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Pope Francis has admitted that it may be “morally necessary” for some families to split up, marking a dramatic change of tone in the Catholic Church’s attitude to troubled marriages.
“It is true…that there are cases when separations are inevitable. Sometimes they can even become morally necessary,” the pontiff said during his weekly audience in Saint Peter’s Square.
“Sometimes, it can even be morally necessary, when it’s about shielding the weaker spouse or young children from the more serious wounds caused by intimidation and violence, humiliation and exploitation,” he said.
Francis said there were many families in “irregular situations” and the question should be how to best help them, and “how to accompany them so that the child does not become daddy or mummy’s hostage”.