In one of his last writings, which remains unpublished, Pope Francis counseled young Catholics about marriage. The text, a foreword for a book by a foundation that publishes church teachings for young people around the world in 70 languages, doesn't break from doctrine, the New York Times reports. But it's affirming, reflecting Francis' pastoral style, and possibly especially meaningful to readers in light of the pope's death last week. "It's a confirmation of a legacy," said Raúl Zegarra, a Harvard professor of Catholicism. "It's really a classic text by the pope."
Francis writes about love and commitment, focusing on the power of it and the courage a couple shows in deciding to "transform their love into something great"—rather than admonishing them about divorce. "It's characteristic of the way he teaches," said Brett C. Hoover, a Catholic theologian at Loyola Marymount University, per the Times. The pope likens marriage to the tango, which he says he danced in his youth in Argentina. He says the dancers "experience closeness and distance, sensuality, attention, discipline and dignity. They rejoice in love and understand what it might mean to give themselves to someone completely."
He acknowledges that many marriages don't last, saying that the readers' parents, for example, might have been "unable to take their love to completion." That's no reason to avoid the commitment, Francis writes. "Love wants to be permanent; 'until further notice' isn't love," he says. The YOUCAT Foundation's book will await a replacement foreword from the next pope. But the Times has posted the text here. (More Pope Francis stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
