Pope Francis Urges Church To Embrace Those Who Divorce And Remarry #HNNReligion

Their acts are contrary to the sacrament of marriage, Pope Francis says of Catholics who divorce and then remarry. But the pontiff is stressing that those spouses – and their children – must be embraced by the Church.

The headline on the Vatican's official news site is explicit: "Pope: divorced and remarried people not excommunicated."

The AP reminds us, "Catholic teaching says divorced Catholics who remarry are living in sin and are not allowed to receive Communion, leaving many of these people feeling shunned by their church."

The pope's remarks on divorce came as he spoke about the family in today's General Audience catechesis.

Many are seeing the pope's comments as a signal that he might consider easing the ban on divorced people receiving Communion. But as the AP notes, similar speculation came to naught one year ago, during the Vatican's sessions on the family. 

What do you think?

With files from NPR