Daily Retreat 08/18/06
2006 Aug 18 Fri: Ordinary Weekday/ Jane Frances de Chantal, mw, rf
Ez 16: 1-15. 60. 63/ Is 12: 2-3. 4bcd. 5-6/ Mt 19: 3-12
From today’s readings: “Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations.... Shout with exultation, O city of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel!... Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not separate....”
Divorce and Annulments
Divorce has become so common in our society that it hardly is considered scandalous and even seems to be accepted by many Christians as something unfortunate but not necessarily sinful. Divorce, however, was already at least occasionally assailed in the Old Testament (e.g.,Malachi 2) and the New Testament is clear that Jesus Himself emphatically condemned divorce and re-marriage as equivalent to adultery.
What then can justify the Church’s issuance of a declaration of nullity, commonly called an “annulment” - isn’t that just the same thing as a divorce? Actually, there’s a crucial difference. Marriage, in fact, is both a divine and human institution, and a decree of nullity rules on the standing of the marriage in the eyes of God and His Church, whereas a divorce concerns the standing of the marriage in the view of the civil laws. A divorce is thus a legal decree stating that, for whatever reasons, the marriage between the specified man and woman is no longer to be lawfully recognized, with consequential changes in the status of the couple’s property and rights.
A decree of nullity, however, follows upon a careful investigation of the couple’s union and states that, because an essential element of Christian marriage was lacking from the beginning, the union cannot be recognized as a Christian marriage, and thus the man and woman are not bound to each other as spouses. Since the Church’s decree of nullity does not determine the legal standing of the union, an annulment does not make the couple’s children illegitimate or affect the other legal issues of property and rights.
There is, unfortunately, a lot of confusion and misinformation about the annulment process, and since it is admittedly a complicated matter, the best advice is to contact the local pastor or diocesan tribunal office for accurate, confidential answers to specific questions.
Ez 16: 1-15. 60. 63/ Is 12: 2-3. 4bcd. 5-6/ Mt 19: 3-12
From today’s readings: “Son of man, make known to Jerusalem her abominations.... Shout with exultation, O city of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel!... Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not separate....”
Divorce and Annulments
Divorce has become so common in our society that it hardly is considered scandalous and even seems to be accepted by many Christians as something unfortunate but not necessarily sinful. Divorce, however, was already at least occasionally assailed in the Old Testament (e.g.,Malachi 2) and the New Testament is clear that Jesus Himself emphatically condemned divorce and re-marriage as equivalent to adultery.
What then can justify the Church’s issuance of a declaration of nullity, commonly called an “annulment” - isn’t that just the same thing as a divorce? Actually, there’s a crucial difference. Marriage, in fact, is both a divine and human institution, and a decree of nullity rules on the standing of the marriage in the eyes of God and His Church, whereas a divorce concerns the standing of the marriage in the view of the civil laws. A divorce is thus a legal decree stating that, for whatever reasons, the marriage between the specified man and woman is no longer to be lawfully recognized, with consequential changes in the status of the couple’s property and rights.
A decree of nullity, however, follows upon a careful investigation of the couple’s union and states that, because an essential element of Christian marriage was lacking from the beginning, the union cannot be recognized as a Christian marriage, and thus the man and woman are not bound to each other as spouses. Since the Church’s decree of nullity does not determine the legal standing of the union, an annulment does not make the couple’s children illegitimate or affect the other legal issues of property and rights.
There is, unfortunately, a lot of confusion and misinformation about the annulment process, and since it is admittedly a complicated matter, the best advice is to contact the local pastor or diocesan tribunal office for accurate, confidential answers to specific questions.
posted by FrPitstick | 8/14/2006
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