The bishops’ perspective of marriage (1)

In Maltese we say that it is wiser to light a candle than to curse darkness. The lesson is clear: In doing something positive, you are reducing the negative; in doing good, you are cutting down on evil. In their pastoral note, our dear bishops have taken this positive step.

They have entitled their message Pastoral Note On Marriage And The Family. Their purpose was positive as well: “This pastoral note is meant to convey the position of the Catholic Church for those who look towards the Church for direction.”

After showing that marriage is the basis of the family, they pointed directly to what Christ has said about marriage, ending with the words: “So then, what God has united, human beings must not divide.” Why are “human beings” mentioned? They are mentioned for the simple fact that divorce is the dissolution of a validly contracted marriage by a human being or, for that matter, a human authority. God can dissolve marriage and it would not amount to a divorce. But no human being has the power to dissolve a validly contracted and consummated marriage, whether the marriage is religious nor not. Dissolving a valid marriage is evil, condemned by God as a grave sin.

The bishops insisted that the Catholic Church “promotes marriage and defends it because, ultimately, this will result in fewer breakdowns”.

So, also here, a positive step is highlighted to increase the stability of marriages and families. On the other hand, they referred to statistics proving divorce to be a negative step which causes society to suffer.

The bishops focused also on the evil of divorce that goes directly against the spouses’ consent as a lifelong commitment. Divorce greatly contrasts with this consent as it renders it a temporary reality, that is, until you divorce.

To confirm the evil of divorce, the bishops made reference to the Catechism of the Catholic Church on marriage and divorce where it is explicitly stated that divorce is immoral and a grave offence against natural law, against God, and entering a second marriage renders one an adulterer or adulteress, thus, living in grave sin.

As an encouragement to those defending the value and indissolubility of marriage, the bishops stated that it is a “great privilege for every committed member of the Church to say before the Lord that they have done their part in promoting and defending these values that Jesus insisted so much upon in His teachings”.