ONE THING LEADS TO ANOTHER by Thomas Droleskey As is reported elsewhere in this edition, Pope John Paul II has sent a letter to all of the bishops of the world reminding them that divorced and remarried couples cannot receive the Eucharist if they do not have a decree of nullity. Nothing new is contained in the Pope's letter; it reaffirms the Church's teaching on the indissolubility of a ratified and consummated sacramental marriage and on the conditions necessary to worthily receive Communion. It was just 13 years ago this December that the Holy Father wrote at length about these matters in , his post-synodal apostolic exhortation in response to the 1980 synod of bishops' reflections on the family. Although the Church has spoken quite consistently about the status of divorced people who have entered into invalid second marriages, many priests and theologians have been advancing heterodox advice in the name of "pastoral considerations." The short of the matter is that in many parishes in this country those who are actually involved in adulterous relationships are to participate fully in the Church's sacramental life. After all, they are "good" people who have suffered in a first marriage. Why "alienate" them from the sacraments by adhering to an archaic practice which does not reflect the reality that divorce is part of pastoral life in the Catholic Church in the United States? The answer to that is really quite simple: The bond of a valid sacramental marriage lasts until death. Period. No civil judge can dissolve that bond. Civil courts have the power to end the relationship between a husband and wife. But a civil divorce decree does not alter the reality of the bond a man and a woman give to each other in Christian marriage. That bond is presumed to exist until and unless a diocesan tribunal (or other competent authority, such as the Roman Rota) issues a decree of nullity. And a decree of nullity is not a Church divorce; it is a finding that a valid sacramental bond never existed. Even a decree of nullity, however, does not necessarily free a person to remarry. A tribunal often imposes a requirement for extensive counseling before permission can be granted for entering into another marriage. (And it should be noted that a finding of nullity is not an infallible act of the Church; it is a finding which carries with it what is called "moral certainty.") It is no accident that 92% of the annulments granted to Catholics in the world come from diocesan tribunals in the United States and Canada. The irony of this is that a case can be made that, even apart from the abuse of this process by some tribunals, most of our young people today are singularly unprepared to undertake valid sacramental marriages. They have never been properly instructed in the faith, a consequence of content-less catechetical programs. Living in the midst of a contraceptive mindset, which is advanced by many "sensitive" confessors, most young couples find themselves living barren lives premised upon conditional love. They have not been educated to live the faith interiorly, and so they absent themselves quite blithely from their Sunday Mass obligation. Frequent Confession? Passing on the faith to the children they deign to bring into the world? What can they pass on? Most of our young people have been robbed of the truths of the faith by those responsible for their catechesis and formation. It is therefore no wonder that such people, who lack a true understanding of the faith, wind up in divorce court - and subsequently in diocesan tribunals. While not the explanation for all cases of nullity (as there are instances of couples married for 30 years or more, who should have had a better understanding, receiving decrees of nullity rather readily), the devastated vineyard, as the late Dietrich von Hildebrand called the state of the Church shortly before his death, has produced grapes unable to ferment into the wine of solid Christian marriages. But a decree of nullity is the sine qua non for a divorced Catholic to even consider another marriage. A divorced Catholic who is awaiting judgment from a diocesan tribunal is not even free to date, no less remarry, until and unless he receives a nullity decree. There is the presumption of a valid sacramental marriage until the time that a judgment is rendered (which is typically sent to an appeals court for review prior to the issuance of the actual decree). A married person cannot date. Civil divorce does not free one to act like a single person. One married within the Church is considered to be in that state until the death of one's spouse-or until a nullity decree is issued. And one in that situation has to have the courage to rely upon God's grace to carry the cross of his loneliness, to use his time productively for the good of the Church. (I know a couple who had a nonconsummated marriage several years ago. They were advised by several wise, orthodox priests to undergo the diocesan tribunal process. As they did so, however, both individuals