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Newsletter
No.8
February 2004
The Diocesan Synod on Marriage
and the Family
The
challenges facing the Church in its pastoral ministry of the
family and Christian marriages are enormous. Maltese society
has changed. The presence of the Church in Maltese society
has also evolved. Although Church and State have not always
been in agreement, yet the hierarchical Church always
exercised great moral influence on the faithful and on the
governing bodies. In modern and secularised Malta the Church
finds itself on a different plain. Maltese society is fast
becoming a pluralist, multi-cultured and multi-religious. It
is not as homogenous as it was before. These social changes
inevitably affect the lives of the people. People’s
attitudes towards the Church and its teaching are not as
positive as before. As individuals become more rational and
aware of their personal freedom the less inclined they are
to adhere to the Church’s law, at least not without
criticism. As people become increasingly aware of their
civil rights and duties the less afraid they are to make up
their own minds. The relation between the Church and the
faithful cannot be taken for granted anymore. The Church has
to reckon with the rule of civil law which is increasingly
becoming the guiding rule to which people look up to resolve
their private problems.
Trying
to define marriage and family is becoming highly contentious
nowadays. The Christian ideal of both marriage and family is
seen by some to be outmoded and exclusive. People today are
experimenting more with various forms of relationships which
place them completely outside the Christian parameters of
what is permissible or not. Concepts such as desacralisation
and secularisation
are used by social analysts to explain the relational
transformations taking place in marriage and family life
today.
A
case in point is the greater number of civil marriages, the
widespread use of contraceptives and open cohabitation. This
moving away from the Christian ideal does not necessarily
mean that certain traditional values are no longer present
in married and family life. On the contrary, social
researchers conclude that values such as fidelity, spending
time together, sharing of personal problems and common
interests, understanding, tolerance, mutual respect and
appreciation and a satisfactory sexual relationship are seen
as desirable by most couples. However, these values are not
perceived solely as Christian. There are those who tend to
build their relationships on value systems that may not be
exclusively religious. What is of concern is a new
individualist, hedonist, consumerist and utilitarian
mentality that will constantly challenge the Christian
understanding of marriage as permanent and indissoluble.
Feedback
that is given by the Ecclesiastical Tribunal and marriage
counsellors tends to agree with what social researchers are
saying. If modern trends give rise for concern we must also
emphasise the fact that many Catholic marriages and families
are still being faithful to their Christian commitment.
However, the Church today faces a big challenge
because Catholic marriages are becoming vulnerable as they
face the influx of these modern and secular trends. The
document recently signed by the Archbishop offers pastoral
suggestions to face up to the new challenges. The substance
of a Christian marriage is a life-long bond between a man
and a woman lived in faith. This is still the aspiration of
most engaged couples preparing to enter marriage.
When
couples or individuals find themselves in difficulties they
still look up to the Church for guidance.
Many couples who file their case with the
Ecclesiastical Tribunal do so because many still have trust
in the Church and take their faith seriously. The present
situation at the Tribunal is becoming untenable due to the
ever-increasing backlog of cases.
Administrative changes must be brought about so that
the Tribunal will function more efficiently in favour and in
support of those who are left anxiously waiting for long
years for a judgment.
Some
of the measures that are being suggested to the Bishop are
to form a commission to study why there are and how to
resolve bottlenecks which burden and slow down the whole modus operandi of examining the cases. Why it is not possible to
have a fast lane for those cases which prima
facie are so obvious and clear?
If the Tribunal lacks personnel steps need to be
taken to increase the number of staff. For instance why
should it not make use of more professional people, ex
parte, especially psychologists who can examine cases
and present reports under oath? The same goes for those
civil lawyers who have followed courses run by the Tribunal.
The process of collecting evidence from witnesses could be
restructured so that it is done speedily. Tape-recording of
witnesses could facilitate this course of action. Why does
it have to be collected only at the Tribunal? Considering
the lack of judges why does each case in the first instance
have to be examined and decided upon by three
judges? Is it not possible to study how Tribunals in other
parts of the Catholic world conduct their procedures?
Isn’t there anything that can be learnt from these, to
have our system function more rapidly and efficiently?
Failure to address this state of affairs will make people
grow more disaffected with the way our Tribunal is coping
with the situation. Couples in crises who file their cases
in the Tribunal must never be left in the dark about the
legal procedures. They
must be offered pastoral help both during the time waiting
for the judgement and afterwards, especially if the sentence
is negative.
But the
Ecclesiastical Tribunal is not to be perceived as the
panacea for the problems facing Christian marriage today.
The onus for the new evangelisation lies with the
Church. But the Church is not made up solely of the
hierarchy. The word “Church” is an all-inclusive term
and with regards to the family the front-line operators are
the Christian families themselves. They are the ones who
should be the prime helpers by their Christian witnessing
and involvement in family parish work. Parish priests, aided
by trained volunteers, must make better use of their
resources and time to cater for the needs of families in
their parish. They must reach out to families by dedicating
more time to home visiting and keeping the most vulnerable
ones under their constant pastoral care. The Church must
bring together all the agencies that work on behalf of the
family together. Family organisations on a diocesan level
must be better coordinated. Those involved in this pastoral
work must receive appropriate training and have adequate
skills. Our young people who are aspiring to a Catholic
marriage deserve to have a Church that will back them all
the way as they journey in an ever-changing modern society.
Fr
Vincent Magri SJ
Ignatian Maxims
31.We must
form the inner man, and hold in higher esteem the power of
mortifying our own will, than that of raising a dead man to
life . (Bartoli, I. IV, n.36, p.400)
32. We must
never neglect the opportunity of doing good when it presents
itself, in the uncertain hope of effecting some still
greater good at a future date; for it is a subtle artifice
of the evil spirit to make us conceive great projects and
design admirable plans, which will never be executed, in
order to turn our minds from the common and more ordinary
good works which we might have performed. (Bartoli, I. III, n.7, p.202)
33.
Spiritual persons who endeavour to undertake great things in
the service of the Lord God should not be too prudent. (Ribadeneira,
Collectanea, M.I. Font. Narr. II
34. If
perfection consisted simply and only in having good desires,
it would not have benefited people living here on earth. (Ribadeneira, Selectae S.
Ignatii Sententiae, M.I. Font. Narr.,III)
35. One has
to be very wary of falling in with those who spend long
hours in prayer and meditation, but are then too much
attached to their own ideas and opinions, are obstinate, and
hard-headed. (Ribadeneira, Vita Ignatii
Loyolae, M.I. Font. Narr., IV)
Fr. Arthur Vella SJ
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