Pope to Roman Rota: Lack of faith may hurt the validity of marriage
(Vatican Radio) Lack of faith may hurt the intrinsic goods of marriage: procreation,
marital fidelity and its indissolubility. This was the message at the heart of Pope
Benedict XVI’s address Saturday morning to members of the Tribunal of the Roman Rota
received in audience for the opening of the judicial year. Emer McCarthy reports:
The Pope reiterated that the current crisis of faith brings with it a crisis
of conjugal society. He also pointed out that the rejection of the Divine leads to
a deep imbalance in all human relationships.
Contemporary culture, the Pope
says, places "pressing challenges" before families because of its "accentuated subjectivism
and moral and religious relativism." In particular, he notes, there are those contrast
human liberty with the individual’s “ability to make a lifelong commitment”. There
is, in fact, a "widespread mentality" that leads people to believe that we becomes
ourselves only “by remaining 'autonomous’ and coming into contact with others only
through relationships that can be interrupted at any time."
"Everyone is aware
of how the choice of the human being to make a lifelong commitment influences our
basic perspective, this is if it is merely anchored in a human plan or closed off
to the light of faith in the Lord”.
"Only by being open God ‘s truth - he added
- is it possible to understand and realize the concreteness of life including marriage
and family, the truth of man as His child, regenerated by baptism." The Pope spoke
of the indissolubility of the commitment between a man and a woman. This commitment,
he noted "does not require, for the purposes of sacramentality, the personal faith
of those to be married." What is required, "as the minimum condition - he said - is
the intention of doing what the Church does"
"But while it is important not
to confuse the issue of intent with that of the personal faith of the contracting
parties, it is not always possible to completely separate them."
In this regard,
the Pope cites a 1977 document of the International Theological Commission, which
states that, if "you do not feel any trace of faith as such", there could be a problem
of knowing “if the general and truly sacramental intention” is ”present or not, and
if the marriage contract is valid or not".
The Pope then paused to reflect
on the goods and essential element of marriage . Quoting St. Augustine he spoke of
three goods: procreation, marital fidelity and its indissolubility. And he warned
against disregarding the fact that there can be cases where “the very absence of faith
compromises” conjugal values and prohibits consent.
The Pope recognized the
difficulties "from a legal and practical point of view, in singling out one essential
element" of the goods of marriage. At the same time, he noted that the issue of the
validity of the marriage, "especially in the current context”, needs further reflection.
The Pope recalled that those saints who lived marital union, "in the Christian perspective,"
and so were able "to overcome even the most adverse situations, sometimes achieving
the sanctification of the spouse and children with a love always strengthened by a
solid trust in God ":
"These experiences, marked by faith, help us to understand,
even today, the precious sacrifice offered by those spouses who have been abandoned
or those who have suffered divorce – while recognizing the indissolubility of valid
marriage – succeed in not allowing themselves to become involved in a new union.
In this case ... their example of fidelity and Christian consistency takes on particular
value as witnesses to the world and the Church '(Familiaris Consortio). "