Who'd have thunk it? Pope Francis has turned out to be quite the progressive. When he's not baptizing the babe of an unwed mom or encouraging worshippers to breastfeed in the Sistine Chapel, he's marrying previously considered unmarriables—a single mother, couples "living in sin," and divorcees.
To be fair, the Catholic Church has a ways to travel before I will saunter back through its doors, but this is truly a promising step in the right direction.
Pope Francis surely knows that his Church must get with the times or risk losing the next generation of devotees. The ceremony at the Vatican this past weekend was taboo-busting in more ways than one. Not only did the present Pontiff unite 20 couples in holy matrimony, Francis was the first pope to perform the sacrament since 2000.
"[Marriage] is not an easy road, it's sometimes a contentious trip, but that's life," acknowledged Pope Francis. "It's normal that couples fight. That always happens, but don't end the day without making peace, even a small gesture is enough."
What a delicious dose of realism! What a breath of fresh modern air, notwithstanding the fact that the man has never been married!
The ceremony proved an interesting precursor to a forthcoming major synod in which all the big bods of Catholicism will debate the "divisive issues of marriage, divorce and conception." Hope they've got a lot of coffee and donuts on hand...
Did you just feel that, Pontiff? That was me giving you a Way To Go clap on the back.
You tell me: Is the Catholic Church making solid progress, or is it too little too late?
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