CHAPTER 16
POPE JOHN XXIV’S ADDRESS AT BUKIT JALIL NATIONAL STADIUM IN KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
SEPTEMBER 16, 2014
MARRIAGE & THE FAMILY
My dear brothers and sisters, our Lord Jesus was raised by Our Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph, commonly designated as our Holy Family. They have provided us the perfect example of truly unique characteristics to inspire and guide our homes, our extended families, our communities, our work environments, our nations, and in particular our religious life in the Universal Catholic Church. God provided a means for us to have a human representation for us to witness his existence through the image of the Holy Family. Jesus lived here on Earth among us to reveal the love of Our Father, and established his Church by which we could become a family with His heavenly kingdom.
This Church is the manifestation of our religious family of believers just as the Trinity reveals the glorification of The Father, the humanity of The Son and the transformative power of the Holy Spirit. God not only provided a human son, to see, hear, and witness, but also provided the Holy Spirit, that lives within our soul. So not only is Jesus his Son, but we also are the Children of God. You and I are Family. We are part of GOD’S HOLY FAMILY.
The Sacrament of Marriage goes beyond conferring marital and parental rights and obligations, by producing the same supernatural effects as the other six sacraments: it increases sanctifying grace and leads to actual graces throughout the duration of the marriage. Since GOD unites Himself to the married couple, the grace of GOD dwells within them and the manifestation of holiness is increased. With this sacrament, natural love is elevated above the earthly and placed upon the Altar of GOD. Non-believers of the existence of God cannot equate with the values exhibited by the Church within the Sacrament of Marriage, or to how others define a civil marriage in various cultures.
With over 50 % of marriages ending in divorce worldwide, including within the church, we ourselves need to revitalize all the values we place on the sacraments of the church, so that our members truly understand its significance in their lives. How can the church be involved heavily in politicizing the definition of civil marriages for non-Catholics when we are failing to strengthen its values within our own church? Over the centuries the church itself has struggled with which union of couples was acceptable. “Mixed marriages” were discouraged or not allowed to be performed within a traditional Catholic Mass. The various issues raised by orthodox believers, and the assimilation of races, cultures, creed, or class systems in some societies have cause tremendous upheavals in the lives of people. Even today that dialogue is often centered on the same sex marriage issues.
When God made Eve, he did not define the word “marriage”, but simply would have been defined today as a “common-law marriage” even though the term marriage did not exist at that time. "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what GOD has joined together, no human must separate." Matthew 19:5-6.
As Christ has indicated that gays in fact were born that way, God gives them the same rights and privileges as any other individual. So let it be that same sex marriages will be allowed in the Catholic churches, whereas these committed individuals will have the same nurturing Christian teachings and graces enjoyed by heterosexual couples married in the church.
God not only created a companion for Adam, but also the means for procreation. The church teachings have traditionally proclaimed that the primary purpose of sex in marriage must always be that of procreation. In God’s creation of sex in the ecological and biological world, it is part of natural existence and not an evil action. Sex within the marriage of two human beings is historically professed as of a God given function. However the intrinsic value we place on a Christian, marriage must be celebrated through the grace of intimacy shared in a loving relationship which nature does not provide in the purely physical action. For a marriage to succeed as an everlasting union, the natural physical expression needs to continue to strengthen the bonds of the spiritual relationship of the couple, beyond the natural period of procreation. It is a physical relationship that can extend to the twilight years of the couple until physical limitations occur.
In the church’s proclamation of the sanctity of a marriage between two individuals, it has nevertheless overreached by its intrusion in dealing with the actions of sexual activity, or of birth control measures practiced by a couple. The only area that the church rightly needs to reaffirm the sanctity of life is to oppose abortions, which destroys the life of an embryo in the womb or invitro, capital punishment and euthanasia. On the issue of scientific or medical research, as long as embryos in vitro are not destroyed, the church does not prohibit its development.
