Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Pope Francis greets people as he visits Cassano allo Ionio, in Italy's Calabria region, with Bishop Nunzio Galantino of Cassano allo Ionio. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

The Catholic Church should make “unconventional couples” feel at home instead of making them targets of “de facto discrimination,” the leader of the Italian Bishops’ Conference and an ally of Pope Francis said. “Couples in irregular matrimonial situations are also Christians, but they are sometimes looked upon with prejudice,” said Bishop Nunzio Galantino, apparently referring to divorced and remarried Catholics. “The burden of exclusion from the sacraments is an unjustified price to pay, in addition to de facto discrimination,” he said on Aug. 27 in an address to a national conference on liturgy in Orvieto, Italy. Bishop Galantino was Francis’ choice in March to lead the fractious Italian hierarchy. He has spoken about the need for the church to welcome gays and to consider optional celibacy for the priesthood. In his talk, the bishop stressed that everyone should “feel at home” in the church, and especially at Mass—including migrants, the disabled, the poor and those in unconventional relationships.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

As we enter into Holy Week, join America Media for a subscriber-only virtual event with James Martin, S.J., and ‘Jesuitical’ hosts Zac Davis and Ashley McKinless.
America StaffApril 01, 2025
“Having a sensory room in a place of worship is probably more important than anywhere else because everyone should feel welcome in their faith.”
Sean QuinnApril 01, 2025
Sports hasn't always been the most popular topic among America's editors and contributors—unless it was the Grand Old Game, baseball.
James T. KeaneApril 01, 2025
A joint Catholic-Evangelical report found that an overwhelming majority of people impacted by the Trump administration's mass deportations are Christian.