Pope strongly uphold Christian marriage as attainable ideal, rejects other forms of union [CC]

[Catholic_Press]

Christian marriage is not an ideal that only unusual couples can attain, Pope Francis said in a January 22 to the Tribunal of the Roman Rota; it is "a reality that, in the grace of Christ, …

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[Justin_Swanton]

Mmm. There has never been any question of the Pope ruling that alternative unions other than marriage as defined by the Church are acceptable. The problem isn’t there. I notice this part:“When the Church, through your service, sets about to declare the truth about marriage in a concrete case, for the good of the faithful, at the same time you must always remember that those who, by choice or unhappy circumstances of life, are living in an objective state of error, continue to be the object of the merciful love of Christ and thus the Church herself,” he continued.
My fear is that the Pope in his coming Exhortation will ‘strongly uphold’ the nobility and necessity of Christian marriage, and ***then ***stipulate that remarried divorcees who feel themselves incapable of altering their remarried status may receive Communion anyway.

Everything I’ve read by Pope Francis on the subject convinces me that he does not feel a divine precept need be kept if an individual is morally incapable of keeping it. People do get themselves into these predicaments. A woman makes a bad first marriage. She divorces and, now older and wiser, finds a more suitable partner. They marry in court, have children, and settle down. But her conscience won’t leave her alone. She knows she is in a false situation and longs to be right with God and the Church again, but she feels the price of giving up intimacy with her partner, of offending him, or of troubling her children by a separation is too high.

My take is that for the Pope, such an individual has shown enough good will to gain God’s grace, even if her situation remains irregular. In other words, remorse is the same thing as repentance.

This kind of thinking, if implemented in an Apostolic Exhortation, will open a Pandora’s Box, blowing away the foundations of Catholic moral teaching. The principle will be established that anyone who doesn’t feel he is capable of keeping a commandment needn’t keep it, at least not right away. Like wildfire it will spread beyond remarried divorcees and into every aspect of Catholic morality, homosexual and lesbian unions being its next immediate object.

Am I making all this up? Read Paragraph 84 of the final Synodal report carefully: The baptized who are divorced and civilly remarried should be more integrated into Christian communities in the various ways possible, avoiding every occasion of scandal. The logic of integration is the key to their pastoral accompaniment, so that they know not only that they belong to the Body of Christ which is the Church, but that they may have a joyous and fruitful experience of this. They are baptized, they are brothers and sisters, the Holy Spirit pours into them gifts and charisms for the good of everyone.
This paragraph talks about remarried divorcees who have ***not ***regularised their situation (hence the mention of scandal) but wish they could receive Communion. The paragraph affirms, quite simply, that they are in a state of grace. A gift or charism of the Holy Spirit presupposes that the soul already has grace - a soul in mortal sin cannot receive such benefits. Hence the paragraph is saying that they are united to God even though they oppose his precepts. Remorse - or some undefined good will that equates to remorse - is enough, effective repentance is not necessary.

 

[Vico]

.,
the Holy Spirit pours into them gifts and charisms for the good of everyone. …
The paragraph affirms, quite simply, that they are in a state of grace.

It does not state that they are in a state of grace. The state of grace is habitual grace, but there is another kind of grace called actual grace. Actual grace does not ensure a state of grace.

Catechism of the Catholic Church
2000 Sanctifying grace is an habitual gift, a stable and supernatural disposition that perfects the soul itself to enable it to live with God, to act by his love. Habitual grace, the permanent disposition to live and act in keeping with God’s call, is distinguished from actual graces which refer to God’s interventions, whether at the beginning of conversion or in the course of the work of sanctification.
…

2003 – “Grace is first and foremost the gift of the Spirit who justifies and sanctifies us. But grace also includes the gifts that the Spirit grants us to associate us with his work, to enable us to collaborate in the salvation of others and in the growth of the Body of Christ, the Church. There are sacramental graces, gifts proper to the different sacraments. There are furthermore special graces, also called charisms after the Greek term used by St. Paul and meaning ‘favor,’ ‘gratuitous gift,’ ‘benefit.’ [53] Whatever their character – sometimes it is extraordinary, such as the gift of miracles or of tongues – charisms are oriented toward sanctifying grace and are intended for the common good of the Church. They are at the service of charity which builds up the Church. [54]”

Similarly charisms are described in Catholic Encyclopedia as interior graces that do not procure the individual sanctification of the recipient:

Yet there are also interior graces which do not procure the individual sanctification of the recipient, but the sanctification of others through the recipient. These, by the extension of the generic term to specifically designate a new subdivision, are, by antonomasia, called gratuitously given graces (gratia gratis datae). To this class belong the extraordinary charismata of the miracle-worker, the prophet, the speaker of tongues, etc. (see 1 Corinthians 12:4 sqq.), as well as the ordinary powers of the priest and confessor.

