Earlier this week, I posted an article regarding a marriage ceremony which Pope Francis celebrated aboard the Papal airplane while on a recent flight to Chile.
Almost every news account regarding the event seemed to indicate that the wedding was spontaneous.
Now, however, information is coming forth which indicates that the celebration of the Marriage may well have been planned in advance.
On the website of the Chilean newspaper, El Mercurio, published on December 19 , 2017, an article speaks of the same couple, flight attendants named Carlos Ciuffardi and Paula Podest Ruiz, who say they were hoping that Pope Francis would marry them at high altitude during the pre-planned flight.
The same article explains that the two were married civilly but postponed an expected Catholic wedding for eight years. They were hoping that Pope Francis would marry them during the flight.
However, when the news report of the actual wedding ceremony broke, Ciuffardi’s account to the press following the event gave the impression that the wedding was offered and given spontaneously by Pope himself.
Although Director of the Holy See Press Office, Greg Burke. later told the media that the wedding “was not the Pope's idea; it was their idea, but the Pope was happy to do it,” the Holy See’s Vatican News site has done nothing to counteract the impression that the event was spontaneous and unplanned, as it has been portrayed in most of the international media.
Certainly, some Bishops who try to uphold Church norms fostering values such as deliberate marriage preparation, an ecclesial context for a Catholic wedding, and the use of established and reliable texts for expressing consent may have the Podest-Ciuffardi wedding tossed in their face as evidence that, "if Pope Francis does not insist on such legalistic silliness and only cares about whether two people love one another, why shouldn’t they do likewise?”
In some cases, the ministry of conscientious Clergy in this regard may have gotten a bit harder, but perhaps just a bit.
Still, by his positive response to what now seems to have been a request by the flight attendants to have their civil marriage blessed and validated by the Church, the Holy Father may have provided Bishops and Priests with a positive example of what it means to be of service to God’s people.
Perhaps, this moment will allow the Church to step back and question whether or not all the rules and regulations regarding the celebration of weddings are not arcane obstacles to the celebration of the Sacrament.
In my opinion, both the couples and the Church pay far too much attention to the celebration of the Sacrament of Marriage and far too little attention to the reality of love and self-sacrifice the marital bond requires of individuals.
If a couple comes forth committed to each other, fully cognizant and ready to embrace the demands of Marriage, and wish to have their union blessed and validated sacramentally, perhaps the Church, her Bishops and Priests might be a bit more disposed to accommodate their wishes as to how and where the exchange of vows will be celebrated.
Of course, there will be ludicrous requests and not so subtle demands made by some couples who may be unreasonable and even frivolous in their wedding plans, but the vast majority of couples who come to the Church to receive the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony may be presumed to be reasonable people.
Is it all that problematic or unreasonable for the Church to accede to their requests?
Apparently, the Holy Father has shown that he is willing to do so. May Bishops and Pastors show a similar disposition.
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