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Church of England studies relaxation of rules on remarriage
From
ENS.parti@ecunet.org (ENS)
Date
01 Feb 2000 08:48:14
For more information contact:
Episcopal News Service
Kathryn McCormick
kmccormick@dfms.org
212/922-5383
http://www.ecusa.anglican.org/ens
2000-022
Church of England studies relaxation of rules on remarriage
by Kathryn McCormick
(ENS) Amid a blaze of criticism and praise, a working group
of the Church of England's general synod has released a draft
report loosening the church's strict rules governing remarriage
of divorced persons.
The January 25 report, seen as an acknowledgement of the
reality of failed marriages in today's society--England has the
second-highest divorce rate in Europe--affirms marriage but
provides specific circumstances under which those whose first
marriages ended in divorce might wed again.
While traditionalists in the church attacked the report as a
new assault on the institution of marriage, Bishop Mark Santer
of Birmingham welcomed it as "principled and pastorally
realistic." He added, "The question of remarriage of those who
have previously been married has been widely discussed throughout
the church for at least 20 years. This report in effect codifies
what has already become practice in many parishes."
The document will be debated by and voted on in the General
Synod.
Since the 17th century, the church refused to marry persons
whose previous partners were still living, a stance seen with
some irony, given the marital history of King Henry VIII, who
launched the church in part as a way to secure a divorce from his
first wife, Katherine of Aragon. In 1981, the General Synod
resolved that certain persons could remarry while their former
spouses were living.
Bishops' marriage statement
Late last year, the church's House of Bishops, acknowledging
the growing pressures among churchgoers to remarry, issued a
statement reflecting on marriage, the relationship so long held
by the church as a lifelong commitment, and pointing the way
toward the acceptability of remarriage.
Under the proposed new laws, divorced persons may remarry if
they meet at least twice with their parish clergy, who must seek
the advice of the bishop; if each person has looked honestly at
his or her first marriage, fully disclosing to the prospective
partner the background that led to the divorce; if the children
and spouse from the previous marriage are provided for; if the
couple's new relationship was not responsible for the end of the
previous marriage; and if neither the bride nor the groom has
been divorced more than once.
In many ways, these new rules match those already expressed
in the canons of the Episcopal Church.
At first, the church refused to remarry persons whose former
spouses were living, official policy in 1804 and codified in the
canons in 1868. In 1973, after years of sermons, papers, debate
and resolutions, the canons were changed to allow remarriage of
divorced persons under certain exceptions.
The exceptions demand that a person seeking remarriage
satisfy the clergy that the prior marriage has been dissolved by
a civil court, that clergy make it clear that "concern must be
shown for the well-being of the former spouse and of any children
of the prior marriage," and that clergy consult with the bishop
and obtain the bishop's consent.
In both churches, clergy may decline to perform any marriage
ceremony.
Bishop Michael Scott-Joynt of Winchester, who headed the
working group that produced the British report, said, "If these
proposals win acceptance, the church will not simply marry anyone
who turns up and asks to be married.
"In many situations there are strong pastoral reasons why a
local church will want to help people make a new start. With some
people, however, it is clear that their past marriage has not
been left behind, that its obligations have not been honored.
Some people, in asking the church to help them to make a second
marriage, are asking us to approve of behavior of which we cannot
approve," he said.
--Kathryn McCormick is associate director of the Episcopal
Church's Office of News and Information.
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