Pope Francis has lamented that marraige to many Christians was more about hosting a social event, rather than a life time commitment.
In an interview with La Nacion, Pope Francis opened up about the synod of bishops addressing several issues the Church is facing right now. He shared how the synod is processed, the current situation of Christians planning a wedding and families dealing with homosexuals members.
"The family is so beaten up, young people don´t get married. What´s the problem? When they finally come to get married, having already moved in together, we think it´s enough to offer them three talks to get them ready for marriage. But it´s not enough because the great majority are unaware of the meaning of a lifetime commitment," he said.
He also shared what former pope Benedict said last year about Christians being unaware of the lifetime commitment in marriage.
As the conversation got more intense, the pope spoke of one couple who planned to get married after living together. He shared how the couple was busy with the wedding preparation but none of them expressed what their marriage truly means.
"Indeed, getting married should be celebrated, because you need courage to get married and that should be commended. However, neither of them made any comment at all on what this meant to them," he said.
"What do I mean? That for a great many people getting married is just a social event. The religious element doesn´t surface in the least. So how can the church step in and help? If they are not ready, do we slam the door in their face? It is no minor issue," the pope added.
The Catholic leader also was asked about gay marriage being "backed off" by bishops during the synod. He said the synod was a process and its draft is meant to record all the processes. He also said no one mentioned about homosexual marriage but they addressed issues of a family raising a homosexual child.
"Nobody mentioned homosexual marriage at the synod, it did not cross our minds," he said. "What we did talk about was of how a family with a homosexual child, whether a son or a daughter, goes about educating that child, how the family bears up, how to help that family to deal with that somewhat unusual situation."
Then he shared a family in Buenos Aires who has the same case. He reiterated that they have to find ways on how parents can stand by their son or daughter on being homosexual.
Pope Francis also told the news that he is not afraid of what the synod's road will take him. He declared protections of their works so the Holy Spirit can move forward.
Finally, about divorce, he said communion is not the solution but integration.
"Things need to change, our standards need to change," he said on the divorce issue.