Explain the Teaching of the Catholic Church regarding Marriage, Divorce and Annulment
Explain the Teaching of the Catholic Church regarding Marriage, Divorce and Annulment
In the eyes of Roman Catholics, marriage is seen as an ideal- a complete commitment between two people for the rest of their lives. Although Catholics do not expect their married lives to be endlessly happy and free from troubles, they are determined that marriage should be given a chance to work with both couples making an active contribution to the union. The start of every marriage should be love, and therefore a couple need to be attracted to each other in order for their marriage to last, and in order for this to happen the couple must find each others personality attractive and the couple must respect and value each other whilst holding a deep affection for one another. Marriage in the eyes of God is highly important, with Jesus performing the miracle at the wedding of Cana, to produce more wine so that the couple were not embarrassed. The fact that Jesus performed this miracle demonstrated that Jesus wished the couple to enjoy their wedding day, and so marriage is highly important. However, it must be noted that not all marriages are free from hardship, and through a number of reasons a couple may decide to end their marriage legally and in the eyes of God, however the Catholic church has various guidelines about how this can and cannot happen, which is the subject of this essay.
Firstly marriage is one of the seven sacraments in the eyes of the Catholic teaching. It is one of two, the other being Baptism, that are sacraments of commitment in the RC church. A sacrament is a sign of inward Grace, and outward declaration of faith, and so is highly important. God works to bring the couple closer to him, and in marriage each partner becomes a channel of Gods love to one another. To Catholics, marriage is part of Gods plan for the human race, described in Genesis. Although the story may not be regarded as true it carries many important points about Gods ideas; ‘[Man and woman were created in Gods image] God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number”. (Genesis 1:27-8). Hence in this way Catholics believe that it is natural for a man and woman to come together and love each other, and through this love they can marry and become a family. Leading from this marriage is therefore the only fit place for sexual intercourse and having children. The actual marriage ceremony is important as God unites the couple in ‘heart, mind, body and soul’. Because marriage is sacrament Jesus is believed to be present in the proceedings, and so this sacramental bond is created, which persists throughout the marriage. During the marriage the couple will make outward signs of commitment and permanence in their marriage. Two prominent ones are the vows, which state ‘to love and to cherish, in sickness and in health and till death do us part’. The final vow is an outward sign that the marriage should be permanent in the eyes of the couple and the Roman Catholic Church. A further symbol of permanence are the rings, with their circular shape highlighting unending love and faithfulness. Throughout the mass the priest will talk of bonding and that God has made the couple one flesh. Therefore the Catholic Church regards marriage as permanent and therefore indissoluble, further backed up in Catechism 1624, stating that the Holy Spirit has sealed the covenant between man and woman, which should act to help keep their love strong. Marriage is therefore indissoluble in the eyes of the Catholic Church, and the bond cannot be broken, “What God has made one flesh, do not split asunder”, which is taken from a quote by Jesus in Marks Gospel (Mark 10:6-9).
