Bear with me as I try to understand this whole process. I wasn’t going to post to this thread but some of the comments by posters on Catholic doctrine are very confusing. I’m trying to understand the logic behind all of this from a theological or God’s perspective.
This is just one of the issues that I find strange about the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church has stated they are there to assist with the progress toward salvation and is concerned about each individual’s salvation or state of their soul. Does Pope Francis current statements nullify that concern?
However, Pope Francis has stated as mentioned by OP, that he wants divorce and remarried people to participate within the Church community. He further stated that they were never excommunicated although I know some people who were divorced and remarried in the 1950’s and where told by their parish priest that they were excommunicated. Which is it?
My understanid that I have is that if Catholics who are divorced and remarried are allowed to participate within the Catholic community, they are still however, not allowed to receive communion. However, my understanding is that Catholics must recieve communion once a year, or they will be in a state of mortal sin. If this is true, then what good does it do to allow Catholic to participate in the Catholic community if they are still living in a state of mortal sin and upon death must spend eternity in hell? Isn’t this deception on the part of the Church?
Furthermore, I know of cannon lawyer who said that he can get anyone an annulment from the Catholic Church which begs the question if this whole remarriage and divorce and annulment issues has been corrupted? I know as fact, a lawyer who has received two annulments and in no way could they have been invalid. The persons they were married too happened to be very influential people including a one a chief justice of a state supreme court. Becasue they themselves were influential, and the cannon lawyer had a great deal of influence, they were able to get these annulments. Under these circumstances, they manipulated the system. Are these annulments valid because the Church degreed them so? What about God’s take on all this? Does God considered them valid even though they manipulated the system? I won’t go into details on how this was done or the cases themselves, otherwise the parties may be indentified.
Then you have the account of Jesus, a Jew, who met the Samaritan women, who the Jews considered were their enemies even associated them on the same status as dogs. She was married five times and was shacking up with another guy. Jesus never condemned her but instead offer her life changing water (Holy Spirit) "the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life…
…The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
Ask your self this question, How many times did Jesus proclaimed to someone that He was indeed the Messiah in the Gospels? Is divorce and remarriage, the unforgiveable sin?
I know a Protestant professor by the name of Guy Duty that delves into the Middle Eastern culture of the time and is an expert in Koine Greek and refutes the current premise base on the Greek language. Another Protestant theologian David Instone-Brewster on Divorce and Remarriage in the Bible does the same thing.
Another poster mentioned about Basil and some King who was married more than three times but all of his previous wives had died which allowed him the freedom to marry again. right? As their was quite a bit of dicussion on the remarriage which I couldn’t follow since their was no impediment especially if Basil forced the king to marry his first wife.
Finally, what about those Catholic who had divorce and remarried again to another Catholic without getting an annulment. If the partner died without an annulment, is he/she now spending eternity in hell? It’s similar to the question of Catholics who ate meat on Friday and committed a mortal sin. Now it’s okay to eat meat on Friday. So are those people spending eternity in hell or are they yanked out of hell. I know this is a different question but the same premise holds on allowing divorce and remarried Catholic back into the Church but not allowig them to participate in the sacraments of Confession and the Communion.
This has come up because a friend of mine was married in the Lutheran Church to a Catholic. He had a dispensation. They later joined a church of the Carmelite Order. The wife then became Catholic and took the RICA program. They were married for 27 years and she was the lay eucharstic minister at the chruch. She divorced him. He quit going to the Catholic Church. Now she wants to get an annulment and called the church. The receptionists said that was easy, no problem since the Catholic Church doesn’ recognize the sacramental nature of the Lutheran marriage. She even talked to the parish priest! I go what? If they were not considered validly married by the Catholic Church, how can she have been a lay eurcharist minister? How could they have been receiving communion by this priest? Wouldn’t they be living in a state of fornication? How can the Church recognize it in one instance as valid and not in another instance? The receptionist was very cavalier about the whole issue. Just fill out the paper work and in six weeks your annulment will come through. Does God recognize this? Are their offspring now considered illegimate? She went back to the church and is now receiving the sacraments!
My appolgies on the lenght, I’m just trying to understand the logic and reasoning behind the Catholic Church. It just seems so convoluted and totally illogical. It’s like a gathering of theologians to discuss how many angels can dance on the heard of a pin