Pohle, J. (1909). Actual Grace. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
newadvent.org/cathen/06689x.htm

 

[_Abyssinia]

I don’t think the Catholic Culture article mentions this surprisingly, but this part of the speech Pope Francis gave to the Rota is significant:

“It should be clearly affirmed that the quality of faith is not an essential condition for matrimonial consent,” the Pope said in his Jan. 22 address to the judges of the Roman Rota at the Vatican’s Clementine Hall.

catholicnewsagency.com/news/in-speech-to-rota-pope-fancis-shows-annulment-conditions-arent-loosening-26794/

My emphases.

John Allen:

Pope seems to hint at no sweeping change on divorced, remarried: cruxnow.com/church/2016/01/22/pope-seems-to-hint-at-no-sweeping-change-on-divorced-remarried/

 

[bibcat]

Mmm. There has never been any question of the Pope ruling that alternative unions other than marriage as defined by the Church are acceptable. The problem isn’t there. I notice this part:“When the Church, through your service, sets about to declare the truth about marriage in a concrete case, for the good of the faithful, at the same time you must always remember that those who, by choice or unhappy circumstances of life, are living in an objective state of error, continue to be the object of the merciful love of Christ and thus the Church herself,” he continued.
My fear is that the Pope in his coming Exhortation will ‘strongly uphold’ the nobility and necessity of Christian marriage, and ***then ***stipulate that remarried divorcees who feel themselves incapable of altering their remarried status may receive Communion anyway.

Everything I’ve read by Pope Francis on the subject convinces me that he does not feel a divine precept need be kept if an individual is morally incapable of keeping it. People do get themselves into these predicaments. A woman makes a bad first marriage. She divorces and, now older and wiser, finds a more suitable partner. They marry in court, have children, and settle down. But her conscience won’t leave her alone. She knows she is in a false situation and longs to be right with God and the Church again, but she feels the price of giving up intimacy with her partner, of offending him, or of troubling her children by a separation is too high.

My take is that for the Pope, such an individual has shown enough good will to gain God’s grace, even if her situation remains irregular. In other words, remorse is the same thing as repentance.

This kind of thinking, if implemented in an Apostolic Exhortation, will open a Pandora’s Box, blowing away the foundations of Catholic moral teaching. The principle will be established that anyone who doesn’t feel he is capable of keeping a commandment needn’t keep it, at least not right away. Like wildfire it will spread beyond remarried divorcees and into every aspect of Catholic morality, homosexual and lesbian unions being its next immediate object.

Am I making all this up? Read Paragraph 84 of the final Synodal report carefully: The baptized who are divorced and civilly remarried should be more integrated into Christian communities in the various ways possible, avoiding every occasion of scandal. The logic of integration is the key to their pastoral accompaniment, so that they know not only that they belong to the Body of Christ which is the Church, but that they may have a joyous and fruitful experience of this. They are baptized, they are brothers and sisters, the Holy Spirit pours into them gifts and charisms for the good of everyone.
This paragraph talks about remarried divorcees who have ***not ***regularised their situation (hence the mention of scandal) but wish they could receive Communion. The paragraph affirms, quite simply, that they are in a state of grace. A gift or charism of the Holy Spirit presupposes that the soul already has grace - a soul in mortal sin cannot receive such benefits. Hence the paragraph is saying that they are united to God even though they oppose his precepts. Remorse - or some undefined good will that equates to remorse - is enough, effective repentance is not necessary.

Meh. A heterosexual second marriage and homosexual “marriage” are two entirely different things. The latter isn’t even a real marriage at all. And unlike divorce–which the Old Testament allows, so I guess you can take your pick between OT and NT on that topic–homosexuality is roundly condemned in both the OT and NT. Indeed, I predicted weather disasters back in June 2015 when the Obergefell decision came down from the Supreme Court. And now look. The Mid-Atlantic, especially Washington DC (the scene of the crime) is being buried in 3 feet of snow. Hate to say I told ya so, but …

 

[Justin_Swanton]

It does not state that they are in a state of grace. The state of grace is habitual grace, but there is another kind of grace called actual grace. Actual grace does not ensure a state of grace.

