The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-12-06
DIVORCE AND nEMARRIAGE.

| DIVORCE AND dEMARHlAGE.
A movement looking to the bringing
Of ministers OF the gospel. of various
denominations, into an agreement not
| to perform the marriage ceremony for
! persons who have been divorced, has
been started in the North. Support
| to the movement, it is said, was first
pledged some two weeks ago at a
meeting held in st. Bartholomew
Parish House, New York, at which
were present delegates representing the
Protestant Episcopal, the Presbyterian,
the Baptist, the United Presbyterian,
the Congregationalist and the Unfair
ian churches. The secretary of the
meeting was instructed to send invi-
! tations to all religious bodies to join
the crusade, and it is expected that
at another meeting, to be held in
February, not less than twenty denom-
nations will be represented, and give
their adherence to the plan. Bishop
Coleman of the Episcopal diocese of
Wilmington, Del, has issued a warn
ing to ministers under his jurisdiction
against remarrying divorced persons.
1t seems that Archbishop Farley, of
the Catholic church, when the move
ment was brought to his attention,
declined to join the conference of
Protestant ministers. on the ground
that, as his church, the Catholic, does
not recognize divorce and hence will
not remarry divorced persons, there
is no reason why he should attend such
| meeting. The Catholic church holds
marriage to be a religious sacrament
and therefore indissoluble. Believing
thus, it has nothing to do with divorce
or its consequence of remarriage. The
Protestant churches regard marriage
as contract, dissoluble for certain
causes. The Westminster Confession
names two causes for the setting aside
of the marriage contract; and these
causes are recognized by a very great
part Of the Protestant churches. The
Presbyterian Directory of Worship says
that it is proper for every common
wealth, for the good of society, to
make laws to regulate marriage, which
all citizens are bound to obey" The
sacramento character of matrimony is
either rejected or not affirmed by other
denominations, so that the movement
noted, to pledge ministers not to re-
marry divorced persons is rather in
| the nature of a "gentlemen's agree
ment," as the New York Sun calls
it, than anything else. 1t is in the
line of expediency for the promotion
of the public good, rather than an Ad-
herence to the tenets of church faith.
Not only nearly all of the churches, but
pretty nearly all Of the states recog-
nize divorce and remarriage. In South
! Carolina alone is there total prohibit
ton of divorce. In New York the
laws provide for divorce on one ground
only. These two states have the most
stringent laws respecting marriage. At
| the other extreme, one of the Dakotas
has more than a dozen grounds for di-
vorce and its laws make it easy for
! those who wish to do so to dissolve
the marriage tie. And while the civil
authority in so many states recognizes
| divorce and remarriage, will it be
| possible for the "gentlemen's agree
ment" among certain ministers to pre-
vent remarriages between divorced
persons? Only a few days ago in
Rhode Island there was a "society"I
wedding in which the woman was di-
vorced only a few hours before shel
became for the second time a bride.
In attendance there were eleven wit
nsses, five of whom had records in the
divorce courts. The bride in this case
was Catholic, and acted in defiance
of the prohibition of her religion. Is
it not reasonable to suppose that the
same sort of thing will go on until
there is uniformity in the civil laws
governing the subject? If the marriage
Jaws of all the states were uniform,
more healthful condition of society
might, and doubtless would, be brought
| about.