VATICAN CITY “The fact of being a single mother does not prevent access to the Eucharist,” and in fact “the ecclesial community must also recognize the fact that these are women who receive the gift of life that they received in the womb carried themselves, accepted and defended themselves and fought every day to raise their children. The Vatican's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, or former Holy Office, once again clearly opposes the Pope's magisterium to any form of what it has defined as “pastoral customs.” And the response to the doubts of a Dominican bishop, signed by Cardinal Prefect Victor Manuel Fernández, also states that this also applies to the “difficult situations” of women who are sometimes forced to “sell their bodies to feed the family.” : “The Christian community is called to do everything possible to help them avoid this very serious risk, rather than harshly condemning them.”
As Jesus shows in the Gospel, “no one can cast the first stone.” In some countries, Cardinal Fernández said, “both priests and some lay people effectively prevent mothers who have had a child out of wedlock from receiving the sacraments and even baptizing their children.” The same bishop who addressed the dicastery said he was concerned because some single mothers “renounce communion for fear of the severity of the clergy and community leaders.” The Prefect of the former Holy Office recalls what Jorge Mario Bergoglio already said in a sermon on September 2, 2012, when he was still Cardinal of Buenos Aires: “There are priests who do not baptize the children of single girls because they do not do.” conceived in the holiness of marriage. These are the hypocrites of today. Those who clericalized the church. Those who keep God's people from salvation. And this poor girl, who could have sent her child back but had the courage to give birth to it, wanders from community to community to have it baptized.
In addition, the Pope recognized the “courage” of these women: “I know that it is not easy to be a single mother, I know that sometimes you are looked at badly, but I tell you one thing: you are a courageous one Woman, because © you were able to give birth to these two daughters. You could have killed them while they were still in your womb, but you respected life, you respected the life within you, and God will reward you for that, he will reward you. Don't be ashamed, walk with your head held high. “I didn't kill my daughters, I gave birth to them!” I congratulate you and may God bless you. More recently, in his message to the Autumn Synod, the Pope denounced “the chauvinistic and dictatorial attitude of those clergy who exaggerate in their ministry and treat the people of God badly.” Therefore, the cardinal says: “Women who have chosen life in this situation and who live very complex lives because of this decision should be encouraged to have access to the saving and consoling power of the sacraments.” And as he addressed the Addressing the Dominican bishop, he concluded: “It is up to you to ensure that such behavior does not occur in your local church.”