The Pope Will Marry Couples Deemed to Be "Living in Sin"
In yet another big PR move, Pope Francis is set to perform a mass marriage of couples who are by Catholic standards “living in sin,” that is, cohabitating couples, some of whom have children out of wedlock. How…kind of him?
That’s right, tomorrow, Deal-With-It-sunglasses-clad Pope “Bro-pe” Francis is going to marry 20 couples from Rome in St. Peter’s Church, the first time there has been a mass marriage since John Paul II married 8 couples in 2000. According to UPI, the mass wedding is “symbolic of the pope’s interest in demonstrating inclusiveness and compassion in the Catholic Church.” AND, one of the women that is set to be married tomorrow, a woman with an adult daughter who will marry a dude whose prior marriage has been annulled gave the Pope this raving review:
“We didn’t feel worthy or able to meet the requirements of a good Catholic couple, but the Church under the leadership of Pope Francis has welcomed and embraced us. This Pope is marvelous. He is renewing the Church. Not even non-believers can remain indifferent to his drive and his disarming simplicity.”
That sounds just as odd as one of those passionate Yelp review of a restaurant that was clearly written by the owner of said restaurant. Honestly, I did not know that cohabitation was such a hot topic in the Catholic Church, so I googled “catholicism + cohabitation,” and found this:
The Church does not invent laws. It passes on and interprets what God has revealed through the ages. No one in the Church has the right to change what Jesus has taught.
And this:
Sex is not simply a private matter. If it’s between you and God, it’s between you and the Church.
So it is a pretty big deal that Pope Francis is essentially forgiving these couples because they decided to live their lives the same exact way they did before but, you know, without the sin part. But is it big enough? I mean, he’s gotta do a mass gay wedding next, right? RIGHT?!
Image via Getty.