What a wonderful coincidence, or was it a coincidence?! Just a few weeks ago, the pope decided to offer some very specific directives to avoid the rampant problem of the unfair granting of annulments by local boards known as tribunals (I'll start to review some of the pope’s words, after some brief comments).
My wife is seeking such an annulment of our marriage, asking a tribunal to declare our 19-year marriage null and void—as if it never existed. I have repeatedly asked her, to no avail, to consider reconciliation.
Some may believe that the pope and I disagree on everything--no, no. Just a few very important things. But this is not one of them. I'm all for the pope’s stand against easy annulments.
Annulments come real easy in the U.S. with more than 97 percent of the annulments in the U.S. (about 60,000 annually) being granted. The U.S. accounts for 60 percent of all annulments worldwide (about 100,000 annually)! In other words, the local tribunals hand them out like candy--that's why they're often called "Catholic divorces"
On the other hand, while they won't "publicly" disagree with their pope, I'm pretty sure most of his instructions will be ignored by his fellow Roman Catholics on the tribunal in Tulsa and they'll give my wife an annulment anyway, so she can continue in her sin--foolin' around with other guys.
Nevertheless, it is good to know the pope has identified and is hoping to correct some very specific problems--and he may have had the Tulsa bunch in mind, when he spoke to the highest tribunal on marriage--the Roman Rota.
For the next few blogs, we’ll look at what the pope says, so we can compare it to the decision of the Tulsa tribunal when it happens.
According to the pope, priests and tribunals who think they can justify what they want by insisting it’s "the charitable thing to do" are mistaken, they can’t bend the truth in the name of charity:
"Some people maintain that pastoral charity justifies any measures taken towards the declaration of nullity of the marriage bond. ... Truth itself ... would thus tend to be seen in a functional perspective, adapting itself to the different requirements that arise in each case".
More on the next blog…
Take your case to Rome in the second instance:
ReplyDeleteHere is our second instance reversal. An Iowan tribunal found in favor of nullity.
http://www.cormacburke.or.ke/node/466
Yes, I am now a former Catholic and my wife, long ago, remarried with the man she left me for AND she and he are accepted completely in the American Catholic Church. She just has to wait until I die to marry him in the Church.
I won both cases in Rome, but it made no difference. The Church in the US is corrupt and, sadly, because he is "the first among equals" and NOT a monarch, the Pope cannot simply clean house.
My heart broke and remains broken over all of this. There is NO PLACE ELSE but the Catholic Church. That she behaves as a whore is reason to separate from that whore, but it is NOT a reason to be unfaithful to that whore. She belongs to Christ and she will return to Him, one day. For now, she is a whore. Although she is a whore who has been redeemed by the Cross and His promises.
Yes, I remain a sinner who does not deserve God's mercy, nevertheless I pray for it and I remain faithful to my whore, in hopes that she will one day see what she is really about and perhaps our five children and the two she has had with her adulterous partner will see that profound forgiveness is not only required by God, but is possible and can be lived, and that, all things are possible with God, is not an empty phrase.
I guess it can be said that I am betting my salvation on it, as I have formally defected from the Catholic Church, until such time as it, once again, respects marriage. May that time transpire during my lifetime or I, likely, will face death, without the Sacraments.
"Max"
Dear Max,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your insights and it was wild to read the reversal. Looks like the both of us are dealing with someone who suddenly just "changed their mind" about marriage. It also seems to have occurred during a very trying time and in the case of my wife, her decision seemed to be at least enhanced by the medication, which made her bold--so bold.
I would be glad for you to e-mail me anytime at biblecatholics@yahoo.com. Ahhh, the celibate life. Nothing quite like it, is there? --Jim