The cardinal recognized that “there are certainly ‘difficult situations’ that need to be discerned and pastorally accompanied. It may happen that some of these mothers, given the fragility of her situation, sometimes resort to selling her body to support her family. The Christian community is called to do everything possible to help her avoid this very serious risk, rather than judging her harshly.”
“Often, when the biblical episode of the adulterous woman is discussed (Jn 8, 1-11), the final phrase is highlighted: ‘sin no more.’ Certainly, Jesus always invites us to change our lives, to respond more faithfully to the will of God, to live with greater dignity. However, that phrase does not constitute the central message of this evangelical pericope, which is simply the invitation to recognize that no one can cast the first stone.
Citing the apostolic exhortation The joy of loveCardinal Fernández indicated that “that is why Pope Francis, referring to mothers who must raise their children alone, remembers that ‘in the difficult situations experienced by the most needy people, the Church must take special care to understand, console, integrate, avoiding imposing a series of rules on them as if they were a rock, which achieves the effect of making them feel judged and abandoned precisely by that Mother who is called to bring them the mercy of God.’”
“Finally, it is necessary to remember the words of the Holy Father in his message to the Synod in which he emphasized the feminine and maternal face of the Church and denounced the ‘sexist and dictatorial attitudes’ of those ministers who ‘exceed themselves in their service and mistreat the God’s people’. It is up to you to ensure that this type of behavior does not occur in your local church,” he said.