A devout Australian couple married for 55 years have explained the joys of sex to Pope Francis and senior members of the Catholic Church while calling for the inclusion of homosexual couples within the faith.
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Ron and Mavis Pirola, former members of the Pontifical Council for the Family and directors of the Australian Catholic Marriage and Family Council, were one of six couples chosen to address 200 bishops from around the world at the Vatican's Synod on the Family on Tuesday.
The Sydney couple, who have four children, said married couples need to view sex as an essential foundation for their relationship and spirituality as sexual attraction brought them together and has sustained their marriage for more than half a century.
"That attraction that we first felt and the continued bonding force between us was basically sexual. The little things we did for each other, the telephone calls and love notes, the way we planned our day around each other and the things we shared were outward expressions of our longing to be intimate with each other," they told the crowd, which included Archbishop of Melbourne Denis Hart, the only Australian prelate in attendance.
The Pirolas, who also operate Smart Loving, a relationships website for Catholics, said the inclusion of homosexuals into the church would be a "model of evangelisation" for parishes around the world.
They also called for "church documents" to be updated for modern-day Catholics and for future generations of followers.
"Occasionally we looked at church documents, but they seemed to be from another planet with difficult language and not terribly relevant to our own experiences," they said.
"We need new ways and relatable language to touch people's hearts."
The Pirolas' presentation left members of the audience, which consisted predominantly of celibate men, speechless.
"That's not what we bishops talk about mostly, quite honestly," British Cardinal Vincent Nichols told the Associated Press.
"But to hear that as the opening contribution did, I think, open an area ... and it was a recognition that that is central to the wellbeing of marriage often."
Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, the local organisation that selected the Pirolas to participate in the synod, were pleased with the couple's address.
"Dr and Mrs Pirola were selected by the bishops because of their extensive experience in marriage and family issues. We are grateful for their contribution to the synod," a spokeswoman said.
Former NSW premier and practising Catholic Kristina Keneally said she was grateful the ground-breaking address was made to the most senior levels of the Catholic Church at a meeting of some of the world's most senior clerics who are focused on change.
"The Australian sense of honesty and frankness is a welcome gift to the Catholic Church," she said.
"Ron and Mavis Pirola have said what many Australian Catholics have been saying for years regarding divorced people, single parents and homosexuals who also want to have a relationship with God."
"The response from some of the bishops was both amusing and depressing. Amusing because it's a little embarrassing as the issues are a little outside their comfort zone, but it's also depressing because they have been obsessed with ideas of sex and relationships for decades without having any real-life experience."
The synod – a two-week meeting of bishops from around the world – was an initiative of Pope Francis for the church to workshop how traditional teachings on a range of family issues such as marriage, divorce and homosexuality can be made more relevant to today's Catholics. The pontiff is expected to issue a final document with recommendations offered by the synod next year.
Four of the 16 experts selected to attend the conference are Australian laypeople. The director of the Archdiocese of Sydney's Life, Marriage and Family Centre, Chris Meney, and Billings Ovulation Method specialist Joan Clements have also joined the Pirolas in Rome.
