Thursday, March 8, 2018
Youcat commented through CCC – Question n. 424 – Part III.
(Youcat
answer - repeated) Adultery is committed when two people, at least one of whom
is married to someone else, have sexual relations. Adultery is the fundamental
betrayal of love, the violation of a covenant that was made in God’s sight, and an injustice to one’s
neighbor. Jesus himself explicitly declared the indissolubility of marriage:
“What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder” (Mk 10:9).
Citing the original will of the Creator, Jesus abolished the toleration of
divorce in the Old Covenant.
A deepening through CCC
(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.
Reflecting and meditating
(Youcat comment) The encouraging promise of this message of
Jesus is, “as children of your heavenly Father you are capable of lifelong
love.” Nevertheless, it is not easy to remain faithful to one’s spouse for a
lifetime. We must not condemn people whose marriages fail. Nevertheless,
Christians who irresponsibly bring about divorce incur guilt. They sin against
God’s love, which is visible in marriage. They sin against the abandoned spouse
and against abandoned children. Of course the faithful partner in a marriage
that has become unbearable can move out of shared living accommodations. In
some serious circumstances, it may be necessary to go through a civil divorce.
In well-founded cases the Church can examine the validity of the marriage in an
annulment proceeding.
(CCC Comment)
(CCC 2384) Divorce is a grave offense against the
natural law. It claims to break the contract, to which the spouses freely
consented, to live with each other till death. Divorce does injury to the
covenant of salvation, of which sacramental marriage is the sign. Contracting a
new union, even if it is recognized by civil law, adds to the gravity of the
rupture: the remarried spouse is then in a situation of public and permanent
adultery: If a husband, separated from his wife, approaches another woman, he
is an adulterer because he makes that woman commit adultery, and the woman who
lives with him is an adulteress, because she has drawn another's husband to
herself (St. Basil, Moralia 73, 1: PG
31, 849-852).
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