The current assault against family and marriage is unmatched. Nothing like it has happened before. Not only are the assaults made legal and acceptable by our legislatures (contraception, abortion, divorce, embryonic stem-cell research, in vitro fertilization and same-sex "marriage") but the corruption of moral integrity is through violence, pornography and adultery is piped into our homes via TV, radio, videos, movies, and iPods.

          The Catholic need for a renewed understanding of sexuality is urgent. As Joseph Tevington explains, Pope John Paul II has laid the foundations for such a renewal.--Editor

          We are slowly learning that Pope John Paul II-to use the words of Christopher West-presented "a vision of marriage and sexuality never before articulated."(1) Pope John Paul II called humanity back to true appreciation of human sexuality and love, re-awakening an absolute awe that "God created man in His image; in the Divine image He created him; male and female He created them" (Genesis 1: 27). Against forces which would promote sexual relations as mere recreation, he declared that sexual relations were the very "language of the body," by which husbands and wives present themselves as "gifts" and participate in God's very work of creation! He spoke of marriage as the "primordial sacrament"-a mysterious symbol of God's love and a means of growing in closeness to the Divine. Of necessity, such a phenomenal relationship is to be monogamous and indissoluble; each act of sexual relations-each participation in God's creation-is to be open to life! Wow!

The culture of divorce

          In The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce: A 25 Year Landmark Study, the University of California's Judith Wallerstein and her colleagues compassionately note that those who began "reforming" divorce laws around 1970-to facilitate so-called "no-fault" divorce-could not have foreseen the impact on kids from their attempts to "help" parents. Three to four decades later, amidst a 50% divorce rate, society does not have the "luxury" to be ignorant of divorce's devastating psychological, emotional, financial and spiritual impact on kids. Academics are slowly waking up to this disaster. Via its "National Marriage Project,"  Rutgers University reports on the necessity of stable marriages to society.(2) Via the "Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study,"  Columbia and Princeton Universities are coming to appreciate truths which used to be apparent to those with less formal education.(3) Except for the most dramatic situations, secular sources are beginning to say that parents in unhappy marriages should stay together for the sake of their kids!

          Coupled with America's booming divorce rate, there has been an incredible increase in the number of annulments granted by Church courts in the United States. As per retired Notre Dame sociology professor Robert Vasoli, "Most estimates for 1968 place the number of annulments granted by U.S. tribunals between 400 and 600. By 1980,... the number had risen to 53,858."  Vasoli charges that "Divorce itself and any psychological and behavioural oddities, no matter how benign or commonplace, suffice for most U.S. tribunals to build a case for nullity."(4) Strong words indeed!

Unintended consequences?

          While re-awakening to the grandeur of marriage and family, some voices have tried to equate marriages which have yet to flourish with marriages that are invalid. In calling us back to a true vision of marriage and sexuality, could Pope John Paul II have possibly intended such a perspective? Are seemingly unsuccessful marriages to be dismissed? Should we question whether marriages-which are less than perfect-are even valid? Affirmative answers in these regards seem to require ignorance of Pope John Paul II's annual addresses to the Roma Rota-the Church's highest marriage court.
While holding out great hope for the promulgation of the Theology of the Body, the new Code of Canon Law and the Catechism, Pope John Paul II-as evidenced by his annual addresses to the Roman Rota-seemed increasingly disturbed by some tribunal practices, which were (inadvertently) hijacking the Church's teaching on marriage, family and sexuality. Pope John Paul II saw grave threats to marriage and the welfare of the family from these illegitimate practices. His annual addresses to the Roman Rota highlight these realities, of which promoters of the Theology of the Body must be aware or else drown in naiveté. His final addresses seem to be the most confrontive, in regard to tribunal abuses.(5)

Just what concerns did Pope John Paul II express about marriage tribunals?-The early years

          As is becoming increasingly well known, John Paul II used the Wednesday afternoon audiences of his early pontificate to teach the Theology of the Body. Addresses to the Roman Rota of this same period were of a general nature, compared to those of his later pontificate. Addresses of this period reflect a hopefulness, perhaps directly related to those Wednesday audiences and his apostolic exhortation, Familiaris consortio-as well as the coming into force of the new Code of Canon Law. Yet we also know that Pope John Paul II's hopefulness was not naïve. 

