Unconditional Love — But Not for Your Spouse
Across our desks has come the new book, Catholic Divorce: The Deception of Annulments edited by Pierre Hegy and Joseph Martos (Continuum). Yes, divorce can be unavoidable in certain cases, but the overall message of this liberal Catholic volume is something else, namely, that annulments are a pain and a sham, and the Church should toss out her doctrine of the Indissolubility of Marriage and just accept divorce and “remarriage.”
Ah, but we do remember that liberal Catholics are the ones who’ve been telling us that the only important thing about our Faith is Unconditional Love — meaning sacrificial love, suffering love, forgiveness, tolerance, turning the other cheek, accepting differences, being a wounded healer, etc.
But when it comes to marriage, it seems that all those values are thrown out the window, as liberal Catholics show themselves eager to embrace our culture of divorce and multiple marriages. Is your spouse difficult, abusive, unreliable, unfaithful, alcoholic, dysfunctional, screwy, or lazy? Well, don’t forgive him (or her), don’t tolerate him, don’t bear with him, don’t give him another chance, don’t try to bring him around — and please don’t talk about Unconditional Love! Forget about all that, as well as your vow of “for better or for worse.” Just dump him and “marry” someone else, and expect the Church to automatically bless you!
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