Posted on 04/10/2015 6:19:36 PM PDT by Mrs. Don-o
The argument that divorced and civilly remarried Catholics (lacking annulments) be allowed to receive the Eucharist is kind of like 40+ year-old, re-heated mashed potatoes: it’s been spit out by the authority of Church time and again, but for some reason keeps appearing on the spoon of stubborn theologians and bishops who keep trying to trick us into eating it by making cutesie airplane noises.
In an essay for Communio entitled “The Merciful Gift Of Indissolubility and the Question Of Pastoral Care For Civilly Divorced And Remarried Catholics”, Nicholas J. Healy, JR. traces the history of this argument, as well as four of the main times the Church has lovingly but resoundingly shut it down. I’ve listed my findings from the document below in order to provide some context for this issue that’s sure to arise once again at the October 2015 Synod on the Family.
1. 1965 and Vatican II:
The argument for allowing communion in certain circumstances to divorced and remarried Catholics can be traced back, at least in recent history, to the fourth session of the Second Vatican Council. Archbishop Elias Zoghby, the patriarchal vicar of the Melkites in Egypt, proposed that the Eastern practice of tolerating remarriage in certain cases should be considered. Even though Zobhby triggered a swift and negative response, dissenters still use this instance as an example in their favor.
Shut down by Pope Paul VI: "... the Church has no authority to change what is of divine law."
At the request of Pope Paul VI, all normal activities of the Council were suspended until the proposal was addressed. Cardinal Journet was asked by the Pope to respond to Zoghby, and citing Mk 10:2 and 1 Cor 7:10–11, he concluded that “the teaching of the Catholic Church on the indissolubility of sacramental marriage is the very teaching of the Lord Jesus that has been revealed to us and has always been safeguarded and proclaimed in the Church . . . the Church has no authority to change what is of divine law.”
2. 1970s: Dissent from Catholic Theological Society
Despite the Church’s response at the Second Vatican Council, the 1970s saw a barrage of publications from Catholic theologians and bishops advocating for a change in Church teaching, particularly in the United States and in Germany. In 1972, a study committee commissioned by the Catholic Theological Society of America issued an “Interim Pastoral Statement” on “The Problem of Second Marriages,” arguing that not only should the divorced and remarried be admitted back to the sacraments, but that the Church needed to rethink and redefine the very ideas of consummation and indissolubility. That same year in Germany, several prominent bishops and theologians such as Schnackenburg, Ratzinger*, Lehmann, and Böckle wrote volumes on the matter, arguing for leniency in certain circumstances similar to practices in the Orthodox Church (called oikonomia, which roughly translates to “stewardship” or “management of a household”).
*Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, officially retracted his support of communion for the divorced and remarried in a letter published in The Tablet in 1991, and has several times since voiced his support for Church teaching as expressed in “Familiaris Consortio”.
The Church holds a Synod on the Family in 1980, as divorces were on the rise throughout the world. The result of the 1980 Synod was Pope John Paul II’s 1981 apostolic exhortation “Familiaris Consortio” (roughly, “Of Family Partnership”), which contains beautiful reflections on the role of the family in God’s divine plan, and specifically includes a section about irregular situations. Addressing the situation of the divorced and civilly remarried, Pope John Paul II says the following:
Together with the Synod, I earnestly call upon pastors and the whole community of the faithful to help the divorced, and with solicitous care to make sure that they do not consider themselves as separated from the Church, for as baptized persons they can, and indeed must, share in her life. They should be encouraged to listen to the word of God, to attend the Sacrifice of the Mass, to persevere in prayer, to contribute to works of charity and to community efforts in favor of justice, to bring up their children in the Christian faith, to cultivate the spirit and practice of penance and thus implore, day by day, God’s grace. Let the Church pray for them, encourage them and show herself a merciful mother, and thus sustain them in faith and hope.
However, the Church reaffirms her practice, which is based upon Sacred Scripture, of not admitting to Eucharistic Communion divorced persons who have remarried. They are unable to be admitted thereto from the fact that their state and condition of life objectively contradict that union of love between Christ and the Church which is signified and effected by the Eucharist. Besides this, there is another special pastoral reason: if these people were admitted to the Eucharist, the faithful would be led into error and confusion regarding the Church’s teaching about the indissolubility of marriage.
Shut down by Pope John Paul II: "...the Church reaffirms her practice, which is based upon Sacred Scripture,"
The Church holds a Synod on the Family in 1980, as divorces were on the rise throughout the world. The result of the 1980 Synod was Pope John Paul II’s 1981 apostolic exhortation “Familiaris Consortio” (roughly, “Of Family Partnership”), which contains beautiful reflections on the role of the family in God’s divine plan, and specifically includes a section about irregular situations. Addressing the situation of the divorced and civilly remarried, Pope John Paul II says the following:
Together with the Synod, I earnestly call upon pastors and the whole community of the faithful to help the divorced, and with solicitous care to make sure that they do not consider themselves as separated from the Church, for as baptized persons they can, and indeed must, share in her life. They should be encouraged to listen to the word of God, to attend the Sacrifice of the Mass, to persevere in prayer, to contribute to works of charity and to community efforts in favor of justice, to bring up their children in the Christian faith, to cultivate the spirit and practice of penance and thus implore, day by day, God’s grace. Let the Church pray for them, encourage them and show herself a merciful mother, and thus sustain them in faith and hope.
