Wednesday, December 21, 2011

What The Catholic Church Could Have Told Newt and Callista

Those of you who are die-hard Gingrich fans probably want to skip this post.  Don't say I didn't warn you.

After reading comments on another blog about how wonderful it would be to have a real Catholic president in the White House, I scratched my head in disbelief.  There are times when my Church, which I love and defend, does things that simply baffle me, like granting Mr. Gingrich and others like him an annulment.  Oh, I've heard the news that Newt has "converted".  Trouble is, I'm not convinced.  Let me explain.

To my way of thinking, true conversion is taking responsibility for your past actions, acknowledging your sin, and putting aside the thing (in this case,  person) that lead you to commit adultery in the first place.  Conversion is not getting your previous marriages annulled simply because this time, you've engaged in  adultery with a practicing Catholic.  (A Catholic who engages in adultery with a married man might think about "practicing" a little harder).

If next week I abdicate my marriage vows and decide to carry on with the postman, I will have committed a mortal sin.  Should I decide to confess this sin and in all sincerity, wish to make atonement even though I'm still attracted to the mail guy, what do you think I will be advised to do?  Will the priest advise me to seek an annulment so I can be with the man of my choice, or will he tell me to ask God's forgiveness and go make things right with my husband?

Where do we get the idea that it's OK to cheat on your wife and then marry your mistress if you weren't "really" married in the first place?  I get it that the Church does not consider marriages outside the faith as valid, but wouldn't it be better and more righteous in the truest sense of the word to have told Mr. Gingrich to put aside his new love interest and go back and make things right with his previous wives, and THEN seek entrance into the Catholic church?   The cart definitely went before the horse.

When it comes to situations like that of Newt and Callista Gingrich, it seems to me that the Church hierarchy is inadvertently contributing to the decline of the sanctity of marriage by effectively sanctioning adulterous relationships through a costly and controversial process known as annulment.   Mr. and Mrs. Gingrich are by no means unique and I know from other cases that his political stature is not the reason the Church was willing to grant the annulments.   I also know that one of the reasons the Church was willing to declare Newt's second marriage invalid is because his second wife had also been previously married.  Fair enough, but where does it end, especially if children were involved?

While the Church does not consider adultery and divorce to be intrinsic evils akin with abortion, they are nonetheless sins which contribute to the decline of the moral fiber of our country.   Furthermore, the rampant divorce rate is symptomatic of our overall throwaway, anything goes mentality.  Don't like your first wife?  Leave her for a newer and more attractive model.  Don't like the opposite sex?  No problem, marry someone of the same gender!  See how that goes?

There are times when divorce is the only option.  For instance, if there is abuse,  or if one of the spouses is a serial adulterer who refuses counseling.   Granting annulments to people who think they should try out as many wives as it takes to get it right, as casually as they would try on a suit, is not the way to bring a person to true conversion.  And it's not the way to protect the sanctity of one of the most disregarded sacraments instituted by Christ.

You may commence throwing darts at any time.

6 comments:

  1. This needs to go on "The Pulpit".
    Excellent post.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Joyce, no darts from me...As one who's been through the process it should be the absolute last resort..
    and it would help to hear it preached from the pulpit.
    +

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks Patricia, Julie and Caroline, for your comments. I have never had less time to prepare for Christmas as I have this year so I'll be buzzing around tonight and a little bit tomorrow trying to catch up and I have Adoration this evening as well. This working full-time 5 days a week thing is for the birds!

    I'm not sure what the Church hierarchy is thinking when it comes to annulments. As I've said, and Caroline certainly as in your experience, there are times when it's the right thing to do. But from my vantage point, it seems akin to Moses in the Old Testament, writing a bill of divorce, a practice Our Lord condemned.

    If I don't have a chance to talk to you again, have a blessed Christmas and may the peace of the Christ Child be yours now and always.
    Love you all
    Joyce

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Joyce, I was listening to a CD by Steve Wood called "Spiritual Warefare from a Pro-Life Foxhole" and he links the decrease in the the view of a marriage being sanctified to abortion. As a way to destroy God's people, water down the sanctity of marriage and life. We've bought this lie as a whole society where the divorce rate is high as well as the prevalence of abortions. Not everyone of course has bought into this but many.

    He offers a strategy to combat spiritual warfare~ Uphold the sanctity of marriage and human life. He also mentioned that once the Reformation took place, marriage was removed as a sacrament in the Protestant religions. Thereby becoming less sacred. As Catholics, we have no excuse. The divorce rate is just as high as non-Catholics but that notion of "a throw away society" has permeated into our church.

    I agree with you Joyce. Annulments are given too easily and it puts a negative view on our church.

    Merry Christmas!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Noreen

    As I said, it just baffles my mind that our church is sometimes so cavalier about marriage, which Christ instituted as one of the sacraments.

    Merry Christmas to you, too, Noreen and thanks for stopping by!
    Joyce

    ReplyDelete

Comments which reflect true Christian charity are always welcome. Comments which attack the Pope, the Church, priests or other bloggers will go in the dustbin, especially if they are anonymous. Thank you and God Bless you!