From the bulletin of October 31, 2021
Having addressed threats to the 2 aspects of children and fidelity, Pope Pius XI now looks at the challenges against the sacramentality of marriage. He immediately identifies movements in society that claim marriage “belongs entirely to the profane and purely civil sphere.” This in turn is used to justify once again the claim that divorce should be easily obtained.
As he taught earlier in the letter, the pope repeats the teaching that even the purely natural union of man and woman has a sacred character and is prior to the formation of any kind of government. While it ought to be recognized by civil society, marriage is not to be completely controlled by it. God wrote marriage into our nature and set it as a sign to us of God’s own love. As married couples beget live and live faithfully, we recognize that God is the source of all life and remains always faithful.
From here, he addresses what are called “mixed marriages,” which are marriages between a Catholic and a non-Catholic Christian. Pope Pius’ concern when he wrote this is that mixed marriages frequently lead the Catholic member to fall away or that the children often end up leaving the Church. He’s also concerned that, because the two people in the marriage do not share the same beliefs, it is more likely for the marriage to be divided. Some statistical reports show that divorce rates are indeed higher among couples of mixed faith than when both hold to the Catholic faith. For this reason the Church has always restricted mixed marriages so that a Catholic is not allowed to marry a non-Catholic without permission. It used to be more strict, but even today, a Catholic still needs to have permission from the Church to marry a non-Catholic Christian. Getting that permission usually involves the non-Catholic to be informed of the Catholic’s responsibility to raise the children in the Church and agreeing to at least not actively work against that goal. The hope is that, by talking through the challenges that come from a mixed marriage, the risk of divorce and of the children leaving the Church can be reduced. In those circumstances where a pastor determines the risk is too great, he could in fact refuse to celebrate the marriage when he normally cannot refuse to marry two Catholics.
Continuing the focus on the sacredness of the marriage bond, the pope reiterates that even adultery does not justify divorce. In situations of danger, abuse, or excessive difficulty, the Church does allow what he calls “imperfect separation,” which is when the couple no longer live together despite still being married in the eyes of God and His Church. Part of the obligation of marriage is that the couple live together. To live separately technically requires permission from the Church, usually from the bishop. In the case of immediate danger, one spouse can leave without permission, but they should seek the guidance of the Church for long-term situations. The secular world – and maybe our own cultural sensitivities – might think that is excessive because it shouldn’t be the Church’s business what the couple does. But that is precisely the point. Marriage is a sacrament and the Church is responsible for all of the sacraments. A Sacramentally married couple actually represents the Church on some level, so how they treat the Sacrament of Matrimony is the Church’s business. The goal is not to micromanage a couple, but to provide guidance and accountability for the central aspects of this sacred reality.
Pope Pius XI spends the rest of the Encyclical emphasizing the importance of Catholics taking the Church’s teaching seriously, and he reiterates his solemn warnings about governments distorting the truth. He also exhorts pastors and society in general to be generous and supportive of those who seek to live out this sacred reality. This includes the command that employers should offer sufficient wages to those seeking to raise a family and a general reminder that the point of life is love of God and love of neighbor.