However, the Church reaffirms her practice, which is based upon Sacred Scripture, of not admitting to Eucharistic Communion divorced persons who have remarried. They are unable to be admitted thereto from the fact that their state and condition of life objectively contradict that union of love between Christ and the Church which is signified and effected by the Eucharist. Besides this, there is another special pastoral reason: if these people were admitted to the Eucharist, the faithful would be led into error and confusion regarding the Church’s teaching about the indissolubility of marriage.
3. 1993: Dissent from German theologians
Three prominent German bishops, Oskar Saier, Walter Kasper, and Karl Lehmann, publish a letter in 1993 on pastoral care for the divorced and remarried, essentially saying that while what Pope John Paul II said in Familiaris Consortio is very nice and generally true, it can’t possibly apply to every difficult situation that arises. These bishops then proposed their own guide for divorced and remarried Catholics to determine their worthiness for the sacraments, as guided by a pastor. There were three conditions the German bishops laid out for the possibility of communion: the individuals should be repentant for the failure of the first marriage; the second civil marriage has to “prove itself over time as stable”; and the “commitments assumed in the second marriage have to be accepted.” Under these conditions, the bishops argued, civilly remarried people could in good conscience receive the Eucharist without the need to live continently.
Shut it down: In 1994, The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith reaaffirms Catholic teaching
The CDF (Congregation n the Doctrine of the Faith) in 1994 issued an indirect response to the German bishops in the “Letter Concerning Communion”, which said church teaching “cannot be modified for difficult situations.” While it never mentioned the letter from the German bishops, it was clearly written in response to it. The Congregation’s letter cited passages from Scripture, Familiaris Consortio, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church to support Church teaching, and addressed false notions of conscience that would allow individuals to determine for themselves whether or not their first marriage was valid.
4. 1994-2005: Various bishops continue call to re-open the discussion
Literature published by various bishops and theologians still showed a tendency to stray from Pope John Paul II’s teaching in “Familiaris Consortio”, leading the Church to call for a Synod on the Eucharist in 2005, during which the issue was studied and addressed extensively.
Shut it down: Pope Benedict XVI - Sacamentus Caritatus
Pope Benedict XVI issued a post-Synod apostolic exhortation called “Sacramentum Caritatis”, in which he confirmed Church doctrine and practice. He also called for a deeper theological understanding of the relationship between the sacrament of marriage and the sacrament of the and the sacrament of the Eucharist, and asked for better pastoral efforts in the area of marriage preparation for young people.
There are two important things to remember when considering this issue. The first is that the pain and separation felt by divorced and remarried Catholics is real, and the exhortation of the recent Popes to reach out to these people in the Church should be taken seriously by clergy and lay faithful alike. The second thing to remember is that while the pain of the divorced and remarried is a serious issue, it is not the only important and pressing issue in the Church at the moment, with thousands of Christians fleeing their homes or being slaughtered at the hands of Islamic extremists both in the Middle East and Africa.
Shut it down: the Holy Spirit will move, as He always has, to protect Catholic doctrine and unity
Still, because the issue continues to arise, the Synod Fathers will address it at the Synod on the Family later this year, and Pope Francis will write an apostolic exhortation on the matter some time after that. Let us continue to pray for all in Church leadership, and that those in authority have the courage to trust that the Holy Spirit will shut it down, as he has always done when erroneous proposals threaten Church doctrine and unity.
(I'm going to walk --- which I need to do every day --- and say the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Seems like I can only say that walking. You'll be in it!)
Yes! :o)
You have been sadly misinformed, and I will happily explain why.
First of all, there are 30,000 - 60,000 annulments granted every year in the US alone (I'm looking at the span of the last 10 years), and very few, if any of them, are Kennedy-rich. So your claim is false on the face of it.
Second, In his book Annulments and the Catholic Church, canon lawyer Edward Peters states, "In the U.S. most tribunals charge anywhere from $200 to $1,000 for adjudicating a standard nullity case… These fees are typically payable over time, and there are means for having fees reduced or eliminated in cases of financial hardship (canon 1464)” (p. 7-8).
Peters goes on to explain that the expenses paid out of this fee are the cost of retrieval and printing of documents, the expense of personally locating and interviewing the respondent and witnesses, meetings with canon lawyers from both sides, esp. if the annulment is contested.
On the other hand, if the attempted marriage was indisputably null from the documents alone (e.g. proof that one of the parties was already validly married to somebody else and so the attempted marriage was actually bigamy), the petitioner would have an expedited and much less expensive process.
'Documentary cases' are handled very rapidly and for a much smaller fee, $25 or less being common.”
