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Cardinal outlines possible paths to Communion for divorced, remarried - Catholic Caucus
http://www.catholicnews.com ^ | February 28, 2014 | Cindy Wooden, CNS

Posted on 03/01/2014 10:49:19 AM PST by NKP_Vet

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Catholic Church needs to find a way to offer healing, strength and salvation to Catholics whose marriages have failed, who are committed to making a new union work and who long to do so within the church and with the grace of Communion, Cardinal Walter Kasper told the world's cardinals.

Jesus' teaching on the indissolubility of sacramental marriage is clear, the retired German cardinal said, and it would harm individuals and the church to pretend otherwise. However, "after the shipwreck of sin, the shipwrecked person should not have a second boat at his or her disposal, but rather a life raft" in the form of the sacrament of Communion, he said.

(Excerpt) Read more at catholicnews.com ...


TOPICS: History; Religion & Culture
KEYWORDS: brokencaucus
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"Cardinal Kasper said it would be up to members of the extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family in October and the world Synod of Bishops in 2015 to discuss concrete proposals for helping divorced and civilly remarried Catholics participate more fully in the life of the church".
1 posted on 03/01/2014 10:49:19 AM PST by NKP_Vet
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To: NKP_Vet
The real outrage has been how easy it has been to get annulments.

It has seemed like all you have to do is pay enough money.

2 posted on 03/01/2014 10:53:44 AM PST by E. Pluribus Unum (If Barack Hussein Obama entertains a thought that he does not verbalize, is it still a lie?)
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To: NKP_Vet

My ex-wife died a few years ago . . . wonder where I stand since I got remarried out of the Church. Could of had an annulment when she was alive, but I didn’t have the money or time to go thru all that.


3 posted on 03/01/2014 10:57:24 AM PST by laweeks
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
Surprisingly, this has come under fire from outside the Catholic Church and caused some interesting scrutiny.

Former Congressman Joe Kennedy divorced his wife, Sheila Rauch Kennedy, in 1991. Several years later she learned that the Archdiocese of Boston had quietly granted him an annulment.

To her credit, Sheila -- an Episcopalian -- fought a battle through legitimate channels inside the hierarchy of the Church. The Roman Rota, which has oversight of the annulment process, has an appeal process that is open to both spouses in an annulment process. The Rota eventually upheld the validity and sanctity of the Kennedy marriage.

4 posted on 03/01/2014 11:01:09 AM PST by Alberta's Child ("I've never seen such a conclave of minstrels in my life.")
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To: Alberta's Child

I didn’t know that. Thanks.


5 posted on 03/01/2014 11:03:05 AM PST by E. Pluribus Unum (If Barack Hussein Obama entertains a thought that he does not verbalize, is it still a lie?)
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To: laweeks
wonder where I stand since I got remarried out of the Church

You might want to check with a priest. If there are no other impediments, you can go to confession and remarry in the Church. Not to do so is to remain in an objective state of mortal sin.

6 posted on 03/01/2014 11:07:30 AM PST by BlatherNaut
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To: E. Pluribus Unum; Alberta's Child
The real outrage has been how easy it has been to get annulments. It has seemed like all you have to do is pay enough money

Not true. What you have to do is to say that, because of improper marriage preparation or immaturity, you did not UNDERSTAND the permanence of marriage, or did not understand its sacramental character, and therefore gave "simulated consent". Any marriage with defective consent is null, so, voila! You get your annulment, unless your situation threatens to cause a public scandal.

Almost anyone with enough time and money can make a Sheila Rauch Kennedy appeal to the Roman Rota, but annulments are usually a relief to both Catholic partners, and, when they are not, the aggrieved ex- usually lacks the knowledge or resources to appeal.

7 posted on 03/01/2014 11:09:34 AM PST by Jim Noble (When strong, avoid them. Attack their weaknesses. Emerge to their surprise.)
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To: laweeks
My ex-wife died a few years ago . . . wonder where I stand since I got remarried out of the Church. Could of had an annulment when she was alive, but I didn’t have the money or time to go thru all that.

If your wife has not been married before, it should be easy to rectify, and you don't have to pay for canon lawyers.
8 posted on 03/01/2014 11:12:05 AM PST by Dr. Sivana ("I'm a Contra" -- President Ronald Reagan)
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To: Jim Noble
My previous post may have contained an error. I believe a decree of annulment at the diocesan level is automatically appealed to the Roman Rota, so there was probably no need for the aggrieved spouse to take any action.

