VATICAN CITY (CNS): Pope John Paul II said the Church must combat a widespread “crisis of matrimony” by doing a better job of making Catholic couples appreciate the supernatural dimension of their marriages.
Speaking on January 30 to members of the Roman Rota, a Church tribunal that handles appeals of marriage annulment cases, the Pope stressed that marriage was a sacrament, in which “the human and the divine intertwine in a marvellous way”.
He said Catholic couples should persevere when times get tough, not just for the good of their children or society but for the more “radical” reason that God enabled and guarantees their mutual gift of self.
“The ultimate reason for the duty of faithful love is none other than that which is at the root of the divine alliance with man: God is faithful,” the Pope said.
“Thus, it is necessary to turn to God – in the certainty of receiving help from him – to make faithfulness of heart to one’s spouse possible, even in the hardest cases,” he said.
