in 2007, pope benedict xvi released the apostolic exhortation "sacramentum caritatis." benedict xvi "confirmed the church's practice, based on sacred scripture (cf. "mk" 10:2- 12), of not admitting the divorced and remarried to the sacraments, since their state and their condition of life objectively contradict the loving union of christ and the church signified and made present in the eucharist." with regard to divorced persons living in new unions, benedict xvi states, "finally, where the nullity of the marriage bond is not declared and objective circumstances make it impossible to cease cohabitation, the church encourages these members of the faithful to commit themselves to living their relationship in fidelity to the demands of god's law, as friends, as brother and sister; in this way they will be able to return to the table of the eucharist, taking care to observe the church's established and approved practice in this regard."