I would ask you to elaborate on this because it is not exactly clear to me how you came to that conclusion. What you are saying is that the wife departs from versus separated from somehow brings compassion into the first and not into the second?
I think the comapssion is the way of life for the Church regardless of grammar. The sinners are seen as sick, fallen, who are in need of spiritual healing and medicine regardless of the sin.
The difference between spiritual and legalistic breakage of the bond is pronounced and clear. When we say "divorce" it means legal devorce. There is nothing in the NT to support this. In Mt 5:32 Jesus dismisses the OT Jewish practice of giving a certificate of divorce because the Church does not recognize legal divorce. The only legal divorce is death of one spouse as far as the Churhc is concerned.
"I would ask you to elaborate on this because it is not exactly clear to me how you came to that conclusion. What you are saying is that the wife departs from versus separated from somehow brings compassion into the first and not into the second?"
Well, at various points along this thread there has been discussion of the innocent/guilty spouse issue. What I am saying is that if the verb in question is active, it could imply that the wife has committed the sin, thus is in need of reconcilliation with the Church and this would be in accord with the Church's position on Divorce and re marriage. If the verb is passive, then the wife has been separated from her husband, something has acted upon her to make her leave...her husband's actions? Compassionate correction wouldn't be needed for an innocent spouse. Her sin? Then compassionate correction is in order? On the other hand, I may be reading more into this verb than is there, which is why I said the difference may, in this context, be insignificant.