Word to the Wise
Friday, August 18, 2017 - Friday in the 19th Week in Ordinary Time
[Josh 24:1-13 and Matt 19:3-12]"Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator 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. Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not separate." [Matthew]
Jesus speaks these words in response to an inquiry from some Pharisees on a subject that was known to be debated among them. They assumed divorce and remarriage was legitimate because it was permitted by Moses. Their question has to do with the grounds for divorce, not divorce itself. To their surprise, Jesus tells them their question is irrelevant because divorce is not part of God's plan for the human race. Moses acted as he did because of the "hardness of heart" of the people but "from the beginning" divorce was not the original design.
When Pope Francis summoned a dual Synod of Bishops to discuss the whole question of marriage and then wrote his teaching based on the results of those deliberations in a document entitled Amoris laetitia, he caused an uproar. Although the synod covered an enormous range of topics and issues that are part of the fabric of human marriage, the uproar soon centered on one thing: can a person who was married "in the church" and has legally divorced a spouse and then remarried "outside the church" be allowed to receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist. No other issue seemed to matter. There is really only one chapter in the entire document by Pope Francis that deals with this one particular issue! It is concerned with helping couples who find themselves in this situation to find their way back to the fullest possible participation in the life of the church. The Pope's attitude is pastoral. The response of some Catholic "pharisees" has been punitive.
I have spent many years in matrimonial tribunal work and i know from experience how difficult this issue is. The goal of pastoral care is to restore and heal, not punish and exclude. Exclusion should always be done with the idea of eventual restoration, not condemnation. When all persons who have married, divorced and remarried are lumped into one category, great injustice occurs. But the goal is to try and recover everyone. Jesus' teaching is clear enough. So is his consistent care and compassion for sinners and anyone on the margins. Pope Francis is showing us how to honor both. AMEN
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