An Argentinian woman is claiming Pope Francis phoned her on Monday with some doctrine-breaking news.
The popular pontiff, who is known for making cold calls to lucky members of his flock, reportedly had an important message to share with Jacqui Lisbona and her previously divorced husband, Julio Sabetta.
“A divorcee who takes communion is not doing anything wrong,” the pontiff purportedly said during the call, according to the Telegraph and La Stampa.
A Vatican representative confirmed to CNN that the call took place, but said the content of the call was a private matter between a pastor and his parishioner. If the couple’s version of events is true, the call signals Francis’ openness to re-examining centuries-old church doctrine.
Divorcees who remarry have historically been banned from participating in communion, one of the Catholic Church’s most important sacraments. Unless the previous marriage is annulled, the Church believes entering into a new relationship is tantamount to adultery. Anyone who marries a divorced person is also thought to be an adulterer.
Francis spoke about the hot-button issue during a Mass in March, saying that divorced people should be “accompanied” and not “condemned.”
But that’s not how Lisbona felt.
The woman married Sabetta in a civil ceremony more than 20 years ago. Although she is happy with her current husband and has two teenage daughters from the marriage, she still isn’t allowed to take communion at her local church.
“[The priest] told me that every time I went home, I was going back to living in sin,” she said.
She wrote to Francis six months ago about her troubles, confessing that she was considering taking communion at a church where she is a stranger, but fearing that it would be “violating Church rules.”
Her answer reportedly came straight from the top.
Her husband says he picked up the phone when Francis called their home in Argentina’s Sante Fe region. He later handed the call to his wife.
“One of the most wonderful things in my life has just happened — receiving a telephone call from none other than Papa Francesco,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
Sabetta says Francis introduced himself as “Father Bergoglio” before apologizing for taking six months to reply.
“She spoke with the Pope, and he said she was absolved of all sins and she could go and get the Holy Communion because she was not doing anything wrong,” Sabetta said, according to CNN.
In response to Lisbona’s priest, Francis reportedly said, “There are some priests who are more papist than the Pope.”
Francis has asked bishops around the world to survey members of their parishes about divorce and other cultural issues — such as contraception and same-sex marriage. The heads of the church will discuss these issues during a synod in October.
While they wait for results from that meeting, Sabetta said the call from Francis was a blessing.
“I’m very happy, because I’m not the only one divorced. There are a lot of people who are divorced, and I hope that … that it happens for all divorced people and all those who want to get the Holy Communion,” Sabetta said.
