Pope to Vatican Tribunal: Spiritual Worldliness Is At the Root of Marriage Crisis

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During an audience with the Tribunal of the Roman Rota, Pope Francis encouraged judges to provide “real access to the justice of the Church” in cases of marriage annulment.

The Holy Father reflected on the current culture in regards to marriage, citing his predecessor, Blessed Paul VI.

Modern man, he quoted, is “at times wounded by a systematic relativism, that bends to the easiest choices of circumstance, of demagogy, of fashion, of passion, of hedonism, of selfishness, so that externally he attempts to dispute the mastery of the law, and internally, almost without realising, substitutes the empire of moral conscience with the whim of psychological consciousness.”

Highlighting the role of judges, the Pope reminded the Tribunal of their duties in determining the validity of marriage annulment cases. He also said that the crisis in marriage “has at its root the crisis in knowledge enlightened by faith, or rather by adhesion to God and His plan of love realised in Jesus Christ.”

The 78 year old Pontiff also noted that a great number of faithful live currently in irregular situations. Their histories, he said, “have been strongly influenced by the widespread worldly mentality.”

“There exists, indeed, a sort of spiritual worldliness, which hides behind the appearance of piety and even love for the Church, and which leads to the pursuit not of the glory of God, but rather of personal well-being.”

The Pope went on to say that a consequence of appearance is a faith that while seeming reasonable in arguments and areas of knowledge, are in reality “imprisoned by the immanence of his or her own reason or emotions.” Judges, he continued, must evaluate the validity of marriages in the context of values and faith.”
 
Amen, papa! More and more our pope is sounding like what we expect: A man who takes for granted the timeless truths of our faith. Orthodoxy on the matter more clearly spoken from his lips. Selfishness in choosing not to have children, reverence in mass, dismissing the false gender theory and those who deny the order of creation. A little here, a little there, it’s all coming together quite nicely I think.

I think what he will do after the synod is institute a great reform of the annulment process to take into account the formation of faith at the time of marriage as a crucial element of the consent that the church teaches is absolutely necessary for any valid marriage to happen; and of the spiritual formation of marital candidates (or perhaps much younger persons) and of the church in general regarding marriage, which could probably end up being significant in the new evangelization of the church. His talk of how the crisis is both one of poor catechesis and lack of formation in the faith and a pervading spirit of worldliness in religious/spiritual circles point to that. I really think the prayers of the orthodox faithful are being heard and that the pope is finally understanding the need to speak better about the matter, more clearly than before.🙂
 
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