The Feasts of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More: June 22

While his Theology of the Body may be best known, Saint Pope John Paul II's solicitous concern for marriage,  family, and the great gift of human sexuality - at the very fiber of God's plan for human happiness - was evident throughout his many talks and writings.  And in his quarter century of annual addresses to the Roman Rota (the Church's "Supreme Court", if you will) - particularly near the end of his earthly journey – Saint Pope John Paul II seemed to have growing dis-ease about possible misuse of marriage tribunals, whereby a misguided "pastoral" perspective could destabilize marriage and family.  He spoke, for example, of a dangerous exaggeration of psychological difficulties, wrongly leading to a conclusion that a spouse had been incapable of marital consent....

• the danger of adding new requirements for marriage "that are foreign to tradition" (2/1/2001); 
• the need for "convalidating, where possible, marriages that are otherwise null" (1/28/2002);
• how "professionals in the field of civil law should avoid being personally involved in anything that might imply a cooperation with divorce" (1/28/2002); and
• the "presumption of its [marriage's] validity in case of doubt" (1/29/2004).

Saint Pope John Paul II's concerns appear to have led to the Vatican’s 2005 Dignitas Connubii (Instruction to be Observed by Diocesan and Interdiocesan Tribunals on Handling Causes of Marital Nullity). 
 

About 500 years earlier, Saint (Bishop) John Fisher and Saint Thomas More stood firmly with the Pope of that time, as the Holy Father declined King Henry VIII’s demand for a declaration of marital nullity after abandoning his wife.  

Spousal abandonment is a plague a half millennium after Henry VIII:

• "We need a renewed effort on the part of bishops and priests to recognize that spousal abandonment is a crisis in our Church. Church leaders need to acknowledge this — and they need to encourage new, more effective responses in our parishes and chanceries....In a world that would have us believe that divorce is just an opportunity for a new start, the Church’s message must be loud and clear: We will hold fast to our ancient teachings on marriage – for the sake of our souls, our families, and our civilization." (Dr. Hilary Towers, Catholic News Agency, 3/4/11)
• "To choose to stand firm in one’s marriage having experienced the utter devastation of spousal betrayal and to live a life of fidelity in the face of abandonment are most assuredly signs of contradiction to the world.... But the Church’s need of an alternative to annulment is not simply a spiritual matter. On a practical level, annulments follow civil divorce, and both involve the dismantling of a family that has been in existence for many years. The negative consequences of divorce to children and societies are well established....Many of us are personally aware of marriages, and families, that were restored after many years because of the commitment of a civilly divorced spouse.  Let’s tell their stories. Let’s find ways to highlight the courage and determination of these faithful for the benefit of young and old, married, single and engaged, clergy and religious.  Indeed, each one serves as a living reminder of the fidelity shown to us by God.  In the words of Pope St. John Paul, 'On the part of God, the covenant is a lasting commitment; He remains faithful to His spousal love, even if the bride often shows herself to be unfaithful'” (Dr. Hilary Towers, National Catholic Register, 10/2/15).