Couples who have been "living in sin" and women who had children out of wedlock will be married by Pope Francis at a ceremony at the Vatican on Sunday, in a further sign of his determination to make the Catholic Church more inclusive and compassionate.
Ah...no. Like gays have always been marching in parades, the Catholic Church has been marrying couples who live together and have children out of wedlock all along.
The idea is to ask the right questions that lead to those revelations and then teach the substance that leads them to Sanctifying Grace.
There are some important quotes missing from this story. (Here is an article that carried the story in its entirety)
Here's the important quote:
While cohabitation is not in itself a canonical impediment to marriage, it is contrary to the church's teaching on marriage and sexual love. The church urges that pastoral ministers help couples preparing for marriage by showing them the witness of Christian family life in such a way as they may regularize their situation before their wedding ceremony.
Doesn't matter what their situation is when they approach Christ's Church. If they are willing to regularize and enter the Sacrament in a state of Sanctifying Grace, it is the beautiful practice of our religion.
5 comments:
"Enter the sacrament in a state of sanctifying grace". That's impossible if they continue to cohabitate for they remain in their mortal sin of fornication. They need to confess their mortal sin, and part of the Act of Contrition does state "to avoid the near occasion of sin".
I agree with you....well, what's the way to fix the situaiton so that it's no longer sinful...it's quite beautiful.
Absolutely Janet, it goes without saying that if they've been living together, there is a scandal - even if they themselves live as brother and sister until the wedding.
Making a mockery out of the Sacraments to their peers is counterproductive. You might grab the couple but the Church full of people who show up on that day only sees the witness that the Church approves of living together as some form of 'mercy' and 'love' coming from the 'new evangelism' of the 'Francis effect'.
I know several priests who will not marry if the bride and groom put the same address on the application. Most will go forward and do what they can to regularize.
I had an afterthought - even in a situation where the priest works on regularizing and the situation flounders and struggles - most of if not all will at least get to the point where the couple will accept they have to take their cohabitation to the Sacrament of Confession and live apart for the last week or few days - remain in a state of Grace until the ceremony. If the priest builds a relationship and draws them into the Church - it happens.
All we can do is work on the situation for the best possible outcome -- and NOT just for the couple but their family and friends and the people in our parish and community. Be conscious of the little picture and the big picture and do the best we can.
I do hope at some point that will make the news, that the Pope heard their Confessions prior to his very public Ceremony, let's give him a call?
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