Bishop Conley reaffirms Church teaching on marriage, notes confusion on Amoris Laetitia

December 12, 2016

Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska, has strongly reaffirmed the Church’s teaching on marriage, assuring his priests that Amoris Laetitia “does not repudiate the indissolubility of marriage, or the Church’s moral teachings regarding divorce.”

In his message to priests of the Lincoln diocese, Bishop Conley acknowledges that the disputes arising from the papal document can be unsettling, but urges the priests to be confident that the debates will ultimately lead to a deeper understanding of Church teaching. “Amoris Laetitia will continue to be discussed among the Church’s bishops and the Holy Father, in order to bring clarity and understanding to difficult questions,” he writes.

“The questions being posed to the Holy Father are intended to help achieve clarity,” the bishop observes.

In his own affirmation of Church teaching, Bishop Conley writes:

The Lord calls those who are divorced and civilly remarried, or who are cohabiting, to continence. Like every person who is conscious of grave sin, divorced and civilly remarried Catholics who engage in ongoing sexual relationships may not approach Holy Communion.

 

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Further information:

• Lincoln bishop says ‘no’ on communion for divorced/remarried (CNS)