTH OF RAMADAN  AND ‘Id al-Fitr1437 H. / 2016 a.d.

Christians and Muslims: Beneficiaries and Instruments of Divine Mercy
Dear Muslim brothers and sisters,

1. The month of Ramadan and ‘Id al-Fitr is an important religious event for Muslims around the world, focused on fasting, prayer and good deeds, and is esteemed by Christians, your friends and neighbours. On behalf of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and Christians all over the world, we extend best wishes for a spiritually rewarding fast, supported by good deeds, and for a joyful feast.

As is our cherished custom, we wish to share with you on this occasion some reflections in the hope of strengthening the spiritual bonds we share.

2. A theme that is close to the hearts of Muslims and Christians alike is mercy.
We know that Christianity and Islam both believe in a merciful God, who shows his mercy and compassion towards all his creatures, in particular the human family. He created us out of an immense love. He is merciful in caring for each of us, bestowing upon us the gifts we need for our daily life, such as food, shelter and security. God’s mercy is manifested in a particular way, however, through the pardon of our faults; hence he is the one who pardons (al-Ghâfir), but the one who pardons much and always (al-Ghafour).

3. To underscore the importance of mercy, His Holiness Pope Francis declared a Jubilee Year of Mercy to be celebrated from 8 December 2015 to 20 November 2016. In this regard he said: “Here… is the reason for the Jubilee: because this is the time for mercy. It is the favorable time to heal wounds, a time not to be weary of meeting all those who are waiting to see and to touch with their hands the signs of the closeness of God, a time to offer everyone, everyone, the way of forgiveness and reconciliation” (“Homily”, 11 April 2015).

Your pilgrimage (hajj) to the Holy places, mainly Mecca and Medina, is surely a special time for you to experience God’s mercy. In fact, among the well-known aspirations addressed to Muslim pilgrims is: “I wish you a blessed pilgrimage, praiseworthy efforts and the pardon of your sins”. Making a pilgrimage to obtain God’s pardon for sins, both for the living and dead, is truly a salient custom practice among believers.

4. We, Christians and Muslims, are called to do our best to imitate God. He, the Merciful, asks us to be merciful and compassionate towards others, especially those who are in any kind of need. So too he calls us to be forgiving of one another.

When we gaze upon humanity today, we are saddened to see so many victims of conflicts and violence – here we think in particular of the elderly, and children and women, especially those who fall prey to human trafficking and the many people who suffer from poverty, illness, natural disasters and unemployment.

5. We cannot close our eyes to these realities, or turn away from these sufferings. It is true that situation are often very complex and that their solution exceeds our capacities. It is vital, therefore, that all work together in assisting those in need. It is a source of great hope when we experience or hear of Muslims and Christians joining hands to help the needy. When we do join hands, we heed an important command in our respective religions and show forth God’s mercy, thus offering a more credible witness, individually and communally, to our beliefs.

May the Merciful and Almighty God help us to walk always along the path of goodness and compassion!

6. We join our prayerful good wishes to those of Pope Francis for abundant blessings during Ramadan and for a lasting joy of ‘Id al-Fitr.

Happy Feast to you all!
From the Vatican, 10 June 2016
Jean-Louis Cardinal Tauran President

Bishop Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, M.C.C.I. Secretary

Pope Francis on Friday called for a Church that was less strict and more compassionate towards “imperfect” Catholics, such as those who divorced and remarried, saying “no one can be condemned forever”.

Francis said gays should be respected but firmly re-stated the Church’s position that there are “absolutely no grounds” to equate gay unions to heterosexual marriage.

In a 260-page treatise called “Amoris Laetitia,” (The Joy of Love), one of the most eagerly awaited pronouncements of his pontificate, Francis quoted Martin Luther King, Argentine Poet Jorge Luis Borges and even the 1987 Danish cult film Babette’s Feast to make his case for a more merciful and loving Church.

The keenest anticipation centred on what he would say about the full re-integration into the Church of Catholics who divorce and remarry in civil ceremonies.

Under current Church teaching they cannot receive communion unless they abstain from sex with their new partner, because their first marriage is still valid in the eyes of the Church and they are seen to be living in an adulterous state of sin.

