It troubles me that those teaching the faith would even say that the Church approves of second marriages…… A decree of Nullity finds that there was** NO FIRST MARRIAGE…**. This means that the so called second marriage the Church approves is the FIRST Marriage. A Catholic can only be married one time.
I would stick with what God says when teaching on Divorce. To do otherwise it to appoint oneself as the interpreter of God’s true meaning of Scripture…
Malachi 2:16 For I hate divorce, says the LORD, the God of Israel,
and what says Jesus:
Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” He answered, “Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.” They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?” He said to them, “For your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.” (Matt. 19:3–8; cf. Mark 10:2–9; Luke 16:18)
Some wish to change Catholic teaching on Divorce. The Church is very clear and to the point on divorce.
Article 6 THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT, IV. Offenses Against the Dignity of Marriage
2382 The Lord Jesus insisted on the original intention of the Creator who willed that marriage be indissoluble.173 He abrogates the accommodations that had slipped into the old Law. 174 Between the baptized, “a ratified and consummated marriage cannot be dissolved by any human power or for any reason other than death.” 175
2383 The separation of spouses while maintaining the marriage bond can be legitimate in **certain cases provided for by canon law. 176 **If civil
divorce remains the only possible way of ensuring certain legal rights, the care of the children, or the protection of inheritance, it
can be tolerated and does not constitute a moral offense.
(CANON LAW IS Specific…)
Can. 1153 §1. If either of the spouses causes grave mental or physical danger to the other spouse or to the offspring or otherwise renders common life too difficult, that spouse gives the other a legitimate cause for leaving, either by decree of the local ordinary or even on his or her own authority if there is danger in delay.
§2.
In all cases, when the cause for the separation ceases, conjugal living must be restored unless ecclesiastical authority has established otherwise.
The Catechism also calls the non-filing spouse “innocent of a moral offense” This implies the other, if not meeting the conditions spelled out by the Church, may be guilty of a grave moral offense.
We hear Priests say that those who are divorced may receive the Eucharist if they are otherwise in the proper disposition… and forget that filing for divorce is very likely Mortal Sin… they are not in the proper disposition.
(source =
ewtn.com/expert/answers/communion_of_divorced_and_remarr.htm)
2386 It can happen that one of the spouses
is the innocent victim of a divorce decreed by civil law; this spouse therefore has not contravened the moral law.
There is a considerable difference between a spouse who has sincerely tried to be faithful to the sacrament of marriage and is unjustly abandoned, and one who through his own grave fault destroys a canonically valid marriage.178
FULL KNOWLEDGE is often misunderstood as an excuse of sinful actions. # 1859 of the Catechism clarifies “ignorance” stating that “feigned ignorance and hardness of heart do not diminish, but rather increase, the voluntary character of sin.” And #1860 clarifies “ignorance” even further: “But no one is deemed ignorant of the moral law, which is written in the conscience of every man.”
Research shows that those who stayed and worked through their marriage issues reported they were in a happy marriage 5 years later. For those who divorced? They were less happy than those that stuck it out.
Why is it that we can’t understand this simple teaching? The Apostles heard Jesus and their reaction was “It would have been better if we never married”. It was that harsh. Jesus never said Hey Guys, what I really meant was try and stay married but I am God so I know what you will face in real life, so if 1. You are not happy, 2. He/she gains weight, 3. you find someone better, or 4 you no longer want to keep up your end of the marriage bargain, go ahead and dump your spouse… I, God, understand. He is all knowing… He knew the struggles that married couples would go through … He understood perfectly what He was saying…… tough teaching… I wonder how many marriages could have been saved if we spoke the truth in love instead of being what we call ‘pastoral” ( a joke because is it love to misinform someone of the consequences of their actions to save their feelings???)
Here is an excellent article by an expert in these subjects:
catholic.com/magazine/articles/did-jesus-allow-divorce
It makes no sense.
it almost sounds like the class discussion went off track when discussing sacraments and a bit more was discussed than necessary. I doubt that annulments were covered in the book under sacraments. Not for first grade. No way. Sorry.
It is an abuse of the responsibility you are given to go off curriculum on this issue that is is obviously something you are passionate about. Most of your posts have to do with the issue of divorce. And while you may be correct in your assessment for the most part, you are damaging families with your insistence on pushing this issue. As a former Youth Minister, and Catechist myself I can assure you that it is indeed frustrating when the parish seems to cower in the face of parents. And I understand the zeal of wanting to teach the faith and I also understand the frustration especially in this time of confusion about marriage. We are in a Crisis and a time of outright defiance of God and His Church. But you are way out of bounds telling this to small kids who’s parents have been divorced. stick to the Curriculum or you will rightfully be relieved of your service. We also teach first graders about the eight commandment., and we use terminology they can understand. Perhaps you should think about that and what possibly is breaking the 8th commandment in defaming a parish, curriculum and misleading people about the curriculum.