Enemies of faith want Church to fold on divorce, Cardinal Pell writes
September 25, 2014
In his foreword to a new book about Catholic teaching on marriage, Cardinal George Pell writes that "one cannot maintain the indissolubility of marriage by allowing the 'remarried' to receive Holy Communion."
Ignatius Press has released Cardinal Pell's foreword to The Gospel of the Family, a book that argues strongly against the "Kasper proposal" for allowing divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion. In that foreword-- which has been reproduced intact by Catholic World Report--the Australian cardinal writes acknowledges that the Church is under heavy pressure from secular forces to change. "Every opponent of Christianity wants the Church to capitulate on this issue," he observes.
However, Cardinal Pell says, the argument that has dominated media coverage in the preparation for the October meeting of the Synod of Bishops is not actually a central problem for the Church. He notes:
Healthy communities do not spend most of their energies on peripheral issues, and unfortunately the number of divorced and remarried Catholics who feel they should be allowed to receive Holy Communion is very small indeed.
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Further information:
- True Mercy and the Indissolubility of Marriage (Catholic World Report)
- The Gospel of the Family (Ignatius Press)
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Posted by: christhavemercy821235 -
Sep. 29, 2014 5:30 PM ET USA
"Granted, divorce is a sin" Not necessary if the party was the innocent victim. The issue here is a civil remarried person according to words coming out from Christ himself is living in a state of continuous sin of public adultery. Of course if someone who is civilly remarried goes to a Parish he is unknown to others he would be able to receive the Body of Christ without being caught but the Church can not be silent on telling the faithfuls not to commit Sacrilege because her job is save soul
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Posted by: Leopardi -
Sep. 26, 2014 10:16 AM ET USA
Granted, divorce is a sin, but what other sin condemns a sinner to be perpetually excluded from a scarement which by definition is the source of sanctifying grace most needed by the sinner. God does not need a 'bodyguard' in the form of those who would protect his sacrements from those deemed unworthy by the selfrighteous. Nobody marries with the intention of divorce. It is a tragedy and a sin. Can't it simply be left to the sacremental healing power of a contrite 'reconcilation'.
