I sympathise with everyone in your situation and admire those who live a single life who have innocently suffered divorce but persevere in the single life, as one of my close neighbours and one of my relatives do. However I have never heard of a proposal that the Pope is to grant a 'universal pardon' to those who have re-married in a civil ceremony and (presumably) re-admit them to the Sacraments. I have never heard of such a procedure which I am certain does not exist in the Church. We know that one German diocese has decided to ignore Church teaching and that it seems very likely that the rest of Germany will follow. The CDF has reminded them of Church teaching and they have rejected this reminder claiming that the Pope has implied his support. The Pope has,it is true, made sympathetic comments about people who have re-married in these circumstances but it's by no means certain that he will support the schismatic Germans against the CDF and the Church's constant teaching, indeed it would be astonishing to many if he purported to do so. There are things that even a Pope cannot do and I think we are discussing one such thing here.
"Let no man seperate what God has joined". The Church has no authority to grant an annulment if the marriage is of God. There are many many bad marriages and I feel for those who are divorced. Your sacrifice to remain single is not in vain. God will use this to purify you and others and will have mercy on us all, but in the mean time you must pray for your husband. We have to trust that in your sorrow God will answer your prayers, but it will not be through a pardon of the Pope, as he has no authority to do so if it is a valid marriage in God's eye.
I too was left by husband when I was still young seventeen years ago. I have a valid marriage and have spent the time getter closer to God and praying for my Husband. The Lord Jesus takes very good care of me and I just cant imagine why anyone would give up the creator for a mere creature. Jesus was VERY clear on this issue, and the Church never has the authority to change His teachings, nor will she on this or other commandments. Remember those who preserver to the end will be saved, and those who give up their life for Jesus sake will gain eternal life. Never forget what the goal is.
The problem for significant numbers of re-married Fatima is that their original cohabitation is not of God. Unfortunately present annulment procedures, being of Man, regularly fail in recognising this (and so let good Catholics down). As the Holy Father stated in recent times.
And so the question is, who is the judge of a valid marriage, the person divorced and remarried or the Church? If we left it up to the divorced persons, I assume they would all claim to have had an invalid marriage from the beginning. It can be a very difficult discernment. Carmel333 has allot of wisdom in this area.
While I have great respect for Carmel333, who had a valid marriage, in her life of faithfulness, it is not fair to project our situation onto everyone else. As I've said before - the Church has the authority from Jesus to bind and loose. If the Church declared a marriage invalid, the person who remarries is not committing a sin (provided they are truthful in the annulment process).
Fatima your fears have been addressed a number of times in the above discussion which may be worth a closer re-read. Both Popes Francis and Benedict do see room to move beyond the manifest weaknesses of the present Annulment system without falling into the bottomless pit of arbitrary subjectivism. That discernment is exactly the purpose of the Oct 2014 Synod, amongst other things - notwithstanding the less-informed views of AB Mueller to the contrary. Nevertheless the Germans do seem to have gone a bridge too far in acting unilaterally (and somewhat arrogantly) before the Synod.
"The problem for significant numbers of re-married Fatima is that their original cohabitation is not of God. Unfortunately present annulment procedures, being of Man, regularly fail in recognising this (and so let good Catholics down). As the Holy Father stated in recent times. " Totally agreed. i have tried not to harbor bitterness in a situation where I have little choice. Other Christian churches offer remarriage, but I do not want to live without the Sacraments. Admittedly it is very difficult especially when one wishes you had a husband to do the things one must do as a single woman.... even change a lightbulb lol My ex has remarried and we co-parent our son. He has married a Hindu woman so he is definitely no longer catholic. Meanwhile I will try to pursue the annulment for the 500th time. Preliminary talks have shown that my marriage was invalid . It is just to complete the questionnaire.
Hi Caribchic, I sympathize with your situation and, as another who separated relatively young, I have been where you are. Now almost seven years on from being granted an annulment I am very happily still single. That was not at all my plan when I originally sought the annulment; I was fairly convinced that if I was granted an annulment I would soon meet someone new and live happily ever after. The Lord, in his infinite wisdom, had other plans for me and over time I have come to accept that, and even rejoice in it. Being single (though I have a child) gives me freedom to serve God in so many other ways that having a husband would not. So what I'm trying to say, and I hope I'm not being insensitive, is don't pin all your hopes on getting an annulment because even if you get one things might not necessarily work out as you planned. In my case, it was following my own plans that got me into the whole mess in the first place! And so I now thank God that he took hold of the reins in my life.
Thank You Adoremus for your contribution ...it is greatly appreciated. i will still follow up on the annulment ...my new year's resolution...though I do not intend to remarry but as you have rightly stated,,,not having a husband allows me certain freedons that I have learnt to appreciate . and spend more time with God before the Blessed Sacrament.
Having or not having a spouse I could see having its benefits to serve God, but could you even imagine if the two married individuals shared the faith and love of God as Mary and Joseph did? I see a few of these couples in church all the time and what power is present when you see the joy in their hearts and on their faces with them praying together. I must admit I am a bit envious but not to the point where I would be sinning...well I hope not any way. I often wondered if anything ever happened to me and my spouse what I would then do? The thought of becoming at least a Deacon possibly a priest has and does enter my mind from time to time. I must admit, though we are both raised Catholic, I am the only practicing one in our house. That is always my deepest prayer though and I have to trust in God's plan.
Lumena, http://www.dmdiocese.org/divorced-and-catholic-faqs.cfm 5) I am a divorced Catholic and my prior marriage was not performed before a priest, deacon or bishop (it was before the justice of the peace or another Church). What is my status? A) Your prior marriage was invalid (unless you received a dispensation from form) since it did not follow the required form of marriage required for Catholics. You may file an administrative process, called Lack of Form, which is very simple, takes less than thirty days and has a fee of $50. You would then be free to marry in the Church. Safe in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary!
