CA Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
On November 30, 2009, MSNBC
ran a story concerning a California resident who is attempting to add an issue to the California ballot in 2010 that would ban divorce in California. Hailed as a "comedic movement," John Marcotte, a self-proclaimed, "accidental activist," is addressing civil rights. "Since California has decided to protect traditional marriage, I think it would be hypocritical of us not to sacrifice some of our own rights to protect traditional marriage even more," Marcotte, a Catholic, married father of two said.
Mr. Marcotte has a serious point to make: perhaps if the community respected the sanctity of marriage, there would be no need for divorce. If men or women who left their families did not have legal recourse, perhaps they would be more of a mind to work out their marital difficulties.The solution to marital discord does not rest in banning divorce, but in preparing for marriage. If everyone understood the true nature of marriage, the spiritual union between a man and a woman with the total gift of self that actually makes the two as one, the need for divorce would diminish. Additionally, if support systems were available to help troubled marriages, there would be an even greater fall in the rate of divorces.
Included in the article about Mr. Marcotte is a statement that requires serious clarification: “The Roman Catholic Church also prohibits divorce but allows annulments. The California proposal would amend the state constitution to eliminate the ability of married couples to get divorced while allowing married couples to seek an annulment.”
During their fall meeting, the bishops of the USCCB issued their pastoral letter, Marriage: Love and Life in the Divine Plan. The sixty-page document includes a complete discussion and instruction concerning the sacrament of Marriage. The letter is, “an invitation to discover, or perhaps rediscover, the blessing given when God first established marriage as a natural institution and when Christ restored and elevated it as a sacramental sign of salvation.” Included in the bishops’ pastoral letter is section concerning divorce:
Divorce: “We bishops urge couples in crisis to turn to the Lord for help. We also encourage them to make use of the many resources, including programs and ministries offered by the Church, that can help to save marriages, even those in serious difficulty. In some cases, divorce may be the only solution to a morally unacceptable situation.”
Divorce is the legal dissolution of the "business side" of marriage; it does not change the sacramental nature of Marriage. The Roman Catholic Church does not prohibit divorce, but allows divorce if it is indeed the only solution to a morally unacceptable situation. The annulment process examines the validity of the sacrament of marriage. That examination of the sacrament of marriage returns to the moment of the sacrament and includes, among many other elements, looking at the couple’s preparation for marriage. The annulment process determines the presence of a sacrament. To even begin the annulment process, there must be a legal divorce. Thus, the potential California proposal amending the state constitution to eliminate the ability of married couples to get divorced would not allow married couples to seek an annulment, as a legal divorce is a criterion for annulment.
Comments
Good idea; no annulments either. We should restore all the elements of marriage in order to uphold its sacred meanings; for instance, we should allow the beating of wives by dominant-sanctioned husbands; kill adulterers, make children chattel property and command wives to be silent, obedient and humble. We should then kill all those who disagree with these views. Yeah, baby, gimme that old time religion! Oh, and don't forget to make painkillers for women giving childbirth illegal, too. God wants them to suffer when they bring forth children to populate the earth, you know. Peace.
That's a lie. Legal annulments would still be possible from the state, which the Church no doubt could approve of itself as well.
Annulment examines the validity of a sacrament after divorce?? Sounds like sophistry to me.
You dodged the real question: Are Catholics morally obligated to support Marcotte's proposition as they were Prop 8? Both propositions claim to protect the sacramental nature of marriage, even though marriage wasn't an sacrament till 1250. What does your bishop think? More importantly, what would big J think? I'm told he was pretty clearly quoted in scripture on that matter, but I missed his clear quotes on sexuality that others were able to find, so I could be wrong. Are there signature drives & special collections at church to support this next bible-based proposition? Have the Knights of Columbus taken a position of financial support?
The USCCB is waffling on divorce deeming it morally acceptable ["a solution to a morally unacceptable situation"] in contradiction to the bible. Isn't that approaching h-e-r-e-s-e-y?
And what should the next Catholic bible-based proposition b
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