There is no prohibition of the type of birth control utilized except for when it would destroy an embryo. The use of contraceptives to control world populations is an acceptable measure in the ability of the world to feed the poor and those plagued by hunger, and avoid worldwide famines.
The church teaching that sex in marriage is only for procreation does not recognize that sex is a God given gift and part of the nature of man. The continued enjoyment by a couple of the gift of sexuality should not be restricted after a couple is no longer able or desirous to not have additional children. The church’s teachings relative to a couple’s sexual activities should not be on the basis of ancient practices of abstinence or the rhythm method of birth control. The use of modern day birth control practices, except for those that would cause abortions, is acceptable for Catholics.
The ability to enjoy sex, which is a God given gift, should not be restricted by a spouse’s inabilities or the church condemnation. That is a deeply personal decision by a couple, and should not be regulated by church teachings.
In the early evolution of the family, the size of a family was conditional on the economic survival of a family, because having children enabled families to expand the productivity and cultivation of farms or other agronomic economies that existed at that time without the need of external labor sources.
Today’s families do not generally produce their own food or other products necessary to maintain a family. The majority of families live in cities or industrialized environments, where economies require earning a livelihood. This allows families to purchase their food, shelter, clothing, or other necessary products. So the size of families is generally based on their ability to function within these economic realities.
In the United States, the controversial Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling that allowed for legal abortions has caused over 55 million deaths of babies in this country. The choices made by anti-abortion rights groups in trying to pray, civil disobedience, marches or blowing up abortion clinics or killing doctors has not stemmed the tide of continued abortions. We need to adopt a different approach for a solution to this horrific crime against babies. This is a worldwide problem that must be dealt with.
The church needs a positive loving and compassionate proactive approach to world nations to control population overgrowth, and in helping all females considering active sexual involvement to utilize whatever birth control devices or medications to prevent unintended births. Second, programs must be implemented that gives mothers information about other viable options, other than resorting to abortions, whether through an adoption process, education, or assistance in finding whatever resources they can acquire that will help them become good parents, and providers for their new families. One program would be to initiate non-threatening facilities that provide a shelter, free of spiritual guidance for non-Catholics, but help provide resources for the mother till she delivers her baby, and finally decides to keep the baby or chooses adoption. By providing positive alternative resources, we might have a better chance in stemming the tide of abortions worldwide then outright confrontations, that tend to harden the opinions of prochoice zealots.
Our God is a loving and compassion Father, we as a church ne
ed to deal with the issues surrounding abortion, whether with the mothers, the medical community, or our communities in a similar way, so that we can reverse the tide of pro-choice proponents. There is a better way to deal with unwanted pregnancies then to resorting to the use of abortions. It is very evident that violent confrontation is not working to solve this problem. Nor will it be resolved through the legal court process.
The issue of divorce of married couples, who have been married in the church, should not be any different than for a priest who can no longer be allowed to perform sacraments in the church. In the past a catholic, whose marriage ended in a civil divorce was required to abstain from receiving the Eucharist. The only option for that person to continue receiving the Eucharist was to obtain an annulment. The process of annulments should be changed to allow for dissolution of a church marriage with the same guidelines of a civil divorce. With over 50 % of all marriages being dissolved in civil courts, it gives credence that Catholics will also have dissolutions. The church needs to be a place of comfort, caring and mediation for all such families affected by divorce, particularly if children are involved. We must do a better job in helping families in receiving supported services that will help minimize the debilitating effects affecting families who face divorce. The Church has to be an extension of that family, providing a loving, caring, and nurturing resource for them. Divorced individuals should never be ostracized by others. Church ministry should include helping each other when difficulties arise among its members. The dissolution of a family is one of the greatest difficulties that anyone can experience. It can lead to desperation, depression, financial catastrophe, illnesses, children abandonment, aggression, physical harm or death. These are not minor circumstances. They are very acute situations that can have lasting impact. The church needs to be proactive in helping families deal with these issues, and not be a bystander.
The First American Pope Page 16
