«A valid sacramental marriage is indissoluble: this is the Catholic practice reaffirmed by Popes and Councils, in fidelity to the Word of Jesus». This is how you respond, Mgr. Gerhard Ludwig Müller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and one of the new Cardinals created by Pope Francis, on the topic of divorced and remarried people and the sacraments, in an interview published in "Il Corriere della Sera", last December. Previously, in a long and argued speech published in the "Osservatore Romano" (October 23), Monsignor Gerhard Ludwig Müller stated: «A fully responsible pastoral care presupposes a theology that abandons itself to God who reveals himself "by giving him the full respect of intellect and will and voluntarily assenting to the Revelation that he makes." In fact "the Catholic Church, in its teaching and practice, has constantly referred to the words of Jesus on the indissolubility of marriage".

The Jesuit GianPaolo Salvini also spoke on "La Civiltà Cattolica" about the news of the Synod of Bishops on the family. The next Synod of Bishops dedicated to the family is "among the most relevant initiatives of the new Pontificate, both for the problems that will be dealt with and for the method that will be adopted". 

The first novelty, on a methodological level, is the presentation of a Preparatory Document, instead of the Lineamenta, to outline the social background in which the Synod takes place, rather than providing guidelines that channel the discussion along pre-marked paths. 

«The favorable reception that the current pontifical teaching on mercy and tenderness towards people wounded by life is receiving has raised lively expectations regarding the pastoral choices that the Church could make to meet them. 

It is therefore urgent that the Synod reflect on these themes as a dutiful expression of charity of the Pastors towards those entrusted to them and the entire human family", writes the Jesuit.

The Questionnaire addresses new topics of consultation and direct participation of the people of God, such as the second question point, "On marriage according to natural law", and the fourth, "On pastoral care to deal with some difficult marital situations". «The novelty of the method and the frankness in addressing often avoided issues denote the determination with which the Pope intends to start a frank debate on the most urgent challenges in the family field. 

Nothing is said for now on the solutions that are intended to be adopted, also so as not to steer the responses already in a specific direction; it seems significant to us that it is discussed openly, as in the case in which an opinion is asked on the possible streamlining of the procedures to reach a declaration of nullity of the marital bond, or when we talk about contraception, or when we ask what pastoral attention to take towards persons of the same sex who have formed a union".

«The Church - we read - wants to listen to the problems and expectations of families, offering them in a credible way the mercy of God. Furthermore, it would not be the first time that the Church changes its penitential, disciplinary and juridical practice, to take into account the changed circumstances of the society in which we live".

 

God is merciful, holy and just

In order not to create false expectations and much less dismay in public opinion on such delicate topics, precisely with regard to the theme of mercy, the new Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller explained in his long speech:

“A further tendency in favor of the admission of divorced and remarried people to the sacraments is that which invokes the argument of mercy. Since Jesus himself sympathized with the suffering by giving them his merciful love, mercy would therefore be a special sign of authentic following. This is true, but it is a weak argument in theological-sacramental matters, also because the entire sacramental order is exactly the work of divine mercy and cannot be revoked by referring to the same principle that supports it. 

Through what objectively sounds like a false call to mercy we run the risk of trivializing the very image of God, according to which God could do nothing but forgive. In addition to mercy, holiness and justice also belong to the mystery of God; if you hide these attributes of God and do not take the reality of sin seriously, you cannot even mediate his mercy to people. Jesus met the adulterous woman with great compassion, but he also told her: «Go, and sin no more» (John, 8, 11). God's mercy is not a dispensation from God's commandments and the Church's instructions; indeed, it grants the strength of grace for their full realization, for getting up again after the fall and for a life of perfection in the image of the heavenly Father".