English Bishop Insists Pastoral Care of Couples Must Never Compromise Indissolubility [CathCauc]

The Rt Rev. Mark Davies, the Bishop of Shrewsbury, insists that the pastoral accompaniment of couples in painful situations must "never compromise our faith in the marriage bond." Bishop Davies defended the indissolubility of marriage during a homily he delivered at the annual Diocesan Celebration of Marriage. Referring to Our Lady of Lourdes, Bishop Davies also stressed the necessity of penance in the context of the Holy Eucharist:

Pope Francis reminds us that, amid the present crisis of the family, the Church never abandons any soul. She ardently desires to accompany and bring healing to everyone in every situation, however painful. Yet, this accompaniment must never compromise our faith in the marriage bond. On this Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, we cannot fail to hear Our Lady’s urgent message to the modern world of prayer, of penance and making a place in all our lives for the Mass, the Holy Eucharist so we can truly live our Christian calling.

Bishop Davies quoted extensively from Pope Francis's apostolic exhortation, Amoris Laetitia, in his explanation of the value and significance of the indissolubility of marriage:

Pope Francis tells us that these Gospel words must never be regarded as “a dry and lifeless doctrine”, still less as “a burden” (Amoris Laetitia n. 5). No, the Holy Father insists (AL n.62), the indissolubility of marriage is “a gift” enabling spouses to marry truly “for love” (AL n.131). This is the love which Saint Paul says “delights in the truth and is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes” (I Cor. 13: 8). For Christians, marriage can never be reduced to a social convention open to being broken or refashioned. Pope Francis insists (AL 63): “Through the Church, Christ bestows on marriage and the family, the grace…” which makes marriage a great Sacrament, reflecting as it does the unfailing love of Christ for His Church (cf. Eph. 5: 25-26, 31-32) The grace of this indissoluble bond serves as the guarantee of the permanence of married life in the face of human sin and frailty; it provides security for the protection and education of children; and accords with our human dignity, for being made in God’s image and likeness we are capable of such love and lasting commitment.

Bishop Davies issued a pastoral letter in response to the publication of Amoris Laetitia that reassured his people that Pope Francis's post-synodal document did not change Church teaching on marriage:

The Pope is not a political leader making up new policies to fit the shifting tides of public opinion. The Holy Father holds a greater responsibility as the successor of Saint Peter to whom Jesus Himself said: “I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail … and when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22: 32) [...] Some reports expressed disappointment that the Church fails to conform herself to the prevailing western morality. Yet the Church, seeks to conform herself to Christ’s Word not to the world (cf. Dei Verbum n.10).

Comment

The Bishop of Shrewsbury's reference to Dei Verbum 10 is significant because it sets out the correct relationship between sacred Scripture, Tradition and the Magisterium in safeguarding and expounding divine Revelation, including this:

This teaching office is not above the word of God, but serves it, teaching only what has been handed on, listening to it devoutly, guarding it scrupulously and explaining it faithfully in accord with a divine commission and with the help of the Holy Spirit, it draws from this one deposit of faith everything which it presents for belief as divinely revealed. (DV 10).

Bishop Mark Davies' homily at the Diocesan Celebration of Marriage begins with a passage from sacred Scripture that must be the foundation of the Church's pastoral accompaniment of couples, “What God has united, man must not divide” (Mk. 10: 9):

Our faith is not based on a retro vision of marriage from a previous era. No, our faith in marriage is based on what was the Creator’s purpose from the very beginning, as the Book of Genesis reminds us. The call to man and woman was to rise to a love that was both faithful and enduring, and formed the secure foundation for the family. When Jesus Himself reaffirmed this teaching, divorce and remarriage were widely practised. Yet his words were clear and emphatic for all times and all generations: “What God has united, man must not divide” (Mk. 10: 9), words which find an echo in every celebration of Christian Marriage.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.