Posted on 06/16/2016 7:12:48 PM PDT by ebb tide
Pope Francis said Thursday that the great majority of sacramental marriages today are not valid, because couples do not enter into them with a proper understanding of permanence and commitment.
We live in a culture of the provisional, the Pope said in impromptu remarks June 16. After addressing the Diocese of Romes pastoral congress, he held a question-and-answer session.
A layman asked about the crisis of marriage and how Catholics can help educate youth in love, help them learn about sacramental marriage, and help them overcome their resistance, delusions and fears.
The Pope answered from his own experience.
I heard a bishop say some months ago that he met a boy that had finished his university studies, and said I want to become a priest, but only for 10 years. Its the culture of the provisional. And this happens everywhere, also in priestly life, in religious life, he said.
Its provisional, and because of this the great majority of our sacramental marriages are null. Because they say yes, for the rest of my life! but they dont know what they are saying. Because they have a different culture. They say it, they have good will, but they dont know.
He spoke of his encounter with a woman in Buenos Aires who reproached him. She said that priests study for the priesthood for years and can get permission to leave the priesthood to marry and have a family. For the laity, this woman said, we have to do the sacrament for our entire lives, and indissolubly, to us laity they give four (marriage preparation) conferences, and this is for our entire life.
Pope Francis said that marriage preparation is a problem, and that marital problems are also linked to social situations surrounding weddings.
He recounted his encounter with a man engaged to be married who was looking for a church that would complement his fiancées dress and would not be far from a restaurant.
Its social issue, and how do we change this? I dont know, the Pope said.
He noted that as Archbishop of Buenos Aires he had prohibited marriages in the case of shotgun weddings where the prospective bride was pregnant. He did this on the grounds there was a question of the spouses free consent to marry.
Maybe they love each other, and Ive seen there are beautiful cases where, after two or three years they got married, he said. And I saw them entering the church, father, mother and child in hand. But they knew well (what) they did.
Pope Francis attributed the marriage crisis to people who dont know what the sacrament is and dont know the beauty of the sacrament.
They dont know that its indissoluble, they dont know that its for your entire life. Its hard, the Pope said.
He added that a majority of couples attending marriage prep courses in Argentina typically cohabitated.
They prefer to cohabitate, and this is a challenge, a task. Not to ask why dont you marry? No, to accompany, to wait, and to help them to mature, help fidelity to mature.
He said that in Argentinas northeast countryside, couples have a child and live together. They have a civil wedding when the child goes to school, and when they become grandparents they get married religiously.
Its a superstition, because marriage frightens the husband. Its a superstition we have to overcome, the Pope said. Ive seen a lot of fidelity in these cohabitations, and I am sure that this is a real marriage, they have the grace of a real marriage because of their fidelity, but there are local superstitions, etc.
Marriage is the most difficult area of pastoral work, he said.
The Heretic Bunny; he keeps going and going ...
I don’t know much about marriage. But my wife does. She’s been at it 27 years tomorrow.
There seems to be one invalid Pope running around.
Pope Ché rides again.
Think a sacramental marriage is by definition valid and not subject to declaration of nullity.
An 80-year old virgin giving advice on marriage. No, thanks.
I guess my marriage is invalid. My wife and I have only been married for over 34 years and this September we will have been exclusively together for 38.
Well crap. You mean we just wasted the past 30 years puttin’ up with each other? Thanks pope a dope. Oh crap again. We’re not Catholic so do we still fall under this comment? :)
well, on this he has a point. Till Death Do Us Part doesn’t hold much water anymore.
Meanwhile, actual marriages in actual churches do not get this Pope's approval?
lol! I got married late in life, but it still seems too early!!!
What do annulments cost these days?
Congratulations on your anniversary.
The rock star pope strikes again. Your ascension to being pope is invalid too buffoon.
So let's just equate marriage to the "irregular unions", mentioned numerous time in Amoris Laetitia, and give Holy Communion to everyone.
Can't argue that one.
I never paid a lot of attention to the Popes over the years. As an outsider I thought they were all basically pretty decent human beings. Well, I'm paying attention to this one. And I didn't think that's a good thing.
At first he just annoyed me, mainly with his whining about govts not spending enough OPM while he sits comfortably on over a trillion dollars. But now it's obviously pathological. He seems to have no inner monologue but just blurts out whatever pops into his head. I hope the RCs can quietly retire him before he does irreversible damage.
Sounds like almost everyone qualifies for a no-fault “annulment”
So a sacramental marriage is just another one of Francis' "ideals" that one may never reach. Francis is just laying more groundwork for his new quick-pass annulment process, aka Catholic divorce.
Well, all the faggot ones are, that’s for sure.
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