Consistory of Cardinals Discuses Family and Married Life

The Consistory of Cardinals that met in Rome this week was preparing for October's Extraordinary Synod of Bishops that will concern itself with the Church's pastoral care of married people and families. We can't underestimate the importance of the upcoming meetings, as well as the regularly scheduled Synod set for 2015 which will continue the discussion. Synods are held normally every three or four years, but these extraordinary synods, called by the pope when he feels that they're necessary, are not all that uncommon.

What is different this time is that Pope Francis plans on using the synod as a catalyst for possible changes, not in doctrine, but in pastoral practice. A complaint by some over the years is that both Blessed John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI used these more as information sessions, with information going from the top down, more than as opportunities for the bishops to collaborate with the pope. Whether these criticisms are fair or not, Pope Francis wants to change the perception, at the very least.

And he's beginning with a hot button topic; how the Church cares for divorced and remarried Catholics who didn't have the first union annulled, or are first time married, but in civil unions. Right now Catholics who find themselves in these situations are not supposed to receive the sacraments, particularly Communion and Reconciliation (Confession).

There are two basic points of view and both, as far as I can see, have their merits. The first is that Jesus is very clear, from Matthew 19, that marriage is an indissoluble bond. There are only two ways a person can walk away from a marriage. The first is to prove that some conditions existed at the time the partners exchanged vows that renders the sacrament invalid, thus null and void in the eyes of the Church. Or else, by way of what we call the Pauline Privilege, when two non-Christians marry and one converts to Christianity while the other opposes and puts serious obstacles in the way of the believing partner's practice of the faith. This is based on 1 Corinthians 7:10-15. While it's a sad situation, and we encourage these people to stay close to the community, in light of justice they are living in a persistently sinful condition which renders a turning away from the offending behavior nearly impossible, and so receiving the sacraments itself becomes an occasion of sin.

The other point of view is that Christ was merciful, and the Church's pastoral response needs to reflect mercy more than strict justice. The annulment process is long and arduous, and many give up or don't even begin when they see all that is involved. What do we do with people who may have been married briefly early in life but have been with their second spouse happily for decades? Surly this alone could be seen as a sign that the first union was invalid, even if it's difficult to prove juridically?  The Eastern Orthodox churches, who also see marriage as a sacrament, allow second, and even third marriages, though the ceremonies are rather penitential in nature, as opposed to the joyously ornate ceremonies surrounding a first wedding. Some say that judging the validity of the first marriage should be made by the individual conscience, others that some juridical process, albeit streamlined, would still need to be maintained. Both agree that a mistake made early in life shouldn't translate into decades of separation from the sacraments, which then could only be received when death is imminent. 

I must be honest, I struggle with this. Some on both sides see things in very cut and dry terms, but not me. Jesus is clear about divorce and remarriage being an occasion for adultery.  He was also merciful with sinners, especially those who were "victims of human passion," as Don Bosco called those who committed sexual sins. I do know that something has to be done. There are too many good, sincere people caught having to chose between their marriage and following their faith. These are people I meet almost everyday. So, I pray that the Holy Spirit enlightens the bishops as they gather and discuss, and the Pope as he makes his decisions, that we reach the right balance between justice and mercy in our pastoral practice.