The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-03-27
The Catholic Church and Divorce.

Bishop HEALEY of Maine recently
caused a pastoral to be read from the
affairs OF all the catholic churches in his
diocese, which has attracted good deal
of attention. 1t dealt principally with
the subject OF divorces, and the following
were among its striking passages:
From all that we have said you can Judge Of
the horror with which all good Christians, and
indeed all sensible and GOd-fearing men,
must regard divorce. Well meaning men are
endeavoring, all too late. TO stem the fearful
tide which IN our country IS devastating social
ana married life. But until men return to the
true ideal OF marriage as sacrament they
might as well try to keep out the ocean with "A
broom. Having once degraded marriage to a
civil contract, fOrbidding minister OF religion
even TO celebrate or bless il, as was the case IN
the colony times of New England, it is not in
the power of mems words TO stay the lowest of
lustfui desires nor TO restore marriage TO Its
original purity. unity or holiness.
As for you, children OF the church, you must
be in this matter "a holy nation, purchased
people, that you may declare His virtues who
hath called you out of the darkness into his
marvellous light" / Peter, ii, o. Therefore it
becomes necessary for us not only to declare
the doctrines of the church as regards holy
marriage, but TO repudiate whatever may de-
grade in the minds and hearts of the faithful.
Hence as the council of Trent declares (session
pa that matrimonial causes belong TO eccleSi-
sstical judges" we do hereby forbid any
catholic male or female) TO begin any
proceedings for divorce IN courts until the
causes or reasons for the same shall have been
laid before the bishop, and we reserve TO our
selves the absoiution OF all such as shall vio-
late this ordinance foTbldding any priest in
our diocese 10 admit them TO the sacraments
until the matter has been thus submitted.
And since in a contract il is not just that one
should judge for himself and for another also, 1t
is plainly against reason that husband or wife
should judge for themselves of even tenn
porary separation. For 10 them that are mar
ried, not |, but the Lord commander that the
wife depart not from her husband, and if she
depart, that she remain unmarried or be recon-
ciled to her husband" Il Cor, vii, 10.)
In all cases where a separation not legal or
perpetual seems necessary, the case shall be
submitted to a third person-to one whose
judgment shall be impartial before men and
guided by the law of God, and the pastor of
souls is the proper Judge and authority to re-
fer to. Hence, | exhOrt our pastors TO exclude
from the sacrament any man or woman living
apart from wife or husband, unless the reasons
therefor have been previously submitted to his
judgment.
The New York Herald prints an inter-
esting interview upon this subject with
Cardinal GIBBONS, the leading catholic
dignitary of this country. The venerable
prelate is somewhat more conservative
than Bishop HEALEY, but still he takes
very high ground Marriage, he declares,
is the most inviolable OF all contracts.
Adultery alone may justify divorce in
the sense ola separation. "But not in any
case does it justify re-marriage during
the lifetime of the two parties to the
wedding contract The cardinal be-
lieves that the ease with which release
from matrimonial contracts is obtained in
some OF our states is fraught with danger
GUS consequences, and that 'the rigor of
the catholic teaching is merciful beside
the cruel consequences of the indiscrim-
mate divorces we see nowadays"
But his eminence is not prepared to go
quite as far as the bishop of Maine. He
says he should hesitate to refuse the
sacraments to catholic who had merely
obtained divorce, but he declares that it
is not only the right but the duty of
priests to refuse dissolution or the sacra-
ments to a divorced catholic who has re-
married during the lifetime OF the first
husband or wife.
1t will be seen from these utterances
of its leading representative in America
that the ancient church maintains its ira
ditional attitude touching the marriage
relation. If the protestant churches oc-
cupied the same attitude, it is probable
that the number OF divorces would be
much smaller than IL is.