Compare that to the cost of a civil divorce!
Bishop Zubik of the Diocese of Pittsburgh has just this month announced that there will be no fees for annulments in his diocese. Can't get much cheaper than free.
Do you understand? I hope this was helpful.
“For 2,015 years the Catholic church has been doing just fine thank you”
But of course, this is simply your opinion and you’ve stated you are a member of that denomination. In regards to the actual problems, it appears you gloss over them to say it is doing just fine. No problem. I just realize you are stating a biased opinion.
“If I had a nickel for every time I heard or read that the Catholic Church is in trouble, I’d have...a lot of nickels!”
I couldn’t have said it better. It has many, many troubles. Nickels, I’ll leave that to you to collect the big money.
“If I had a nickel for every time I heard or read that the Catholic Church is in trouble, I’d have...a lot of nickels!”
I couldn’t have said it better. It has many, many troubles. Nickels, I’ll leave that to you to collect the big money.
Dear, dear Mrs. Don-o, thank-you, bless you. I have never had anyone include me into the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. I have just said today’s psalms and have included you in my prayers.
Please be careful when you walk and pray. Some times I will say the rosary when I drive, but I become too meditative and I am not there, fully paying attention to the road. I am glad you do not have that problem.
So, I say to and with you:
“Open to me the gates of justice;
I will enter them and give thanks to the LORD.
This is the gate of the LORD;
the just shall enter it.
I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me
and have been my savior.
I will give thanks to you, for you have answered me.
Alleluia, Alleluia
Praise be to God
God Bless you Mrs. and Mr. Don-o. And have a great walk with the Lord, Our Lady and Jesus Christ this beautiful spring day, Easter 2015. And have a deep and meaningful Mercy Sunday tomorrow.
For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
I have to be careful when I do my prayer-walking, because some of the sidewalks in my neighborhood have uneven pavement. I am still using a quad cane and am at moderate risk of falling. I try to remember to frequently scope out the next couple of yards ahead to make sure I don't tipsy-over on a patch of broken pavement.
I can imagine you driving: "Caution: Meditative State Ahead"! Please keep your mind on the road, my dearest dear!
I am sure everyone who sees you walking with your quad cane admires you and if they knew you were being prayerful, they would ask you for a blessing. Thank-you for being a vivid example of our beautiful faith. And watch those buckling sidewalks as you make your way stepping purposefully along the path of the most generous gift of all, mercy from Above.
Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
Divorce. The original war on marriage.
“So... only Catholics like the Kennedys who can pay huge amounts of to the Church for an “annulment” can get remarried.
Sorta like selling “indulgences.”
___________
Does stupid hurt?
Both of these are factually untrue, in fact they are outrageous. Despite the uneven discipline or outright hypocrisies on the part of certain bishops, these are both violations --- rather than examples ---- of the holy doctrines of the Catholic Church.
Link to LifeSiteNews, March 21, 2015
Souls falling into mortal sin could never be the "least" of our problems, especially for the priests and bishops who are entrusted to be shepherds of souls.
If a person wishes to seek God, they are warmly invited to make a good Confession --- this is the Sacrament for them --- repenting of their sins, and intending not to commit them anymore, so that they may then receive Communion worthily with us, their fellow repentant sinners.
Sadly true.
“Souls falling into mortal sin could never be the “least” of our problems, especially for the priests and bishops who are entrusted to be shepherds of souls.”
More dangerous the priests, bishops and cardinals that are leading your denomination astray from the top down. Abused your children, protected the abusers, hide away gays in leadership, promote destructive doctrines and policies, etc.
Those who love and seek God are never the problem.
Nor did Christ condemn them. He did have quite a few words for leaders - whitewashed tombs with bones inside - that lead followers astray.
Whoopee. And Obama appears to be a “christian”.
Then why did the pope recently hug and encourage a tranny engaged to a member of her same sex.?
Why did the Pope call an adulteress in Argentina and advise her to sneak around and find another church to receive Holy Communion?
Do you know for a fact that there was no repentance and confession? Do you know for a fact that this perverse "engagement" is still on?"Why did the Pope call an adulteress in Argentina and advise her to sneak around and find another church to receive Holy Communion?"If you don't know for a fact, then you are speculating by recourse to the "Assumption of Bad Motives", e.g., "When in doubt, the Pope is wrong."
We know about this alleged incident because the woman's husband put it on Facebook. Then Pope Francis, through Lombardi, acknowledged that a phone conversation took place, but more than that he could not say, explaining it was not an official act in any sense, but private.Neither doctrine nor discipline are determined by private phone calls, or promulgated third hand on Facebook. He was, therefore, staving off any interpretation that had made a ruling or granted an absolution.
Even Religious News Service --- which is provably left-leaning and pro-dissent in its tendencies --- thought the story was dubious.
Latching onto poorly-documented or undocumented material of a damaging sort, and presuming the worst possible interpretation, is not something we should do to anybody, much less the Pope.
Non sequitur.
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