Catechism of the Catholic Church2000 Sanctifying grace is an habitual gift, a stable and supernatural disposition that perfects the soul itself to enable it to live with God, to act by his love. Habitual grace, the permanent disposition to live and act in keeping with God’s call, is distinguished from actual graces which refer to God’s interventions, whether at the beginning of conversion or in the course of the work of sanctification.
…

2003 – “Grace is first and foremost the gift of the Spirit who justifies and sanctifies us. But grace also includes the gifts that the Spirit grants us to associate us with his work, to enable us to collaborate in the salvation of others and in the growth of the Body of Christ, the Church. There are sacramental graces, gifts proper to the different sacraments. There are furthermore special graces, also called charisms after the Greek term used by St. Paul and meaning ‘favor,’ ‘gratuitous gift,’ ‘benefit.’ [53] Whatever their character – sometimes it is extraordinary, such as the gift of miracles or of tongues – charisms are oriented toward sanctifying grace and are intended for the common good of the Church. They are at the service of charity which builds up the Church. [54]”
Similarly charisms are described in Catholic Encyclopedia as interior graces that do not procure the individual sanctification of the recipient:
Yet there are also interior graces which do not procure the individual sanctification of the recipient, but the sanctification of others through the recipient. These, by the extension of the generic term to specifically designate a new subdivision, are, by antonomasia, called gratuitously given graces (gratia gratis datae). To this class belong the extraordinary charismata of the miracle-worker, the prophet, the speaker of tongues, etc. (see 1 Corinthians 12:4 sqq.), as well as the ordinary powers of the priest and confessor.Pohle, J. (1909). Actual Grace. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
newadvent.org/cathen/06689x.htm

All true, but one must make the crucial distinction between actual graces that are given to those not in a state of grace, and charisms and gifts given to those who are in a state of grace.

The former add up to calls to conversion and repentance. The latter - as the quoted passages make clear - are given to someone already in a state of grace help sanctify Christ’s Mystical Body. These are ***not ***given to someone in a state of mortal sin and hence cut off from God.

 

[Vico]

All true, but one must make the crucial distinction between actual graces that are given to those not in a state of grace, and charisms and gifts given to those who are in a state of grace.

The former add up to calls to conversion and repentance. The latter - as the quoted passages make clear - are given to someone already in a state of grace help sanctify Christ’s Mystical Body. These are ***not ***given to someone in a state of mortal sin and hence cut off from God.

The charisms may be given to those in a state of mortal sin.

Charisms (St. Paul) are gratuitous graces called in Latin gratia gratis data. In Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, Ludwig Ott writes:

1. Gratia Gratis Data - Gratia Gratum Facien.

Although every grace is gratis data, l.e., a free gift of the Divine Goodness, the term Gratia Gratis Data is given specifically to every grace which is conferred on particular persons for the salvation of others. To this class belong such extraordinary gifts of grace as charismata (prophecy, gift of miracles, gift of tongues; cf. I Cor. 12, 8 et seq.), the priestly power of consecration, the hierarchical power of jurisdiction. The possession of these gifts is independent of the personal moral composition of their possessor (cf. Mt. 7. 22 et seq.; Jolm II, 49-52).

Also listed as charisms is “ordinary powers of the priest and confessor” which we know does not require a state of grace on the part of the priest or confessor because the sacraments act ex opere operato

Catechism of the Catholic Church

1128 This is the meaning of the Church’s affirmation 49 that the sacraments act ex opere operato (literally: “by the very fact of the action’s being performed”), i.e., by virtue of the saving work of Christ, accomplished once for all. It follows that “the sacrament is not wrought by the righteousness of either the celebrant or the recipient, but by the power of God.” 50 From the moment that a sacrament is celebrated in accordance with the intention of the Church, the power of Christ and his Spirit acts in and through it, independently of the personal holiness of the minister. Nevertheless, the fruits of the sacraments also depend on the disposition of the one who receives them.

49 Cf. Council of Trent (1547): DS 1608.
50 St. Thomas Aquinas, STh III, 68,8.

 

[LongingSoul]

I don’t think the Catholic Culture article mentions this surprisingly, but this part of the speech Pope Francis gave to the Rota is significant:

“It should be clearly affirmed that the quality of faith is not an essential condition for matrimonial consent,” the Pope said in his Jan. 22 address to the judges of the Roman Rota at the Vatican’s Clementine Hall.

But it goes on to say…

“The lack of formation in faith and also an error regarding the unity, indissolubility and sacramental dignity of marriage may vitiate matrimonial consent only if they determine the will. It is precisely for this reason that errors regarding the sacramental nature of marriage must be evaluated very carefully.”

Without that important condition, people could be led to thinking that if their faith were weak at the time of marriage they automatically haven’t got a sacramental marriage regardless of their subsequent growth in faith or possibility of future growth in faith.

The nature of the will especially in Ignatian spirituality, can be evidenced by the lived experience of true conversion that have some universal markers. The specific types of couples that the Church is addressing are those in second marriages that have experienced profound enough conversions that they are now living the model of real Catholic family life. That particular circumstance reveals something that can never be determined by the regular evaluations of form and matter.

 

[dans0622]

Interesting address. It’s something I’m sure I’ll refer to at some point…although I’m still waiting for a case that is directly related to the lack of faith issue…

Dan