Pope Francis to make key marriage pronouncement in eagerly awaited docApril 8, 2016 - 10:58 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Pope Francis is to make public the conclusions of his two Synods on the family in a document eagerly awaited by 1.3 billion Roman Catholics, BBC News reports. It will detail the pope's views about family life, marriage, contraception and bringing up children. Many hope it will open the way for the church to offer communion to the divorced and civilly remarried, something conservatives have resisted. The document is the culmination of three years' work by the Pope. The Pope sent a questionnaire to families across the world asking them about their hopes and their fears. Then he brought bishops and cardinals together for two Synods in Rome, at which he encouraged them to debate and even to disagree over issues that divide the church in many countries. Those range from offering communion for the divorced and remarried, contraception and the treatment of Catholics who are gay. According to BBC, the lengthy document will show exactly where Pope Francis stands - with some already describing it as a Papal bombshell - as he steps into the minefield of Catholic teaching on the family. While conservatives do not want him to change doctrine, liberals hope he will tell the church to show a more merciful attitude to those whose families do not conform to the current Catholic ideal. Some in the church have called for measures which allow a priest or a bishop to decide privately, on a case-by-case basis, if a Catholic who has divorced and remarried can be fully readmitted and receive communion. While progressives such as the influential Cardinal Walter Kasper of Germany support this policy, conservatives maintain it would devalue the principle established by Jesus of marriage being indissoluble. At the conclusion of the Synod last year, Francis castigated church leaders who he accused of burying their heads in the sand over the issue, arguing that their adherence to rigid doctrine was over-riding their concern for the suffering of families. The papal document is also expected to call for better marriage preparation while repeating the Synod's view that homosexual unions cannot be on a par with heterosexual marriage. Related links: Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Get Started: An educational platform for young startuppers The Get Started program which operates in two phases is an important platform for young startuppers. Byblos Bank Armenia celebrates Students' Day with scholarship recipients YSU students who received scholarships from Byblos Bank Armenia gathered in a casual setting to meet with the Bank's CEO, Hayk Stepanyan. Azerbaijan extends Rune Vardanyan’s arrest by 5 months A court in Azerbaijan has extended the arrest of former Nagorno-Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan by five months. Armenia border residents dissatisfied with delimitation Residents Kirants are dissatisfied with the results of the delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. |