The mid-1980s to 1990

          Addresses of the mid-1980s up to 1990 get specific about certain tribunal abuses. In 1986, Pope John Paul II warned that "the new Code can run the risk of imprecise, incoherent or innovative interpretations, particularly in the case of psychological disturbances invalidating consent to marriage (c. 1095) or in the case of the impediment of deceit (c. 1098), and error conditioning the will (c. 1099), as well as in the interpretation of some new rules of procedure."(6) In 1987, he warned that some tribunal consultants did not even share the Church's vision of humans: "According to some psychological trends the vision of marriage is such that it reduces the meaning of the marriage union simply to a means of gratification or of self-fulfillment or of psychological release.... They consider easily even cases of slight psychopathological disturbance, or straight away failures of the moral order as proof of the incapacity to assume the essential obligations of married life."(7) In 1988, he clarified that "the concept of normality...includes moderate forms of psychological difficulty.... [and] the call to live in accordance with the Spirit even in the midst of tribulation and at the cost of renunciation and sacrifice."(8) Similar to divorce, it is sometimes the case that one party seeks a decree of nullity, while the other is in opposition. Agreement is not required for a marriage to be declared null. Regarding parties who do not concur with tribunal decisions, Pope John Paul II reinforced in 1989 and 1990 the idea that "the tribunal is bound to indicate to the parties the ways in which the judgment can be challenged."(9) "A fair trial is a right of the faithful (see c. 221), and at the same time it is required for the public good of the Church."(10)

1991: The role of culture

          Culture figured prominently in John Paul II's 1991 address: "Marriage is an institution based on natural law, and its characteristics are inscribed in the very being of man and woman. From the very first pages of Holy Scripture the sacred Author presents the distinction between the sexes as being willed by God.... The bond which is created between a man and woman in the marriage relationship is superior to every other interpersonal bond, even the one between parent and child.... Among the influences which today's culture has on matrimony, we must point out that some of them have their inspiration in the Christian faith. For example, the decline of polygamy and other conditions by which the woman was subject to the man, the affirmation of the equality of man and woman, the growing orientation toward a personalized view of marriage understood as a community of life and love... are all values which are now part of humanity's moral patrimony.... Contemporary culture, nonetheless, also presents some aspects which cause concern.... People tend to forget then that in the face of difficulties in relationships it is important not to let oneself be dominated by fear or weariness, but to be able to find in love's resources the courage to be consistent with the commitments made.  Renouncing one's own responsibilities..., rather than leading to true fulfillment of the person, results in a progressive self-alienation.... It tends to attribute the difficulties to psychological mechanisms, whose functioning is understood in a deterministic manner, resulting in hasty recourse to the conclusions of psychology and psychiatry to claim the nullity of the marriage."(11)

The early 1990s

          The new Catechism of the Catholic Church, the impending third millenium of Christianity, unexpected cultural changes beginning in 1989, and the eternal unchanging truth were major themes of the Holy Father's 1992 address. In 1993, he focused on the proper interpretation/application of Canon Law, as well as on peace in ecclesial society: "Law in the Church, as well as in states, is a guarantee of peace and a tool for preserving unity.... Subjecting canon law to capricious or contrived interpretations, in the name of an ambiguous and indefinite humanitarian principle, would mean destroying the very dignity of the humans, even before the norm."(12) In 1994, he noted that "it is necessary for all in the Church who administer justice to reach the point of perceiving its beauty through regular conversation with God in prayer...; 'charity or mercy... cannot put aside the demands of truth.'"(13)

The final years of the second millenium

          When we review addresses of the years leading up to the Third Millenium, they seem to become ever more pointed, noting-for example-"unacceptable consequences resulting from erroneous doctrinal approaches... Certain demands of the Gospel, which from a purely earthly and temporal viewpoint could seem too hard, are not only possible but can even result in... personal growth in Christ.... Whoever would presume to transgress the legislative provisions concerning the declaration of marital nullity would... put himself outside, and indeed in a position antithetical to, the Church's authentic magisterium and to canonical legislation itself."(14) Surely, "it must never be forgotten that it is a question of a good that cannot be disposed of at will and that the ultimate goal is the determination of an objective truth, which also concerns the common good."(15)

