CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Catholics who have divorced and remarried need help for the \u201cdifficult climb\u201d of conversion and spiritual growth, not a change in Church practice on the reception of Holy Communion, a prominent cardinal said.<\/p>\n\tCardinal Ennio Antonelli summarized the advice of Pope John Paul II, who encouraged pastors \u201cnot to lower the mountain, but instead help believers to climb it by leading the way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cFor their part, the faithful should not stop trying to reach the summit; they must sincerely seek both what is good and the will of God. Only with this fundamental attitude is it possible to develop a positive path of conversion and growth, even though individual steps may be short and sometimes even deviant,\u201d explained the cardinal, who is president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for the Family.<\/p>\n
\tCardinal Antonelli\u2019s new 17-page booklet, \u201cThe Marriage Crisis and the Eucharist,\u201d reflects on Christian marriage and critiques proposals to change Catholic practice in order to allow those who have divorced and remarried to receive Holy Communion.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cA major pastoral shift is strongly advocated by the media, the public and even many Catholics, including laity and clergy, largely expect this too,\u201d the cardinal said.<\/p>\n
\tThe proposals, commonly associated with German Cardinal Walter Kasper, have been repeated for decades. They have again come to prominence ahead of the Synod on the Family, to be held at the Vatican this October.<\/p>\n
\tCardinal Antonelli countered these proposals, saying: \u201cIn the Catholic Church, the pastoral practice must be consistent with the doctrine of the faith.\u201d The indissolubility of Christian marriage is \u201ca firmly established doctrine,\u201d he stressed, and a consummated sacramental marriage is indissoluble \u201cby virtue of Christ\u2019s will.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tWithout penitence and sexual continence, he explained, the divorced and remarried \u201ccannot be allowed to receive Holy Communion.\u201d New unions of separated spouses are illicit and constitute \u201ca persistent grave moral disorder.\u201d These unions create a situation that \u201cobjectively contradicts the nuptial covenant between Christ and the Church, as signified and effected by the Eucharist.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tWhile the cardinal reiterated Catholic teaching, he acknowledged \u201cwidespread dissatisfaction\u201d with this position among many people. Many couples perceive it as rejection and \u201ctotal exclusion from the Church.\u201d They are \u201ctempted to leave the Church community and to lose faith.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThe cardinal stressed the need to help people in this situation through personal companionship and helping them participate in the life of the Church as much as possible.<\/p>\n
\tHe emphasized that exclusion from Holy Communion does not mean exclusion from the Church. Rather, people in irregular unions continue to be Church members. He said \u201cother believers and pastors must welcome them with love, respect and care.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tAt the same time, he stressed that Catholic practice is consistent and based in Scripture and the tradition of the Church.<\/p>\n
\tThe indissolubility of marriage is the \u201ccornerstone\u201d of these pastoral questions, he said, based on teaching is rooted in the words of Jesus Christ himself. Cardinal Antonelli cited several biblical passages, including \u201cWhat God has joined together, no human being must separate\u201d (Mt 19:6; Mk 10:9) and \u201cWhoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery\u201d (Mk 10:11-12).<\/p>\n
\tJesus\u2019 own words about adultery \u201cmust have seemed outrageous to many devout Israelites,\u201d the cardinal said. \u201cIt is easy to understand that the teaching of the Gospel has encountered and continues to meet with considerable difficulties.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tCardinal Antonelli cited the teachings of the Popes as well as the teachings of the Church Fathers and the ecumenical councils, such as the discussion of marriage in the Second Vatican Council document \u201cGaudium et Spes.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n
\tMore recent Church teachings on the subject include Pope John Paul II\u2019s 1981 apostolic exhortation \u201cFamiliaris Consortio\u201d and his 1984 exhortation \u201cReconciliatio et Paenitentia.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tIn a Jan. 21, 2000 address to the Tribunal of the Roman Rota, John Paul II said that a \u201cratified and consummated marriage cannot be dissolved even by the intervention of the Pope.\u201d That address said Catholic teaching on marriage is confirmed by \u201cthe Church\u2019s centuries-old practice, maintained with full fidelity and heroism, sometimes even in the face of severe pressures from the mighty of this world.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tPope Benedict XVI confirmed Familiaris Consortio in his 2007 apostolic exhortation, Sacramentum Caritatis.<\/p>\n
\tCardinal Antonelli said any change in Catholic practice would risk compromising the credibility of consistent papal teaching and the authority of the Catholic bishops. He warned of the risk of \u201ctrivializing the Eucharist\u201d and reducing it to \u201ca rite of socialization.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tProposed changes would indicate approval of sexual activity outside marriage, given that unmarried couples are \u201cfar more numerous\u201d than the divorced and remarried. Contemporary culture \u201cpromotes self-justification, particularly in the emotional and sexual spheres,\u201d when it is often necessary to change one\u2019s life, the cardinal warned.<\/p>\n
\tHe also noted theologians who advocated recognition of \u201cauthentic human values\u201d in irregular unions, such as affection, mutual help, and a shared commitment to children.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cHowever, one must avoid presenting such unions in themselves as imperfect values, since there are serious disorders,\u201d Cardinal Antonelli said.<\/p>\n
\tHe warned of the danger of presenting evil as \u201can imperfect good.\u201d Proposed changes would \u201clead to a separation of mercy and conversion\u201d and would be \u201cthe only case of forgiveness without conversion.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tExclusion of the divorced and remarried from Communion is comparable to \u201cother situations of grave objective disorder and public scandal,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWhoever has a habit of swearing should make serious efforts to correct himself; whoever has committed theft must makes restitution; whoever has harmed his neighbor, whether materially or morally, needs to repair the harm. Without a real commitment towards conversion, there can be no sacramental absolution and admission to the Eucharistic Communion.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tAllowing those in irregular unions to receive Holy Communion would create an inconsistency that risks reducing the permanence of marriage to \u201can ideal, which may be beautiful, but attainable only for a fortunate few,\u201d the cardinal said. Such a change could become generalized to a point where \u201cit will be meaningless to talk about the indissolubility of marriage and the celebration of the sacrament of marriage will lose its practical relevance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tCardinal Antonelli stressed the power of Christian love, sustained by the grace of the Holy Spirit. This love can \u201cobserve the commandments and even go beyond them.\u201d Chastity, though difficult, is possible for all, including the divorced and remarried, he said.<\/p>\n
\tFor the cardinal, the main pastoral priority for the family and evangelization is the formation of \u201cexemplary Christian families which are able to give concrete witness to the fact that Christian marriage is beautiful and possible to fulfil.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\u201cIn order to illuminate and produce heat, the first thing to do is light a fire.\u201d
\n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Vatican City, Jun 11, 2015 \/ 05:04 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Catholics who have divorced and remarried need help for the “difficult climb” of conversion and spiritual growth, not a change in Church practice on the reception of Holy Communion, a …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vatican"],"yoast_head":"\n
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