Pope Benedict suffers issue of divorced Catholics

Comment By Jay Cuasay
CNS STORY: Divorced Catholics must be welcomed in parishes, pope tells priests:

July 25: while vacationing, Pope Benedict spoke to a group of 140 priests, religious and deacons regarding divorced Catholics and Eucharistic celebration saying, "Given that it is the sacrament of the passion of Christ, the suffering Christ embraces these persons in a special way and communicates with them in a different way. They can feel embraced by the crucified Lord who falls to the earth and dies and suffers for them and with them."

"Priests and parishioners must share the suffering of those excluded from the Eucharist", he said, "but they cannot act in a way that casts doubt on the unbreakable bond of sacramental marriage.

It sounds to me like this description pits the efficacy of two sacraments against each other. By doing so, the transcendent is rendered rather earth-bound. This is no longer the very brokeness of humanity lifted up to the Father, through the Son, in the Spirit, but rather an infinite suffering of finite means. At the same time, I acknowledge the singular union in which one's "Amen" can be true.