Francis must be talking about his sister

...Maria Elena Bergoglio

When did the Church ever say divorced people were excommunicated?



for some clarity:

"Let special care be taken that the people be well instructed in the precepts of Christian wisdom, so that they may always remember that marriage was not instituted by the will of man, but, from the very beginning, by the authority and command of God; that it does not admit of plurality of wives or husbands; that Christ, the Author of the New Covenant, raised it from a rite of nature to be a sacrament, and gave to His Church legislative and judicial power with regard to the bond of union. On this point the very greatest care must be taken to instruct them, lest their minds should be led into error by the unsound conclusions of adversaries who desire that the Church should be deprived of that power."

His Holiness Pope Leo XIII

On Christian Marriage

February 10, 1880

• read Pope Leo XIII's entire address here

Questions & Answers

from the Baltimore Catechism

Q. 1023. Can the bond of Christian marriage be dissolved by any human power?
A. The bond of Christian marriage cannot be dissolved by any human power.

Q. 1024. Does not a divorce granted by courts of justice break the bond of marriage?
A. Divorce granted by courts of justice or by any human power does not break the bond of marriage, and one who makes use of such a divorce to marry again while the former husband or wife lives commits a sacrilege and lives in the sin of adultery. A civil divorce may give a sufficient reason for the persons to live apart and it may determine their rights with regard to support, the control of the children and other temporal things, but it has no effect whatever upon the bond and spiritual nature of the Sacrament.

Q. 1025. Does not the Church sometimes allow husband and wife to separate and live apart?
A. The Church sometimes, for very good reasons, does allow husband and wife to separate and live apart; but that is not dissolving the bond of marriage, or divorce as it is called, for though separated they are still husband and wife, and neither can marry again till the other dies.

Q. 1026. Has not the Church sometimes allowed Catholics once married to separate and marry again?
A. The Church has never allowed Catholics once really married to separate and marry again, but it has sometimes declared persons apparently married free to marry again, because their first marriage was null; that is, no marriage on account of some impediment not discovered till after the ceremony.

Q. 1027. What evils follow divorce so commonly claimed by those outside the true Church and granted by civil authority?
A. The evils that follow divorce so commonly claimed by those outside the true Church and granted by civil authority are very many; but chiefly:

1. A disregard for the sacred character of the Sacrament and for the spiritual welfare of the children;
2. The loss of the true idea of home and family followed by bad morals and sinful living.

Q. 1042. Why should Catholics avoid mixed marriages?
A. Catholics should avoid mixed marriages:

1. Because they are displeasing to the Church and cannot bring with them the full measure of God's grace and blessing;
2. Because the children should have the good example of both parents in the practice of their religion;
3. Because such marriages give rise to frequent disputes on religious questions between husband and wife and between their relatives;
4. Because the one not a Catholic, disregarding the sacred character of the Sacrament, may claim a divorce and marry again, leaving the Catholic married and abandoned.