The question of evolution having been settled by Pope John Paul II, the Catholic Church still has the question of marriage to debate. Besides whether priests and other ministers of the gospel can marry, is a marriage "indissoluble" or sacramentally sealed for the lives of the two spouses, or can that entity called "marriage" be terminated by one of them?
Charles Curran states that "increasing numbers of Roman Catholics do not accept the Church's teaching on the indissolubility of marriage." This in itself is revolutionary. Although the Pope presents himself as the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, and ostensibly the de facto leader of Christendom in general because Catholicism until very recently believed one must be a Catholic to be saved, the Pope is only a leader insofar as others follow. If when Curran wrote in 1977 this was true, even more is it true 20 years later. Therefore, if Curran is correct, the Roman Catholic Church may question its unity, at least as a denomination in Christendom. Curran himself immediately proceeds to clarify that he is one of these dissenters.
But Curran continues: "In general, my stance would tend to avoid the extreme opinions that the breakdown of many Catholic marriages is due only to weakness, sinfulness and selfishness or only to positive or neutral factors." How Curran could imagine a positive factor bringing about such an undisputed tragedy as a divorce indicates, perhaps, that he is unfamiliar with marriage in general.
He tops off these two statements: "In two previous studies I have developed in great detail the reasons why the Roman Catholic Church should change its teaching on indissolubility and acknowledge the possibility of divorce and remarriage." He thus believes, despite the teaching of his own Pope, that a marriage should be dissoluble. The next question is whether he is right.
Wrenn notes that Jesus did not Himself use the word "indissoluble," though this ...