Response to Fidelity's Challenge to Us from Comment Box

In response to this post of mine,

fidelity said...

This is horrible. See what TrueMarriage.net is doing about it.

We need to stop whining and start acting.

I agree. (Scattered throughout my blog are MANY on the subject), and challenge others to also get involved.

I have followed truemarriage.net, and in fact have posted a message from Steve Safranek

And I have been doing as much as I have been able to from my position as a lay person with no legal training.

I have been speaking out and writing against no fault universal forced divorce for over thirty years as often as the subject comes up and it is appropriate, regardless of what others think; pointing people to Church teachings about the indissolubility of marriage; pointing out the Scripture verses that are pertinent to this; to the rampant Nullity Decisions in the Church; to what JPII says about this; to websites like Judy Parejko's Stolen Vows and to Michele Gauthier's excellent website ever since I 'met' her online about five years ago or so.


I have also put their petition on a signature on emails, and here


I have mentioned Smart Marriages when appropriate.

I have encouraged people to read Elizabeth Marquardt's book, Between Two Worlds, as well as listen to the talks and interviews that are available at that same website, posted links to her blog. as well as to the Family Scholar's blog itself.

And I long ago put on this site, JPII's words that pertain from JPII's Familiaris Consortio

*****
The gift of the sacrament is at the same time a vocation and commandment for the Christian spouses, that they may remain faithful to each other forever, beyond every trial and difficulty, in generous obedience to the holy will of the Lord: "What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder."[55]
To bear witness to the inestimable value of the indissolubility and fidelity of marriage is one of the most precious and most urgent tasks of Christian couples in our time.
So, with all my brothers who participated in the Synod of Bishops, I praise and encourage those numerous couples who, though encountering no small difficulty, preserve and develop the value of indissolubility: Thus in a humble and courageous manner they perform the role committed to them of being in the world a "sign"--a small and precious sign, sometimes also subjected to temptation, but always renewed--of the unfailing fidelity with which God and Jesus Christ love each and every human being.

But it is also proper to recognize the value of the witness of those spouses who, even when abandoned by their partner, with the strength of faith and of Christian hope have not entered a new union: These spouses too give an authentic witness to fidelity, of which the world today has a great need. For this reason they must be encouraged and helped by the pastors and the faithful of the church.
~~FAMILIARIS CONSORTIO Pope John Paul II 12/15/1981 (Sec 20)

*****

Because I have NO idea how to make a links section (I really did try, grin)...I have a 'floating' post and change dates to add this section. However, since the date stamp thingy disappeard from the bottom of the page where I write, I often forget to just go back and refresh the date to repost it.


Catholic Marriage Petition
Defending Holy Matrimony
Stolen Vows
Divorce Reform (a Lawyer) and his other site Americans for Divorce Reform
Stephen Baskerville (working for parental--especially father's rights) and another
TrueMarriageBlog (another lawyer) and the associated website TrueMarriage.net

I also very frequently use as signature our vows, to remind people of what they promised:

Our vows:
The groom says:I (...), take you (...) to be my wife.
I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad,
in sickness and in health.
I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.

The bride says:I (...), take you (...) to be my husband.
I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad,
in sickness and in health.
I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.

And the words of one who gave wise counsel during his lifetime:

"Right is still right if nobody is right,
and wrong is still wrong if everybody is wrong,"
Archbishop Fulton J Sheen author of The Life of Christ


In a post about a quote from Joan Andrews Bell, I also added my own to show how similar this is, and then later also wrote of Two Dates of Infamy about the fact that most do not realize thatRoe V Wade (Jan 22, 1973) and the Unified Marriage and Divorce Act (Aug 2, 1973) became laws of the land in the same year.

The section on Joan Andrews Bell's quote is reprinted here:

I came across a quote today that says what I said but on a different topic, and much better than I said it: Yes, Joan Andrew Bell is a VERY wise woman

"I will not cooperate with immoral, unjust laws corruptly and cowardly imposed on the American people for the sake of pretending to solve social and economic problems by murdering innocent children...Indeed, I will not obey unjust laws nor consent to cooperate with the murder of the sacred lives of God's precious children. I could no more adhere to the unjust laws of this land, or in any way give credence to evil enshrined in law, than deny God Himself."


If I just simply substitute a few words, it would be my stand for the past 20 plus years:

"I will not cooperate with immoral, unjust laws corruptly and cowardly imposed on the American people for the sake of pretending to solve social and economic problems by attempting to dissolve indissoluble marriages ...Indeed, I will not obey unjust laws nor consent to cooperate with the destruction of the sacred marriages by forced, unilateral no fault divorce at the whim of one who abandons their vows. I could no more adhere to the unjust laws of this land, or in any way give credence to evil enshrined in law, than deny God Himself."

God bless you, Fidelity, as you pursue this task, and I hope that other Lawyers and Canon Lawyers join you in this in response to JPII's instructions to Catholic Lawyers!

Pope Asks Lawyers: Uphold Marital Bond - 1/28/2002
Lawyers and Judges Must Not Act Against Marriage, Pope Says - 1/28/2002
John Paul Says Catholic Bar Must Refuse Divorce Cases - 1/28/2002


Catholic, Christian, conservative, divorce, Marriage, No fault divorce, ProLife.