Is Pope Francis ‘the son of divorced parents’?

Last updated on: August 9, 2016 at 2:49 pm by Deacon Greg Kandra

Is Pope Francis ‘the son of divorced parents’? 2016-08-09T14:49:21-04:00 Deacon Greg Kandra

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

This story has been making the rounds of social media:

In a document that lays down revised foundations for the Catholic Church’s teaching on a host of issues related to family life, Pope Francis reminded married couples that a good marriage is a dynamic process:

“Love does not have to be perfect for us to value it,” Pope Francis said in Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love), a 200-page “apostolic exhortation” to the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics.

The document cites contemporary challenges faced by families throughout the world, reflecting on the Pope’s instinctive tendency to try to make the Church seem a more merciful, less judgmental body in relation to those faithful who find themselves in “irregular” situations.

In a lecture recently held at Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro City, a Jesuit academic and author explained that the apostolic exhortation asks the church to help families make good decisions in life, taking into consideration their own struggles and issues.

“It is about taking the time, giving something the time it needs. Pope Francis wants us to be gradual about our pastoral care and not looking for instant results,” said Fr Michael Kirwan SJ, director of University of London’s Heythrop Institute for Religion and Society (HIRS).

The story notes:

Kirwan underscored patience in the church’s pastoral care and ministry to families.The apostolic exhortation, he said, asked married couples, families, and pastoral ministers to care for those in need of the Lord’s mercy and healing.

Amoris Laetitia encouraged the church to consider the complexities of people’s lives and to respect people’s reasons behind their moral decisions.

Pope Francis, himself the son of divorced parents, said that the aim of the church is to “accompany, discern, and integrate” the people who fell short of the Christian ideals.

Whoa. That last paragraph made me do a double take. It has raised a few eyebrows around the Twitterverse, as well, with people wondering if it’s true.

I went scrambling through all the online resources I could find. No biography of the pontiff mentions anything about his parents being divorced.

I suspect that author of this story, Stephan Pedroza, is confusing Pope Francis with Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, who has spoken of the trauma in his own life as a child of divorce. He also might have conflated the pope’s biography with that of his sister—who is divorced.

To set the record straight:

[Jorge Bergoglio] was born in Buenos Aires on 17 December 1936, the son of Italian immigrants. His father Mario was an accountant employed by the railways and his mother Regina Sivori was a committed wife dedicated to raising their five children.

As far as I can tell, they stayed married their entire lives. (Also worth noting: divorce wasn’t legal in Argentina until 1987.) If anyone has other information, please let me know.

Photo: CNN

Uncategorized

Previous Post

August 9, 2016

Descendants of King David launch lawsuit to reclaim Temple Mount

Next Post

August 10, 2016 A deacon's daughter loses the battle with bipolar disorder: "She was a beautiful child of God"

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category "Mad Men" 9/11 advent All Things New Amazing video amazing videos amazon america Anglicans Anti-Catholicism art ascension thursday ash wednesday Atheists baltimore Bible Bishops Blogging bonnie engstrom Books bridgeport Brooklyn Chaplains children christian art christmas Church Churches CNEWA Converts criticism Deacons Death Penalty easter eastern christian Eastern Christians Ecumenism education Education Eucharist Europe euthanasia Evangelization Exorcism Family Feasts Gay rights Good Friday Great links Great Moments in Journalism Hanging with the saints heather renshaw Hispanic Catholics Hispanics History homelies Homilies Humor Hymn of the Week Immigration indianapolis Inspiration Interfaith news ireland Jesus Jews Journalism Judaism lent Liturgy logos Marriage Mary Media Medical news Mental health Middle East Monks Movies Music Muslims My world and welcome to it New Evangelization new york News Nuns Parenting Parish life peoria Persecution Politics politics Pope pope francis pope john paul Prayer Preaching Priests Pro-life Quote of the day radio rebecca frech ripp Ripped from the headlines rippred from the headlines Sacraments saints Scripture sex abuse Sex abuse crisis SEX ABUSE CRISIS TAGGED WITH: SEX ABUSE CRISIS The people in the pews the visitation project theatre This & that Thomas Merton Trappists TV Uncategorized uncategorized VATICAN Vatican vocation Vocations Voices & Views Women Worth a thousand words Writing Year of Faith year of mercy young people

Select a Month December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was Rahab's husband?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Boaz Obed Jesse Salmon

Books by This Author Books by Deacon Greg Kandra

See All Titles »