Unknown to many, official Catholic documents and directives which seek to be faithful to Christ's teachings and the Church's long traditions are also surprisingly flexible in their applications to specific pastoral situations. While reflecting firmness and fidelity, they, at the same time, frequently mirror in their flexibility a kind and gentle spirit. As Pope Benedict XVI stated recently in a conversation with four German broadcast journalists: "Christianity, Catholicism isn't a collection of prohibitions: It's a positive option. It's very important that we look at it again because this idea has almost completely disappeared today." This book has been written especially for priests, deacons, and the increasing number of pastoral ministers who regularly encounter situations like those treated in this volume. Readers will find here both reassurance and challenge as they seek to be firm but kind and gentle in applying the directives of the Church to individual pastoral circumstances. Book jacket.