Pentecost Sunday, June 8, 2014
Deacon Robert Banet
Hey, Charlie, you look puzzled. A little more than usual that is.
Well, I am. I heard the priest in the neighboring parish preach on marriage
So?
He said that divorce is all right unless is followed by remarriage.
Yes I believe I have heard that. I don’t know if that is part of Catholic teaching, though. I’ll tell you what. Let’s check the CCC.
The CCC? What’s that?
I just told you last week. It’s the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Can’t you remember anything?
Hey, you don’t have to bite my head off.
Let’s see. Ah, here it is. There’s a whole section on marriage, beginning with paragraph 1601. Then there’s another reference in paragraph 2384. It says, “Divorce is a grave offense against the natural law.”
That seems pretty clear. Odd that it doesn’t call it a sin.
“Grave offense” sounds pretty sinful to me. The paragraph continues to say that contracting a new union adds to the gravity. So the divorce itself is grave matter. The remarriage adds to it.
What about separation? A couple don’t get along and they separate. Is that OK?
In some cases, the CCC says separation in certain cases is permissible, if it
meets certain requirements in Canon Law.
That’s all I want to know. I know a couple who are in that situation.
Well, Charlie, I know that you and Irma are far from that.
Yes. Praise God.