Most marriages today are invalid, Pope Francis suggests

I think that is precisely what this idea of "accompaniment" is - false compassion. When you think "accompaniment" through to its logical conclusion, what does it mean and where does it lead to? You accompany the person all the way to the edge of the precipice, never warning them that it is time to turn back (because that would be judging, right?). And when they reach the precipice do you wave them goodbye and go on your merry way? No, they take you with them over the edge and you are both lost.

 

Pastoral accompaniment -

It is possible to accompany someone to Hell if you take them down the wide road to perdition and not the narrow road to salvation.

Matthew 7
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.

 

“Do not say, ‘His mercy is great; my many sins he will forgive.’ For mercy and anger alike are with him; his wrath comes to rest on the wicked. Do not delay turning back to the LORD, do not put it off day another day. For suddenly his wrath will come forth; at the time of vengeance, you will perish.” (Sirach 5:4-7).

 

I spent the evening with a Franciscan Priest, and I asked him about his thoughts on the Popes controversial statement that "over 50% of marriages are invalid".

He said something interesting, and I am not sure I have read anything similar to what he said in this thread yet.

He believes the reason the Pope said this is because of the progressive rate of divorce in the Catholic Church. People who get married in the Church get married for life, but if they are getting divorced clearly they do not understand what the Sacrament of Catholic Marriage is or have no Faith in it. So if the divorce rate is progressing to over 50%, this would imply that over 50% of the Marriages in the Catholic church are invalid.

 

If fidelity is now a condition of marriage, then could one be married, say to their dog or cat, since today more people are loyal to their pets than humans? I have worked in a place that produces animal vaccines for over 25 years now and I know the billions of dollars spent by owners towards the fidelity they have to their pets. But as we all know, fidelity is but one aspect of love. I don't see how anyone, let alone our Pope, could see living together in fornication as "real marriage" and be so sure of it. Scripture clearly teaches that that "no fornicator shall enter the kingdom of heaven", yet Pope Francis believes "they have the grace of real marriage because of their fidelity". I can't get over this statement. I believe in mercy, but equating fornication with "real marriage" goes beyond pale. This one statement has me very upset, as I have family, relatives and friends in this sinful relationship and his words gives them no reason to think outside their worldly choice.

 

I just read where the Society of St. Pius the Tenth has abandoned efforts to come back into the Catholic fold because of some of the statements made by Pope Francis. He was trying very hard in this Year of Mercy to bring them back but they have backed away. (the society founded by the late Marcel Lefebvre)
Personally, I am still praying for the Pope but I am disappointed greatly in the way things look right now. But I still stay on the ship.

 

Fatima, please let me attempt to respond to your concern here and, in doing so, maybe attempt to clarify Pope Francis' thinking as I see it.

You say, "equating fornication with 'real marriage' goes beyond pale" but Pope Francis is doing no such thing. The Pope is trying to point out that, increasingly, many couples are living out a relationship which is certainly irregular but which they believe is 'marriage' or something equivalent to it. He is saying that even without them having fulfilled the 'legal' norms or requirements of a Christian marriage, their behaviour and intent can be the same as a couple who have married through the sacrament of marriage. In such circumstances, God will most certainly bless their life together with supernatural help which could lead them eventually to the sacrament of marriage.

I hope someone will point out to me any error in what I have said here.

 

The error is simply that this is not what the pope said.

The pope said, "I've seen a lot of fidelity in these cohabitations, and I am sure that there is a real marriage, they have the grace of a real marriage because of their fidelity."

He didn't say what you are trying to infer he said. He simply said that these cohabitations display fidelity and constitute real grace conferring sacraments.

To say that objective mortal sin (cohabitation) constitutes a real grace conferring sacrament is blasphemous.