The number of divorces has risen markedly in recent decades in most of the leading economies grouped in the OECD. About 42 percent of marriages in England and Wales ended in divorce in 2013, according to an estimate by the UK Office for National Statistics.

“No one can be condemned forever, because that is not the logic of the Gospel! Here I am not speaking only of the divorced and remarried, but of everyone, in whatever situation they find themselves,” the pope said.

Presenting the document at a packed Vatican news conference, Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn of Vienna, called it “a classic case of the organic development of doctrine,” which he described as being a continuation of theological thought without rupture with the past.

Progressives have proposed the use of an “internal forum” in which a priest or bishop work with a Catholic who has divorced and remarried to decide jointly, privately and on a case-by-case basis if he or she can be fully re-integrated and receive communion.

DISCERNMENT, NOT RIGID RULES

Francis seemed to embrace this view, saying he could “not provide a new set of general rules … applicable to all cases”, but he called for “responsible, personal and pastoral discernment of particular cases”.

Father James Bretzke, professor of moral theology at Boston College, said while Francis did not explicitly give a green light for remarried Catholics to return to communion, “the dots are pretty close together, you can connect them reasonably easily and conclude that he is saying this is a possibility.

“If he’s not opening the door, he is at least showing you where the key under the mat is.”

The document appeared to be partly aimed at the pope’s own bishops, saying while basic tenets of the faith remain, there had to be more consultation and debate within the Church about how they are applied locally in the type of de-centralised institution Francis has called for.

Francis said he understood those conservatives who “prefer a more rigorous pastoral care which leaves no room for confusion” but the Church should be more attentive to the good that can be found “in the midst of human weakness”.

“The Church turns with love to those who participate in her life in an imperfect manner,” he said, including in this category those Catholics who are cohabiting, married civilly or are divorced and remarried.

Conservative American Catholic author George Weigel said he did not see an opening to the divorced and remarried but rather “a call for the Church to be creative in integrating people in difficult situations”.

The document, formally known as an Apostolic Exhortation, followed two gatherings of Catholic bishops, or synods, that discussed family issued in 2014 and 2015.

In other sections, Francis said young people had to be better prepared for a life-long commitment, praised the “erotic dimension” of love within marriage and said the Church needed a “healthy dose of self-criticism” for in the past preaching that procreation was the “almost exclusive” reason for marriage.

Pope Francis issues one of the most eagerly awaited documents of his pontificate on Friday, a treatise on marriage and the family following  two gatherings of Catholic bishops that exposed divisions in the Church.

There is keen anticipation on what the 260-page document “Amoris Laetitia,” (The Joy of Love), will say about the full re-integration into the Church of Catholics who divorce and remarry in civil ceremonies.

Under current Church teaching they cannot receive communion unless they abstain from sex with their new partner, because their first marriage is still valid in the eyes of the Church and they are seen to be living in an adulterous state of sin.

The only way such Catholics can remarry is if they receive an annulment, a ruling that their first marriage never existed in the first place because of the lack of certain pre-requisites such as psychological maturity or free will.

Francis, who has made numerous calls for a more merciful Church, has changed procedures to make obtaining annulments less cumbersome and expensive.

Following an unprecedented poll of Catholics around the world, bishops held two summits, known as synods, at the Vatican in October 2014 and October 2015 to discuss family issues, such as why fewer Catholics are getting married and more are getting divorced.

The bishops’ final document at the second synod spoke of a so-called “internal forum” in which a priest or a bishop may work with a Catholic who has divorced and remarried to decide jointly, privately and on a case-by-case basis if he or she can be fully re-integrated and receive communion.

While progressives such as Cardinal Walter Kasper of Germany, who is one of Francis’ favourite theologians, favour this approach, it is opposed by conservatives, who say it would undermine the principle of the indissolubility of marriage that Jesus established.

At the end of the synod last year, Francis excoriated immovable Church leaders who he said “bury their heads in the sand” and hide behind rigid doctrine while families suffer.

The papal document, formally known as a Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, is also expected to call for better programmes for marriage preparation and echo the synod’s stand that homosexual unions cannot be equated with heterosexual marriage.

(Reporting By Philip Pullella; Editing by Andrew Hay) – Reuters