“Here he’s talking about looking to see if the first marriage was, in fact, valid. And, if not, willingly granting a decree of nullity so that it isn’t an impediment.”
I hope you’re right that this is just BS.
The premise he cites (that half of all marriages are invalid) seems extreme. A sacrament with a 50% failure rate is rectified by declaring it never happened to begin with? With the clergy saying such things, how can the laity be blamed for not taking the sacraments seriously?
” The premise he cites (that half of all marriages are invalid) seems extreme. A sacrament with a 50% failure rate is rectified by declaring it never happened to begin with? With the clergy saying such things, how can the laity be blamed for not taking the sacraments seriously?”
I, personally, just see this as yet another example of the appalling lack of catechesis that has pervaded the post VCII Church.
It’s not the sacrament that failed. It is the ministers of the sacrament (the couple) who failed to either understand or appreciate the sacrament itself and what they were committing to...and a failure of the witnesses (the clergy) to make sure that the happy couple really had comprehension.
And, of course, we don’t even want to start talking about the open rebellion to Christ in the Church (reference Paul VI’s famous, but oft-misunderstood “smoke of Satan” comments)
I think you have leapt to a conclusion that he didn't indicate. In post 16 he says the Church should recognize this particular form of spiritual brokenness and find ways to minister. He did not define those ways, or say that the Church would redefine sin or excuse the thoughtlessness of marrying stupidly.
That is the issue.
When my bride and I did our pre Cana, we were living in the Lincoln Diocese. We had eight weeks of classes, a test, and many visits with the priest.
However, there were a lot of people who complained, and either left to get married by the Anglicans, or jumped into Kansas for a more “modern” diocese.
The issue is how people approach marriage. Not just what the church is doing. Tighting up the pre Cana process would only compound the problem by having people move outside the church.