THE
P RTAL
July 2011
Page 16
F ather Peter’s P a ge
But I am divorced...
It is ironic
that for some of those who are wishing to join The Ordinariate
one of the main attractive reasons for doing so seems, in some cases, to be also one
of the problems in making the step.
For a long time, sometimes all one’s Christian life,
you may have been told – and believed – that one of
the qualities of a true Christian Community is that it
is loyal to Scripture: In faithfulness to Christ, it would
not believe, or practise, anything that was contrary to
Scripture .
[It sometimes is a part of a person’s spiritual
development that one comes to realise that
those who make the ‘claim’ the most - to be
‘Biblical Believers’ - in fact are not! One comes
across people who have very strange literal
views about the creation story in Genesis, but
are the first to deny our Lord’s clear words about
his ‘Real Presence’ in the Eucharist in St John
Chapter 6!]
It used to be a quality of the Church of England,
sometimes alone among other Protestant Churches,
that she was consistently faithful to Christ’s teaching
about Marriage. How things have changed! Not only
now has she ignored the clear teaching of Christ about
marriage (e.g. St Matthew Chapter 19), but she has
ordained and/or re-licensed people who have been re-
married after divorce – in some cases, more than once!
The Church has long realised that there may be reasons
why a wedding ceremony may not have resulted in a
valid marriage.
If, after careful investigation, reasons are discovered
which prevented it from being a valid marriage, then
the Catholic Church can declare it to be invalid.
What are these reasons? To make a list would not
be helpful since we are involved in a very personal
situation and therefore there could be a number of
reasons that might be relevant.
It is very important to ensure that what is done,
is done for YOU and addresses YOUR particular
circumstances.
There are, though, two broad categories: If the
Church’s rules for marriage have not been followed,
then the marriage can be declared ‘null’. On the other
hand, there may be an impediment to a marriage or
something not entirely correct in the exchanging of
consent to marriage at the time.
The Marriage Tribunal
The only way to find out, is to ask! In the first
instance, via a priest in The Ordinariate who will know
It is often a surprise to some – especially Protestant the procedures and details of the Marriage Tribunal
Christians - to hear that one of the reasons for being used at present.
belonging to the Catholic Church is because she, and
she alone, is faithful to scripture.
Above all remember that the Tribunal is very
sensitive to the delicacy of the situation/circumstances
But here is the crux: By being dedicated to Scripture in which people find themselves and it simply wants
one cannot evade, or explain away by weasel words, to help balance compassion with being loyal to Christ.
the clear teaching of Christ that a true valid Christian
Marriage is life-long and cannot be ‘repeated’.
But isn’t that what Catholicism is all about?
Experiencing Christ’s compassion through the
But alongside being faithful to Christ – however sacraments and the life of the Church and, at the same
‘hard’ his teaching seems to be – the Church is time, being loyal to Christ.
conscious that sometimes “we make his love too
narrow by false limits of our own; and we magnify His
Remember: In your pilgrimage, you never walk
strictness with a zeal He will not own”. (F W Faber)
alone. There are others surrounding you to help and
encourage you. In faith, take the next step . . .
Faithful to scripture
A true valid Christian Marriage
Note the claim: “a true valid Christian Marriage”.
Father Peter