An Update on that Pope Francis Call…..

I wrote about all the murmuring yesterday. Today, the Vatican Press Office (Fr. Federico Lombardi) issued a statement:

Several telephone calls have taken place in the context of Pope Francis’ personal pastoral relationships.

Since they do not in any way form part of the Pope’s public activities, no information or comments are to be expected from the Holy See Press Office.

That which has been communicated in relation to this matter, outside the scope of personal relationships, and the consequent media amplification, cannot be confirmed as reliable, and is a source of misunderstanding and confusion.

Therefore, consequences relating to the teaching of the Church are not to be inferred from these occurrences.

Exactly. This call was an example of a “personal pastoral relationship” established between the Holy Father and someone seeking his guidance. It also appears that Ms. Lisbona (who wrote to Francis) is not divorced herself; only her husband was previously divorced. This fact calls into question the original news reports which fail to take into account nuances in Church law concerning these issues (I do not understand all the nuances myself). Given what we know — and admitting that we don’t know very much (nor should we) — it would be a mistake to conclude that all of this is demonstrative of some change by Pope Francis concerning Church teaching on marriage.