Sunday, October 28, 2012
348. When does the Church allow the physical separation of spouses?
(Comp
348) The Church permits the physical separation of spouses when for
serious reasons their living together becomes practically impossible, even
though there may be hope for their reconciliation. As long as one’s spouse
lives, however, one is not free to contract a new union, except if the marriage
be null and be declared so by ecclesiastical authority.
“In brief”
(CCC 2382) The Lord Jesus insisted on the original intention
of the Creator who willed that marriage be indissoluble (Cf. Mt 5:31-32;
19:3-9; Mk 10 9; Lk 16:18; 1 Cor 7:10-11). He abrogates the accommodations that
had slipped into the old Law (Cf. Mt
19:7-9). Between the baptized, "a ratified and consummated marriage cannot
be dissolved by any human power or for any reason other than death" (CIC,
can. 1141).
To deepen and explain
(CCC 1644) The love of the spouses requires, of its very
nature, the unity and indissolubility of the spouses' community of persons,
which embraces their entire life: "so they are no longer two, but one
flesh" (Mt 19:6; cf. Gen 2:24). They "are called to grow continually
in their communion through day-to-day fidelity to their marriage promise of
total mutual self-giving" (FC 19). This human communion is confirmed,
purified, and completed by communion in Jesus Christ, given through the
sacrament of Matrimony. It is deepened by lives of the common faith and by the
Eucharist received together.
Reflection
(CCC 2383) The separation
of spouses while maintaining the marriage bond can be legitimate in certain
cases provided for by canon law (Cf. CIC, cann. 1151-1155). If civil divorce
remains the only possible way of ensuring certain legal rights, the care of the
children, or the protection of inheritance, it can be tolerated and does not
constitute a moral offense. (CCC 1649) Yet there are some situations in which
living together becomes practically impossible for a variety of reasons. In
such cases the Church permits the physical separation
of the couple and their living apart. The spouses do not cease to be husband
and wife before God and so are not free to contract a new union. In this
difficult situation, the best solution would be, if possible, reconciliation.
The Christian community is called to help these persons live out their
situation in a Christian manner and in fidelity to their marriage bond which
remains indissoluble (Cf. FC 83; CIC, cann. 1151-1155).
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