          It is difficult to read the Holy Father's 1997 address without unease. This great Witness to Hope was acutely aware of how Satan wants to twist our thoughts. We need to pay grave attention to John Paul II's warning about idealized, unrealistic notions of marriage: "The concept of marriage as a reciprocal gift of the persons would seem to justify a vague doctrinal and jurisprudential tendency to broaden the requirements for capacity or psychological maturity and for the freedom and awareness necessary to contract marriage validly.... It would be a mistake to have a too idealized notion, so to speak, of the marital relationship, which would lead one to interpret the normal difficulties that can occur as the couple progress towards full and reciprocal emotional integration as though there were a genuine incapacity to assume the obligations.... One cannot demand what it is not possible to require of the majority of people.... The favor matrimonii and the presumption of the validity of marriage (see c. 1060) can be seen... as consequences perfectly in keeping with the specific reality of matrimony." (16)John Paul II reminded us that "fidelity to the revealed truth about marriage and the family, authentically interpreted by the Church's magisterium, always serves as the definitive reference point and the true incentive for a profound renewal of this area of Church life."(17)

          In the 1999 address, John Paul II seems to go fast forward to 2005: "We can discern a widespread deterioration of the natural and religious meaning of marriage.... we cannot ignore, in this regard, the growing phenomenon of mere de facto unions..., and the unrelenting public opinion campaigns to gain the dignity of marriage even for unions between persons of the same sex.... I would like... to remind... everyone concerned with true human progress, how serious and indispensable are certain principles that are fundamental for human society and even more so for safeguarding the human dignity of every person.... The central core and foundation of these principles is the authentic concept of conjugal love between two persons of equal dignity, but different and complementary in their sexuality.... This statement must be correctly understood, without falling into the facile misunderstanding that sometimes confuses a vague feeling or even a strong psychophysical attraction with real love for another person, which consists of a sincere desire for his or her welfare and is expressed in a concrete commitment to achieve it.... Faced with the juridical culture of ancient Rome, Christian authors already felt compelled by the Gospel command to surmount the well-known principle that the conjugal bond lasts only as long as the affectio maritalis.... Marriage consists essentially, necessarily and solely in the mutual consent expressed by those to be married. This consent is nothing other than the conscious, responsible assumption of a commitment through a juridical act by which, in reciprocal self-giving, the spouses promise total and definitive love to each other. They are free to celebrate marriage after having chosen each other with equal freedom, but as soon as they perform this act they establish a personal state in which love becomes something that is owed, entailing effects of a juridical nature as well.... It is only in the union of two sexually different persons that the individual can achieve perfection in a synthesis of unity and mutual psychophysical completion. From this perspective, love is not an end in itself and cannot be reduced to the corporal joining of two beings, but is a deep interpersonal relationship which reaches its culmination in total mutual self-giving and in cooperation with God the Creator, the ultimate source of every new human life.... Deviations from the natural law inscribed by God in the nature of the person seek their justification in the freedom that is a prerogative of the human being.... To conceive of freedom as the moral or even juridical licence to break the law is to distort its true nature. Freedom consists in the human being's possibility of conforming responsibly, that is by personal choice, to the divine will expressed in the law, and in this way to become more and more like his Creator (cf. Gn 1:26).... The daily news amply confirms the miserable fruits that these aberrations from the divine-natural law ultimately produce.... The problems of the present moment should not lead to discouragement or resignation. It should spur us instead to a more determined and better focused commitment.... I will... emphasize the serious responsibility incumbent on the Pastors of God's Church to provide engaged couples with serious and appropriate marriage preparation: only in this way can the mind of those preparing for marriage be instilled with the intellectual, moral and spiritual dispositions necessary for fulfilling the natural and sacramental reality of matrimony."(18)

          Editor: Part II of this article  followed in March. See www.catholicinsight.com/online/church/family/article_652.shtml.