CBCP head: Marriage not a simple contract

AMID the push for the legalization of divorce in the Philippines, the head of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) yesterday reminded the faithful that marriage is not just a simple contract between a husband and wife.

God is also a party to the sacrament of matrimony, said CBCP president Bishop Pablo David.

“Like all legally binding human contracts, its validity ends the moment the terms of agreement between the two parties are violated or no longer in place. If indeed you think of our human promises as just agreements among ourselves, then indeed they can be dissolved when violated,” said David.

“But Jesus raises the bar of our humanity by teaching us to look at marriage, not just as an agreement between two spouses, but as a covenant between the couple and God. In the sacrament, God invites the couple to make an act of faith, not just in each other, but in the God who calls them to build a family,” he added.

David urged married couples, being in a covenant, not to easily give up.

“No doubt, we are weak, fragile, and sinful, and often unable to keep our promises. But we are also capable of forgiveness, of healing, and mending our broken relationships, of renewing our commitments, of rising above our conditionalities because we believe in the grace of loving unconditionally,” he said.

He said the Catholic Church will also not surrender in teaching the people on the importance of keeping a marriage intact.

“That is why, in spite of all the divorce laws that have been legislated in most countries around the world, the Church has not given up its teaching on the possibility of grace, the grace that we call indissolubility of marriage,” said David.

The statement was issued days after the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading a bill seeking to legalize absolute divorce in the country.

Divorce remains outlawed only the Philippines and the Vatican.