understood that there was the presumption of a valid marriage until a decree had been issued. Even though they had a clear case, neither presumed the Church's judgment.) Yes, there are many people who have truly been victims, who have suffered tremendously in very bad marriages. Most of us personally know people who have been through the trauma of sudden abandonment, spousal abuse, repeated adultery by a spouse-and numerous other problems. But a well-formed Catholic understands that not even the worst of situations ends the bond of sacramental marriage. No loneliness one experiences here in this life equals the loneliness of eternal perdition. A well-formed Catholic bears loneliness with the joy of Jesus Christ, understanding that our union with Him as members of His Mystical Body provides us with the strength to fulfill the spiritual duties of whatever state of life we happen to find ourselves in at any given moment. A civil divorce in and of itself does not bar Catholics from reception of the Eucharist (assuming they are living chaste lives-and are in a state of sanctifying grace at the time they are to receive Communion, the same condition that applies to every Catholic). A remarriage outside of the Church, however, is an adulterous relationship. Such people are objectively committing a mortal sin every time they engage in marital relations. No person who is in a state of mortal sin can receive Communion, which is why the Holy Father has said that invalidly remarried Catholics must refrain from marital intimacy in order to receive Communion; if, because of the well-being of their children, such people cannot separate, they are to live as brother and sister. Those who have been urging invalidly married couples to disregard Church teaching on this matter usually state that it is entirely too "judgmental" to bar nice people from the Eucharist. "Would our Lord deny His Body and Blood to anyone who asked Him?," they ask plaintively. The answer to that is a simple and emphatic "Yes." Dead people cannot eat. They cannot digest food. A person whose soul has been killed by mortal sin cannot "digest" the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. Every mortal sin needs to be forgiven by means of auricular Confession, where a sinner accuses himself before a priest who acts in persona Christi. The Divine Physician stands ready to forgive any and all mortal sins if only we have the humility to ask Him for sacramental forgiveness. The dissidents, however, have to deny the words of Jesus Christ ("What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder" -Matt. 19:6 "And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another commits adultery; and he who marries a divorced woman, commits adultery"-Matt. 19:9) and the authority of the Church to justify the abuses cited by the Holy Father in his recent letter to the world's bishops. Here we can see how one thing leads to another. The "wisdom" of Scripture scholars leads them to write learned tracts and tomes convincing people that Jesus never said anything, that the words attributed to Him in the Gospels were reflections of the early Christian "community." Moral theologians have advanced one tortured argument after another to justify both contraception and abortion, sexual relations outside of matrimony (including homosexual and lesbian acts), divorce, and remarriage of divorced persons who have no decree of nullity. Such theologians have even denied the reality of mortal sin, using the specious argument known as the "fundamental option" (something specifically condemned by the Holy Father in and ). We face the tragedy of so many people in invalid marriages because they have been taught by wolves in shepherds' clothing. They have been misled into living a cafeteria-style Catholicism which has nothing to do with the cross of Jesus Christ. Dealing with the reality of invalid marriages is not easy. Most of us know Catholics, perhaps in our own families, who are in canonically invalid marriages. Some of the people we know may consider themselves to be Catholics in good standing-and they may even have been told that by some priest or theologian. We do not advance their salvation, however, by reaffirming them in error. Out of a true love, which seeks the good of their immortal souls, we must implore them to get themselves straight with our Lord and His Holy Church. This article was taken from the October 10, 1994 issue of "The Wanderer," 201 Ohio Street, St. Paul, MN 55107, 612-224-5733. Subscription Price: $35.00 per year; six months $20.00. ------------------------------------------------------------------- The electronic form of this document is copyrighted. Copyright (c) Trinity Communications 1994. Provided courtesy of: The Catholic Resource Network Trinity Communications PO Box 3610 Manassas, VA 22110 Voice: 703-791-2576 Fax: 703-791-4250 Data: 703-791-4336 The Catholic Resource Network is a Catholic online information and service system. 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