In that particular case, Sheila Rauch Kennedy also had the wherewithal to write a book exposing the corruption of the Archdiocese of Boston when it came to the annulment process and wealthy families. In the case of her marriage, she pointed out the absurdity of voiding a marriage 12 years after the fact on the basis of "immaturity," especially since the spouse who initiated the annulment proceedings (and who had already married a second person outside the Catholic Church) had already served in the U.S. House of Representatives for four years by the time he dumped his wife.

9 posted on 03/01/2014 11:20:21 AM PST by Alberta's Child ("I've never seen such a conclave of minstrels in my life.")
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To: laweeks

You are a widower now, but I would ask your priest about it.


10 posted on 03/01/2014 11:31:12 AM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: laweeks

Check with a priest about having your remarriage blessed.


11 posted on 03/01/2014 11:40:21 AM PST by grellis (I am Jill's overwhelming sense of disgust.)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

My wife has been trying for hers going on 7 years now. Believe me, she has a good case. It`s a long story but it involves her ex husband frequenting prostitutes, bank fraud ( in the millions of dollars ), and him going to federal prison for 8 years. She just found out last week about a $300,000 loan he forged her name on which apparently gave him $150,000 ( this was when they were still married, no clue on what he did with the money ). He was a city councilman ( Democrat of course ..) until the feds busted him, and too add, the local party was recruiting him to run for mayor too. LOL !!


12 posted on 03/01/2014 11:59:16 AM PST by Bud Krieger (Another President , another idiot......)
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To: laweeks

I think if the ex spuse has passed you would be freed at that point.


13 posted on 03/01/2014 12:20:54 PM PST by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped.)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
It has seemed like all you have to do is pay enough money.

My own personal experience has shown otherwise.

14 posted on 03/01/2014 12:28:17 PM PST by trad_anglican
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Can you spell “K-E-N-N-E-D-Y”?


15 posted on 03/01/2014 1:02:59 PM PST by DPMD
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To: Alberta's Child

Did O’Connor have to give Kennedy his bribe back?


16 posted on 03/01/2014 1:04:01 PM PST by DPMD
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To: laweeks
My ex-wife died a few years ago . . . wonder where I stand since I got remarried out of the Church.

Strictly speaking, you're living in sin. However, with the death of your wife, you're free to marry again. Take advantage of the opportunity to get yourself squared away with the Church. No need to deal with a declaration of nullity or anything of the sort. All you will be asked for is a copy of your late wife's death certificate. Not everyone gets the chance you've been offered. Don't throw it away.

17 posted on 03/01/2014 1:17:45 PM PST by JoeFromSidney (Book: Resistance to Tyranny. Buy from Amazon.)
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To: Mrs. Don-o; Salvation
Cardinal Kasper said it would be up to members of the extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family in October and the world Synod of Bishops in 2015 to discuss concrete proposals for helping divorced and civilly remarried Catholics participate more fully in the life of the church.
A possible avenue for finding those proposals, he said, would be to develop "pastoral and spiritual procedures" for helping couples convinced in conscience that their first union was never a valid marriage. The decision cannot be left only to the couple, he said, because marriage has a public character, but that does not mean that a juridical solution -- an annulment granted by a marriage tribunal -- is the only way to handle the case.

Interesting. What could be such a scenario? I'm thinking possibly of the marriages made in highly stressful situations, such as the WW2- and Vietnam-era marriages of draftees about to go off to war, or people whose partners later "decided" they were gay...

18 posted on 03/01/2014 1:50:18 PM PST by Albion Wilde (The less a man knows, the more certain he is that he knows it all.)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

The rules were just tightened up, under Pope Benedict I believe, with Rome seeing an influx of grants by the United States certainly, among the highest.

The appeal does involve fees, naturally. I don’t believe they are exorbitant for the staff and service provided. Canon lawyers, the office of Tribunes, administrative and investigative needs and expenses all entailed.


19 posted on 03/01/2014 2:07:56 PM PST by RitaOK ( VIVA CHRISTO REY / Public education is the farm team for more Marxists coming.)
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To: Albion Wilde

**or people whose partners later “decided” they were gay...**

One of my daughters experienced this. I didn’t care for the gent from the beginning.


20 posted on 03/01/2014 2:09:49 PM PST by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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