| A SHORT COURSE ON SEXUALITY V. “Dignity & Deception” The Wicked Bibles, Professor Ray Russell: 1631: England: Barker & Lucas, the King’s printers, £ 300 fine. “Thou shalt (not) commit adultery” (Ex. 20:14). A child: “The sixth commandment is that thou shalt not admit adultery.” OFFENSES AGAINST THE DIGNITY OF MARRIAGE Adultery refers to marital infidelity. When two partners, of whom at least one is married to another party, have sexual relations - even transient ones - they commit adultery. Christ condemns even adultery of mere desire – “You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matt 5:27-28). Matt 5:32 - “Every one who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery”. Adultery is an injustice. He who commits adultery fails in his commitment. He does injury to the sign of the covenant which the marriage bond is, transgresses the rights of the other spouse, and undermines the institution of marriage by breaking the contract on which it is based. He compromises the good of human generation and the welfare of children who need their parents' stable union. Forgiveness, Fr. Richard McAlear: “Betrayal is the deepest and most painful hurt. This is because we can only be betrayed by someone we love. Betrayal is broken trust…Yet, if we are going to move into forgiveness, we need to trust. It is a moment of grace when we can rise above the pain and anger and are able to offer mercy and forgiveness.” Divorce - The Lord Jesus insisted on the original intention of the Creator who willed that marriage be indissoluble. He abrogates the accommodations that had slipped into the old Law. Between the baptised, "a ratified and consummated marriage cannot be dissolved by any human power or for any reason other than death" (Code of Canon 1141). “What God has joined together, let not man put asunder” (Matt 19:6). However, the separation of spouses while maintaining the marriage bond can be legitimate in certain cases. If civil divorce remains the only possible way of ensuring certain legal rights, the care of the children, or the protection of inheritance, it can be tolerated and does not constitute a moral offence. Divorce is a grave offence against the natural law. It claims to break the contract, to which the spouses freely consented, to live with each other till death. Divorce does injury to the covenant of salvation, of which sacramental marriage is the sign. Contracting a new union, even if it is recognized by civil law, adds to the gravity of the rupture: the remarried spouse is then in a situation of public and permanent adultery. Therefore, he/she may not receive Holy Communion as long as this situation persists. It can happen that one of the spouses is the innocent victim of a divorce decreed by civil law; this spouse therefore has not contravened the moral law. There is a considerable difference between a spouse who has sincerely tried to be faithful to the sacrament of marriage and is unjustly abandoned, and one who through his own grave fault destroys a canonically valid marriage. Therefore, he/she may receive Holy Communion. Divorce is immoral also because it introduces disorder into the family and into society. This disorder brings grave harm to the deserted spouse, to children traumatized by the separation of their parents and often torn between them, and because of its contagious effect which makes it truly a plague on society. What about an annulment? A declaration of nullity affirms that, because of an impediment to the very nature of marriage at the time of the wedding, there was never any true marriage. OTHER OFFENCES AGAINST THE DIGNITY OF MARRIAGE Polygamy is not in accord with the moral law since it negates the plan of God which was revealed from the beginning, and because it is contrary to the equal personal dignity of men and women who in matrimony give themselves with a love that is total and therefore unique and exclusive. Incest = intimate relations between relatives or in-laws within a degree that prohibits marriage between them. Incest corrupts family relationships and marks a regression toward animality. 1 Cor 5:1, 4-5 “It is actually reported that there is immorality among you…for a man is living with his father's wife…In the name of the Lord Jesus…you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh…” Sexual abuse – perpetrated by adults on children or adolescents entrusted to their care. The offence is compounded by the scandalous harm done to the physical and moral integrity of the young, who will remain scarred by it all their lives; and the violation of responsibility for their upbringing. Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church 2380-2391 ____________________________________________ CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH (2360-79) |
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