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I ran by an interesting statistic. I am not sure if it is true but in 1965 the Catholic Church granted 338 annulments. In 2002 the Catholic Church granted 50,000 annulments.

Of course, this is almost exclusively an American pheomenon; nevertheless, this would actually be a step in the right direction - hard as that may be to believe.

According to the 1994 Catholic Almanac, 59,220,000 American Catholics make up 6.2% of the world's 949,578,000 Catholic population. In 1991, the U.S. accounted for 63,900 (79%) of the world's 80,700 annulments.

-- Ed

Dear Friends,

The question is - I am especially interested what our Latin friends would say to this - to what extent have annulments become the RC form of divorce in North America?

Is it not a direct contradiction for the Roman Catholic Church to say it is against divorce and remarriage - and then to have a back-door policy in this respect by way of annulments?

Is it not an example of hypocrisy on the part of the Roman Catholic Church in the U.S.?

Pax Vobiscum,

Alex

MEOW! Alex, would you like a saucer of milk with that? ;-) Don, former Latin and now proud to be an adopted Ukie!

Bless, Father Don!

Do you see how some of the Latins here have provoked me?

But I think it is a valid point - one on which we can't "pussy-foot" around . . .

If us two Ukrainian Catholics can get talked down to by Latins, I'm just asking them to see the log in their own (ecclesial) eye before trying to see the speck in ours!

I wouldn't want any Latin messing with my eyes though . . .


Alex

My dear brother Alexander the Great,

It is God who blesses. Yes, I have had my run-ins with our brethern and sistern of the Latin persuasion and survived to tell about it. I'm just happy that the Inquisition was never established in the USA, I might end up on a barbeque spit if it were and I doubt I would have the class to speak with the wit of St. Lawrence. I'm not worried about them getting the best of the Ukies on here, we seem to be able to hold our own. You do a good job of "trying" to educate them. Keep up the good work! By the way, working on any new akathists???

Don

Interestingly, this was the topic of the homily at a Roman Rite parish I attended yesterday! The priest mentioned this exact question - he even used the term "back door", and talked about how the Church is about reconciliation between the sinner and God. Divorce is a sin like any other. He talked about how the Church provides Confession to reconcile us to God, and it would be a contradiction not to provide a way to reconcile divorced people to God and the Church as well. He also mentioned in the bulletin that the annulment process is much, much more than than the civil procedure by the same name - requiring much soul-searching and counseling to find out why the first marriage didn't work and to make sure the person has grown since then.

Bless, Father Don!

(Tell your Ukie bishop to accept you as a priest and be done with it! If you like, I'll speak with him . . . ).

Yes, I'm working on an akathist to the Holy Hierarch Andrew Sheptytsky.

What did you think of my latest ones, ummm?

People seemed to be a bit reticent about expressing their views on them when the Administrator posted them.

Am I to interpret that that they were a "just so" story?

Alex

Dear Tammy,

Yes, your priest contacted me on Friday and we discussed this as a possible sermon for him . . .

He used the term "back door?" I told him not to plagiarize completely - it would get back to haunt him . . .

I do think the RC Church in America isn't being honest about its approach to divorce and remarriage.

What it calls "annulment" would have been given VERY sparingly in the good, old days . . .

When I worked in a Catholic school board, the chaplain told me that about half of everyone on my floor were divorced and living with someone else.

These same people went to Communion regularly at the board Masses . . .

The priests looked the other way, I was told.

Again, why is the Latin Church so hypocritical?

The traditional Latins on this board waste so much time coming after us Byzantines about the Filioque, the Immaculate Conception, Purgatory, Indulgences . . .

What about the hypocrisy of their own Latin Church in America on this score?

Or can their Church do no wrong - even when it does so, "Objectively speaking?"

Alex

Alex, we wouldn't be traditional Latins if we thought that the modern developments in the Church were A-OK!

The critique you are giving of the present annulment process is right on the money.

The tribunals in the US and Canada--as well as most Catholics in said countries--have entirely LOST the Church's understanding of Marriage, and of what a decree of nullity really is.

It is my opinion that that the annulment courts today are the single greatest scandal afflicting the Church.

By the way, did you that, of the US annulments that are appealed to the Roman Rota, a whopping 95% of them are overturned!!!!!


Tribunals are by no means infallible, and have never claimed to be.

LatinTrad

Mt 19 !!!!!!!

Dear LT,

You are an honest Latin!

God bless!

Alex

Thanks, Doc!

Dear LT,

You is welcome.

Alex

Don't forget that 25% of those annulments were for former Protestants.

25% of all annulments given by US tribunals?