Pope calls for understanding for couples experiencing failure in marriage

February 28, 2014 - Pope Francis on Friday appealed for a culture of understanding, never condemning those who experience failure in love in their married life. The Pope’s appeal came in his homily at the morning Mass in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta residence in the Vatican. Drawing inspiration from the Gospel episode where some Pharisees ask Jesus about the legitimacy of divorce, Pope Francis warned against the trap of regarding the situation of the divorced simply as a legal case saying, “behind the case there is always a trap against us and God. " In order to explain the law of Moses on divorce, Jesus referred to the Creation of the world where God created male and female, enjoining the man to leave his parents to be united to his wife to form one flesh, not two. Hence, the Pope said, the masterpiece of Creation was not just man alone – but he along with his companion in journey, the woman. And Jesus takes this love of the masterpiece of Creation to explain God’s love for His people. St. Paul explains the mystery of Christ with the analogy of conjugal love in relation to His love for his spouse, the Church. This is the story of love – the story of the masterpiece of Creation. And in relation to this path of love, the legal case fails and becomes bitter. And when this love to form one flesh to go ahead fails, we must feel the pain of this breakdown and accompany the persons involved. “Don’t condemn! Walk with them! Don’t make a legal case of their situation,” the Pope appealed, cautioning all against the legal attitude of the Pharisees and the doctors of law.