Validity is Worth Fighting For

When the news broke on Time's website, I had the article here,
on my blog site. Interesting how some others are portraying this news, including some calling Sheila Rauch Kennedy 'vindictive'.... hhhhmmmmm. For taking Marital Vows seriously? Others try to say she had nothing to lose because SHE is not Catholic, but Episcopalian....hmmmmmmm, how about the Eternal Soul that both she AND Joseph Kennedy, and their children have???

Many seem to think that this ONLY relates to 'rich Kennedys' and the Boston Tribunal. It does not.

This is something that happens across the USA, and is defended by 'justifications' by most in the Canon Law field from the North American school of thought.

If you are a 'boomer', you have no way of understanding what you are doing when you stand before God and mankind in that Church as a young man and woman, and are lost. I was told that by a young Canon Lawyer ( I have the letter should you ever want to see it, written to a yahoo group). "WE Boomers", according to him--in the present way of thinking, are responsible for the 'no fault' divorce laws (and much of the rest of the evils of this world!), in spite of the fact that this young Canon Lawyer considers 1946 to be the beginning of the "Boomer" Age.

But we were not out of high school/college long enough to have had that effect in 1973 when Roe v Wade and Doe v Bolton were decided in the US Supreme Court, or in Aug 1973 when the Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act was passed!

Nor were we "boomers" on the steps in DC with the group of adult Catholic dissenters who spoke out against Pope Paul VI and Humanae Vitae in 1968. I, being one of the older end boomers, did not gradutate from HS until 67, and his earliest date of 1946 would be only three years before that, graduating HS in 1964 and college in 1968 (for my class, 1971).

Sheila Rauch Kennedy is only ONE person who has appealed to the Roman Rota and won their case for Validity. (Her book has other examples in it, and Vasoli, may he rest in peace, not only won his own case, but helped others as well!) The shame of it is that in other articles I have read, Joseph was informed quite awhile before she was, and it took an awfully long time to reach and write up that verdict!

(Note: When one considers that Hell is for Eternity, however... ten years may not be so very long after all...)

Should it ever come down to it, I will be doing the same as she chose to do. It has nothing to do with vindictiveness. It has to do with Truth, with indissolubility of Marriage, with my vows being sacred, with obedience to God, with the ultimate goal of Salvation of not only myself, but my spouse, my children and grandchildren. It is the Vocation of Marriage.

It has to do with not trusting the 'spirit of compassion' that is prevalent today that is more evil in disguise than true compassion. It has to do with the fact that JUST BECAUSE YOU END UP IN DIVORCE COURT TODAY, it does NOT mean your marriage was and is not VALID in God's eyes! It has to do with the fact that often, today, it is the deserter/unfaithful partner who not only forces the divorce, but later forces the Petition for Nullity on the faithful spouse, and wins approval, reward for SIN.

Sorry, this is neither Justice nor Mercy. This is not Compassion. This is not Truth. It is Evil.

OH, and one more thought... if our first marriages are VALID... that makes those second marriages (where people are encouraged to stay together for the sake of the CHILDREN...) adultery. Where they are encouraged to live together as brother and sister rather than hurt their children.... what about OUR children?? Canon Law and Scripture both tell us to encourage reconciliation of that VALID FIRST Marriage. Our children deserve to be considered, too.

God bless

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.


"So when you make a promise (or a VOW) to God,
don't delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all
the promises you make to him. It is better to say nothing than to promise
something that you don't follow through on. In such cases, your mouth is making
you sin. And don't defend yourself by telling the Temple messenger that the
promise you made was a mistake. That would make God angry, and he might wipe
out everything you have achieved."
~~ Ecclesiastes 5:4-6 New Living Translation

"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

A former president of the US once said, "A man who would lie to his wife would lie to me, and a man who would break his marriage vows would break his oath of office."
~~Harry S Truman