havok579257 Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 The question I have comes from the bible. Jesus says let no man divorce his wife EXCEPT for mrital unfaithfulness. SO if that's Jesus's teaching why does the Catholic Church go against this teaching? WHy is divorce not allowed at all in the Catholic Church yet was allowed by Jesus in this one aspect? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thessalonian Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 [quote name='havok579257' post='1842414' date='Apr 21 2009, 11:11 AM']The question I have comes from the bible. Jesus says let no man divorce his wife EXCEPT for mrital unfaithfulness. SO if that's Jesus's teaching why does the Catholic Church go against this teaching? WHy is divorce not allowed at all in the Catholic Church yet was allowed by Jesus in this one aspect?[/quote] Divorce is allowable in some instances, though the Bible says "God hates divorce". The problem is not the divorce as much as the remarriage. One can go to communion, having divorced but not if the remarriage is not preceeded by an anullment and approved by the Church. So you see the Church doesn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theoketos Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 Divorce is wrong because, even if done correctly and allowed, it comes from the destruction of a marriage or a supposed marriage. A true marriage can never be undone in this life time. To divorce and remarry without an annulment is really to commit adultery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StColette Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 As Thessalonian pointed out, it's not the divorce it's the remarriage, which Jesus clearly states in the Scriptures. For those who aren't familiar with the verses being discussed they can be found in Luke 16, Matt 19, and Mark 10. The Church does not condemn those who divorce, though it is frowned upon. The problem is within the remarriages if you divorce. Jesus speaks clearly and says that the two have become one flesh and thus cannot be separated, except by death. He goes on to say that those who divorce and REMARRY commit adultery. Jesus does not say those who Divorce commit adultery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slappo Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 (edited) IIRC The Catholic Church uses the "except for marital unfaithfulness" verse to defend her teachings on annulment and holds marital unfaithfulness to be something that prevented the marriage from actually taking place on the day of the wedding. EDIT: I could be wrong about the above statement, so take it with a grain of salt, or an entire salt shaker. Also, the Church does allow for divorce in severe cases. If a wife or her children are in danger because of the actions of her husband (violence, abuse, sexual assault), then she is allowed to separate and divorce him. At the same time, circumstances like that allow for divorce, but not remarriage. Remarriage can only take place in circumstances where an annulment is granted. Edited April 21, 2009 by Slappo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StColette Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 btw "marital unfaithfulness" can also be translated as unlawful marriage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slappo Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 [quote name='StColette' post='1842431' date='Apr 21 2009, 07:32 AM']btw "marital unfaithfulness" can also be translated as unlawful marriage.[/quote] AHA! I thought so! Go St. Colette! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweens8403 Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 thank you guys for clearing that up for me as well. This will help me explain the matter to my protestant parents. (not divorced or getting divorced, just unclear on Catholic teaching) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piano_freak184 Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 What does the Church say if you get like two divorces for stupid reasons (ie money) but after those divorces you relize that God hates divorce and it's wrong, so you marry someone that is great, you promise not to get a divorce ever, but after a year or so of marriage the spouse starts beating the daylights out of you and the only exercise they ever get is lifting the beer bottle up to their mouth. Is it ok to still get a divorce in that case even though youve had a couple divorces before you married the really bad guy? Not trying to sound like a riddle master or anything, I just know someone who that has happened to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StColette Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 [quote name='sweens8403' post='1842447' date='Apr 21 2009, 11:54 AM']thank you guys for clearing that up for me as well. This will help me explain the matter to my protestant parents. (not divorced or getting divorced, just unclear on Catholic teaching)[/quote] Sadly my parents are divorced, both of them were raised Catholic. My mom is remarried and now non-practicing and my dad has remained single because he knows he has to and is in communion with the Church and still practicing. It's a topic that I'm pretty familiar with so I don't mind clearing this up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkwright Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 Unfaithfulness is grounds for annulment? Am I understanding you correctly? How is this evidence of a non-sacramental marriage? I mean most couples go into marriage without even the thought of unfaithfulness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thessalonian Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 [quote name='rkwright' post='1842461' date='Apr 21 2009, 12:20 PM']Unfaithfulness is grounds for annulment? Am I understanding you correctly? How is this evidence of a non-sacramental marriage? I mean most couples go into marriage without even the thought of unfaithfulness.[/quote] No, I think what she is saying is taht the translation could be "unlawful marriage" i.e. invalid marriage as oppposed to adultery. Adultery might be evidence of an inability to committ but that alone would not be grounds for anullment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thessalonian Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 [quote name='piano_freak184' post='1842448' date='Apr 21 2009, 11:56 AM']What does the Church say if you get like two divorces for stupid reasons (ie money) but after those divorces you relize that God hates divorce and it's wrong, so you marry someone that is great, you promise not to get a divorce ever, but after a year or so of marriage the spouse starts beating the daylights out of you and the only exercise they ever get is lifting the beer bottle up to their mouth. Is it ok to still get a divorce in that case even though youve had a couple divorces before you married the really bad guy? Not trying to sound like a riddle master or anything, I just know someone who that has happened to.[/quote] Again the problem is the remarriages without anullments, more so than the divorces. One cannot go to communion if they are in an unblessed marriage, i.e. they are in an adulterous relationship. That is a serious problem that cannot be resolved except to leave the "marriage" or live as brother and sister, or attain an anullment. The divorces themselves may require confession for the things that caused the divorce but they do not prevent one from recieving communion in and of themselves. Certainly if a woman's personal safety or that of her children is involved it would not be good to stay with the person and divorce may be required for safety and to ensure provision for the children. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StColette Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 [quote name='rkwright' post='1842461' date='Apr 21 2009, 12:20 PM']Unfaithfulness is grounds for annulment? Am I understanding you correctly?[/quote] No, that's not what I said. I said the verse could be translated as "unlawful marriages" or "unfaithfulness". I did not say that unfaithfulness is grounds for annulment lol [quote]How is this evidence of a non-sacramental marriage? I mean most couples go into marriage without even the thought of unfaithfulness.[/quote] It's not. And you would be surprised by how many couples on their FOCUS/Pre-Cana tests think their spouses will eventually cheat on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr_Asik Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 (edited) As usual the Church is right in theory, but too harsh in practice... My parents have been divorced for above 8 years now. They went through much pain to try and keep the family together, but they failed, and since the divorce they won't talk to each other except through lawyers. After all these years, what is left of their marriage? Effectively nothing. Marriage is something both private and public; in the private sphere, there's nothing left; and in the public sphere, everyone knows that they haven't lived together for long and will never do again. So, in a human sense, there's nothing left of this marriage. The only thing the Church can say is that it remains sacramentally valid unless they go through an annulment, which they could certainly get if they wanted to. But the thing is, they don't want to. An annulment is long, costly and painful for all members of the family, and they've already been through similar procedures in the civil court; we (the children) have also endured much already. All we want now is to turn the page and live peacefully. If either wants to marry again, it's a shame that they won't be accepted by their parish. What many Catholics do in that situation is marry in the Anglican Church, which is very close to the Catholic Church but a bit more liberal, or dare I say, human. Edited April 21, 2009 by Dr_Asik Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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