The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-12-16
DIVORCE EVIL NOW
! NATIONWIDE CURSE
Hundred thousand Separations q
Year shows Low Conception of
Solemnity Of Marital Tie.
FATHER CONWAY ON SUBJECT
Discusses Doctrine of His Church.
Which Is Expressly Against Di-
yOrccs-Romc Fell Because Of Low
Regard For Family Life: America
Should Take Warning

should Take Warning.
Father Conway lectured last nigh,
on Divorce at the Sacred Hear.
Cathedral. He said In part.
The Catholic Church POUNDS her
doctrine ON the absolute prohibition
Of divorce from the clear words oil
Jesus Christ: What God has Joined
together. let no man put asunder.
And He saith to them; 'Whosoever
shall put away his wife, and marry
another, committeth adultery against
her. And IL the wife shall put away
her husband and be married to an
other she committeth adultery. Every
one who putteth away his wife. and
marrieth another, commiteth ad ui-
terry: he that marrieth her that put
away from her husband. committed
adultery Matt. XIX; Mark x:9-12;
Luke xiv:1s.)
''St. Paul. commenting on theye
words of Jesus Christ. also explicitly
condemns divorce. bat to tlae,ri that
are married. not l, but the Lord COM
mandeth that the wife depart not
from her husband. And II she depart
that she remain unmarried. or be re.
conciled to her husband. But a wo-
her husband lives, where. IL her hus.
band dies. she Is at liberty: let hel
marry to whom she VIII, only in, the
Lord. For the woman that hath q
husband, whilst her husband liveth il
bound to the law. But IL her husban 4
be dead, she is looaed from the law
of her husband. Therefore, whilst her
husband liveth she shall he called ar
adulteress. IL she be with another
man. but if her husband be dead
she liz delivered from the law OF
her husband. SO that 81 Is not ar
adulteress II che be with another
man q Cor. Z. 10. IL; Rom. vii. ., 3,
Absolute Prohibition.
Words could not r.ore clearly ex-
press that absolute divine prohibition
Of divorce with the right 10 marry
again. Both our Lord and st. Pau
clearly teach that death alone can dis,
solve the marriage bond, which the
Saviour restored to Ats primitive unity
ana indissolnbilitss To rennarry dur.
ing the lifetime of husband OF wife
Ia clearly terlaed adultery IN tht
Sacred Scriptures. Some non-catho-
lies have said that while the church
theoretically forbids divorce she prac-
ticsl1y allows IL by her system OF dis
pensations. This Is q most outrageous
caiumny. As guardian of the scara-
ments, the Catholic Church logically
claims the right to make laws effect
ing their administrator and reception
She claims exclusive control over
the sacrament of marriage, and. be-
sides the divine ifnpedinlent over which
she has no power. She has estab-
lished other impedimeuts fer the good
OF society Some Of thes, are called
diriment impediments, for they render
an attempt at marriage invalid
o,hes are called impeding impedi-
ments. for while they do not af.
feet the validity of the marriage
they render the parties contracting II
guilty Of mortal sin.
ut is one thing to declare a particu.
lar marriage. say of first cousins.
invalid from the very beginning; it i,
vastly different thing to annul d
vaiidly contracted Christian marriage
according to reasons admitted in &
court Of law, such as adultery. deser
ton. conviction of felony. and thu
like. The Catholic Church frequent,
in her ecclesiastical court does tn.
former: history Is the witness that sh'
mas never done the latter.
The growth Of divorce in TIL,
United States has been greater than
In any other nation In the world. will
the one exception of pagan Japan
Mr.. Carroll y. Wright. as United
States Commissioner OF Labor, ono,
pointed out that the total number
Of divorces from 1857 to 1887 wa
32s,7le The census bulletin O
the United States Department o
Labor and Commerce asserts tina
from 1857 to 1905 there wer,
s45.62a divorces. or three times tn,
number granted during the preceding
thirty years
I'm 1867 divorces we're being grant
ed at the rate OF $1,000 a year: ii
1887 at the rate of $4,000 a year
In 1915 at the rate of 100000 4
year.
a nation Is nothing but a fedora
ton OF families. When the people a
a whole begin to disregard the fam
lily bond, that nation L. on the de
cline. Rome was ruined by it's Low
conception of family life jus. as surei.
as by the inroads of the barbarians
or by the passing OF its lands into TIL,
possession OF a few"