Pope Francis and Divorce

The sin of a second marriage is not serious enough to justify excluding people of good intentions from the sacraments.

Last weekend, Tim Kaine, the Democratic vice presidential nominee and a churchgoing Catholic, briefly escaped obscurity by telling an audience of LGBT activists that he expects his church to eventually bless and celebrate same-sex marriages.

In short order, his bishop, Francis X. DiLorenzo of Richmond, Virginia, had a statement out declaring that the Catholic understanding of marriage would remain “unchanged and resolute.”

In a normal moment, it would be the task of this conservative Catholic scribbler to explain why the governor is wrong and the bishop is right, why Scripture and tradition make it impossible for Catholicism to simply reinvent its sexual ethics.

But this is not a normal moment in the Catholic Church. As the governor was making his prediction, someone leaked a letter from Pope Francis to the Argentine bishops, praising their openness to allowing some divorced-and-remarried Catholics to receive Communion.

The “private” letter was the latest move in a papal dance that’s been going on since Francis was elected. The pope clearly wants to admit remarried Catholics to Communion, and he tried by hook and crook to get the world’s bishops to agree. But he faced intense resistance from conservatives, who pointed out that this reform risked evacuating the church’s teaching that sacramental marriages are indissoluble and second marriages adulterous.

The conservative resistance couldn’t be overcome directly without courting a true crisis. So Francis has proceeded indirectly, offering studied ambiguity in official publications combined with personal suggestions of where he really stands.

This dance has effectively left Catholicism with two teachings on marriage and the sacraments. The traditional rule is inscribed in the church’s magisterium, and no mere papal note can abrogate it.

First, I am not Catholic.

The Church has dealt with this problem for centuries by granting annulments, annulments have been granted for people with children and married for several decades. The beauty of annulment is that once the Church realizes that there is not really a marriage, and likely never really was one then all can realize a mistake was made and the marriage removed.

Annulments don't work for everyone, mostly one of the partners has to be condemn-able, if both are amicable then the priest will likely try to talk them back into a good married relationship. When there is a separation for cause then likely there is only one who will ever come back to church anyway so the annulment is usually granted. The annulment is not simple. Many letters have to be written and several clergy must make a decision. I would like to see The church make annulments easier, that way there is no change, then the queers and others can't cry foul.

First, I am not Catholic. The Church has dealt with this problem for centuries by granting annulments, annulments have been granted for people with children and married for several decades. The beauty of annulment is that once the Church realizes that there is not really a marriage, and likely never really was one then all can realize a mistake was made and the marriage removed.
Annulments don't work for everyone, mostly one of the partners has to be condemn-able, if both are amicable then the priest will likely try to talk them back into a good married relationship. When there is a separation for cause then likely there is only one who will ever come back to church anyway so the annulment is usually granted. The annulment is not simple. Many letters have to be written and several clergy must make a decision. I would like to see The church make annulments easier, that way there is no change, then the queers and others can't cry foul.

Since homosexuals make up only .5 -1.5% of the population, their lifestyle makes almost NO impact on the general life of ANYONE. They are less than a blip on any radar. So anything the Church does/says regarding them is of minimal importance to the rest of us.

The Catholic Church is 2000 years old, based on Judaism, which goes back a long time. From Google
Abraham (who was first called Abram) was born in the year 1948 after Creation (1813 BCE). (According to one tradition he was born in the month of Nissan; according to another, in the month of Tishrei). His father's name, as you all know, was Terah, who was seventy years old when Abraham was born.

My point: The Catholic Church will NOT change its stance, no matter who screams, yells or sets fire to himself. It can't. It must hold to the truths of its founder: Jesus. He IS the Messiah, the Jewish Messiah and OUR Savior who promised to save ALL of us...even Democrats and the Clintons.

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I know of an annulment almost first hand. An old high school classmate married a man who beat the holy pie out of her. She was SURE that she couldn't get an annulment. They had FIVE children. All her family and friends urged, begged and pleaded with her to speak with a priest about annulment.
FINALLY, she did.

The Church found that her husband NEVER intended on keeping his marriage vows to love and honor. He beat her from day one, AFTER the ceremony and continued throughout all the pleading from BOTH families.
So, because of HIS lies about his vows, the marriage was NOT valid. She got an annulment and it took two years.

She is now remarried to a very nice guy and couldn't be happier. It was nice to have a happy ending.

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