One of the strongest expressions of "openness" from another Cardinal to the "Kasper Doctrine" for formally allowing "remarried" divorcees to receive communion was publicized over the weekend in an article by John Allen on Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, Archbishop of Manila since 2011. Tagle, presently the fourth youngest Cardinal and definitely one of the rising stars of the Church, regarded as the Cardinal of the "School of Bologna", will be one of the three Presidents of the Extraordinary Synod on the Family later this year.
Allen's article is itself titled "Meet the Philippine Pope Francis":
Allen's article is itself titled "Meet the Philippine Pope Francis":
Tagle’s moderate streak is also clear on internal church questions.
In his Globe interview, he said that he’s open to considering the arguments for allowing Catholics who divorce and remarry without an annulment, a declaration from a church court that the first marriage was invalid, to receive communion and the other sacraments.
“We have a principle we have to believe in,” he said, referring to the idea that marriage is for life. “But the openness comes on pastoral judgments you have to make in concrete situations, because no two cases are alike.”
One can debate the merits of those positions, but there’s no question Tagle and leaders who think like him appear strengthened in their convictions one year into the new regime.
If you’re looking for a “Francis effect,” in other words, that’s one way to gauge it.
The Philippines happens to be the last Catholic country, aside from the Vatican itself, where divorce is still illegal (except for Muslims). A country where, according to the Univision poll last month, some 46% of Filipino Catholics still support Church teaching against divorce. Should the Church herself bless measures that will, at least de facto, stop making divorce and civil "remarriage" a bar to the sacraments, it is hard to see how the ban on divorce in this country could last much longer.
Photo source - Cardinal Tagle giving a talk earlier this year.
