Pope Francis has reaffirmed the indissolubility and lifelong nature of Christian marriage

Is Pope Francis upset about 

an Ignatius Press book?

CNA

Fr. Joseph Fessio, SJ, responds to claims and complaints made by Cardinal Walter Kasper

Vatican City, Sep 19, 2014 / 05:01 pm (CNA).- Catholic Church sources have dismissed rumors that Pope Francis is annoyed by an Ignatius Press book critical of Cardinal Walter Kasper’s position on Holy Communion for the divorced and remarried.

The French Catholic newspaper La Croix said Sept. 17 that “a senior source close to the Argentine Pope” claimed that Pope Francis would be “annoyed by the publication of this collective work.”

However, sources close to the Pope denied this claim, telling CNA that the Pope is not even aware of the book.

The book, from Ignatius Press, is titled “Remaining in the Truth of Christ: Marriage and Communion in the Catholic Church.” It is a collection of essays on the pastoral approach to Catholics who have divorced and civilly remarried. Authors of the essays include five cardinals as well as other scholars.

Contributors include Cardinal Gerhard Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Cardinal Raymond Burke, prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura; Cardinal Walter Brandmuller, president emeritus of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences; Cardinal Carlo Caffarra of Bologna, one of the closest theologians to St. John Paul II in questions of morality and the family; and Cardinal Velasio De Paolis, president emeritus of the Prefecture for Economic Affairs of the Holy See.

The book is set to be published next month, around the time that the Synod of Bishops will be meeting in Rome to discuss issues involving the family.

The Ignatius Press book’s introduction says the essays in “Remaining in the Truth of Christ” are responses to Cardinal Walter Kasper’s 2014 book “The Gospel of the Family,” which includes his advocacy of giving Holy Communion to some Catholics who have divorced and civilly remarried without an annulment.

Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J., founder and editor of Ignatius Press, responded sharply to claims by Cardinal Kasper in an email exchange with CNA. He drew from Cardinal Kasper’s Sept. 18 interview with Italian newspaper La Stampa, responding point-by-point to the cardinal’s statements.

In the interview, Cardinal Kasper complained of learning about the book from journalists who had received advance copies of it. The cardinal said that he had not received an advance copy, adding, “In my entire academic life nothing like this has ever happened to me.”

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Pope Francis himself has reaffirmed the indissolubility and lifelong nature of Christian marriage, such as his April 2014 remarks to the bishops of South Africa.

“The holiness and indissolubility of Christian matrimony, often disintegrating under tremendous pressure from the secular world, must be deepened by clear doctrine and supported by the witness of committed married couples,” the Pope said, stressing that these truths must be taught “with great compassion.”

Other critical evaluations of Cardinal Kasper’s position have come from Cardinal Angelo Scola of Milan, Congregation for Bishops prefect Cardinal Marc Ouellet and Cardinal George Pell, the last of whom is on the council of nine cardinals who are special advisers to Pope Francis.

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