Pope discusses church defense of marriage, commitment to God's plan

Published: 2007-01-29

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Catholic Church defends marriage as the permanent bond of a man and a woman because matrimony corresponds to human nature and to God's divine plan, Pope Benedict XVI said. When a man and a woman enter into a Catholic marriage, their commitment to each other surpasses their feelings at the moment and becomes a commitment to maintaining the bond God has created between them, the pope said Jan. 27 in his annual meeting with members of the Tribunal of the Roman Rota, a Vatican court dealing mainly with marriage. Despite a society that often considers "marriage simply as a social formalization of affective ties" and a contract that should end if the affection weakens, the pope said the church continues to insist that matrimony is more than a public pronouncement that two people love each other at that moment. Pope Benedict told the Vatican court judges that their task was one of "service of the truth in justice," not only for the good of a couple seeking an annulment, but also for the defense of the sacrament of matrimony through which God ensures the good and fulfillment of each of the spouses.

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