The abuse of rules

It always amazes me that we use the expression ‘they got away with it’ when people seem to profit from the ungodly lives they lead. What is on my mind today is the Catholic Church allowing the marriage of a twice divorced man known for his alleged affairs with many women. He was allowed to marry as a catholic because his previous marriages were not to catholics and were not catholic ceremonies. Many people are complaining about this in the press at the moment especially as the catholic church is very clear about divorced people not being allowed to remarry.

There are several issues to consider: firstly, the hurt that has been done to practising catholics who have divorced and remarried and therefore cannot receive communion and their second marriage can’t be celebrated in a catholic church. Why should this man who not only has two divorces behind him but lives a life that is quite clearly not one a catholic should lead, be able to remarry in this way? Secondly, giving the appearance of being willing to bend the rules for some and not others. When a practising catholic couple decide to marry they have to go through a course with their priest so that he can prepare them for marriage and the lifelong commitment they are making. I don’t know if this was done, but I wonder if the priest who handled this really challenged this man about his lifestyle and treatment of his previous families. If he wasn’t challenged then that is sad for him as well as he will continue on this destructive course damaging himself and others. This was a chance to make him look at his life and realise the wrong he has done and change his ways. He should have been refused and sent away to think about why his behaviour makes this impossible. Instead he has been given everything he wants.

Finally, we do tend to forget God when we say ‘they got away with it’: he has the final say and we need to come to terms with the lives we have led and repent of anything we have done that is against what we know to be right. Basically, we don’t get away with anything – there is a final reckoning that can only be wiped clean by repentance and a godly way of life.

God bless,