 

davidtlig, how come Pope Francis is the first person in Catholic/Christian authority to conclude this? Jesus never came close to saying this, the apostles and church fathers never came close to saying this and the Catholic Catechism surely does not come even close to saying such language as this. What reference can you give me, besides what Pope Francis has clearly stated that would conclude or equate cohabitation with "real marriage"? I am not a pope basher and I pray for him every day, but for the life of me, I cannot spin this statement in a way that comes close the aforementioned. Here, once again, we are left to interpret what our Holy Father say's to our own likening. I guess this is one of the 'signs of our times' and perhaps God is testing our fidelity to his papacy. The one question I have is, who is he really helping with his unwillingness to call out sin as sin as Jesus did? Is this mercy?

 

I know you are not a pope basher, Fatima, so I take your concerns seriously. It is probably true that previous Popes have not spoken in this way about the situations Francis is addressing for the simple reason that cohabitation simply did not occur to the extent it now does in our apostatized culture. But additionally, there is no doubt that Pope Francis also is speaking to the world through the modern media in a much more open way than would have been possible for earlier Popes.

When Francis speaks of a 'real marriage' in these situations he is really speaking of how he believes Jesus views the relationships. Jesus ALWAYS looks at the heart in all our actions. He doesn't ignore the rules of His Church but the important thing is always the heart of the individual souls and their intentions. I can only say that I believe Pope Emeritus Benedict would have no problem whatever with what Francis said although I suspect he would doubt the wisdom of speaking so openly on a matter like this.

In answering your last question I would reply by saying Francis is helping to show the mass of the population that Jesus and His Church is approachable and merciful.

 

The Pope did not say cohabitation constitutes a real grace. He said cohabitations can have have the grace of a real marriage in them.

 

The grace of a real marriage is, in the eyes of the Church, real sacramental grace. By definition.

Stop playing symantics in an attempt to spin what simply cannot be spun.

 

Your reply is a perfect example of 'playing symantics'.

 

You might confuse mere mortal men with your games, but God knows the Truth.

 

Very simple.

Living together is not marriage.

Sacramental grace is reserved for the sacrament.

When are you going to admit the Pope is out of order in saying these things?

Ask anyone with knowledge of canon law and they will tell you he is wrong.

(The Pope was expressing a personal opinion on these matters. The Pope's personal reflections are not gospel).

 

But grace is most certainly not reserved for the sacraments.

When are you going to listen to Pope Francis as your leader and guide and who teaches the truth?

 

We were speaking about the sacrament of matrimony.

Sacramental grace of marriage is reserved for the sacrament alone.

One cannot live in sin and receive the grace of the sacrament of marriage.

Can we not agree on that?

 

Others share my point of view.

Let us listen to a canon lawyer - Father Gerald Murray

“For the pope to say that [cohabitation is] a real marriage—anything before they get married in the Church—it’s just not accurate,” Murray added. “If you’re not married, you’re not getting the grace of the Sacrament, and you’re not in a real marriage.”

“Pastoral charity demands truth,” Murray continued. “If you tell everybody in the world, ‘look, a lot of people cohabiting are in real marriages,’ that’s not something good.”

As part of his justification for the claim that cohabitation can be “real marriage,” Pope Francis said that he’d seen “a lot of fidelity in those cohabitations.”

“If you haven’t given the vows before God, then there is no vow to be faithful to,” responded Murray. “A vow made before a civil official is subject to the laws of the state, which permit divorce, so it’s not—it’s not a condition-less vow as it is in the Church.”

 

I look at his statements on marriage this way, he is calling out all of the hypocrites who have their huge weddings and have no intention of remaining faithful or maybe they are saying something like, "if she gains 50 pounds this is over" AND then on the other hand he sees couples live together for years on end and they are faithful but yet the guy says something like "I don't want the ball and chain". The Pope is shaking his head at all of this, knowing there is a problem and trying to figure out a solution.
Yeah, he needed to change great majority to some and should have left out the word grace, but maybe no one would have even listened to him at all if he said it better.

 

According to the Catechism, a Sacrament is an outward sign of an inward grace. In cohabitation, there is no outward sign of the Sacrament of Matrimony.