Family matters

How tradition works

The future of humanity passes by way of the family, says James Preece

This November marks forty years since Pope Saint John Paul II published his apostolic exhortation Familiaris Consortio, just a few months after the opening of the Humber Bridge. Plenty of other things happened in 1981 but the opening of the Humber Bridge is only one I can think of without consulting Wikipedia. At that time, the Humber Bridge was the longest single span suspension bridge in the world, an incredible feat of engineering that spans 4,626 feet between the two main supports.

Since then, the record has been broken and the Humber Bridge isn’t even in the top ten. The longest single span suspension bridge is now the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge in Japan which spans 6,532 feet. That’s more than a mile of expressway soaring over the Akashi Strait, while an even longer bridge is already under construction in Turkey. We’ve come a long way since somebody put a log across a stream to keep their feet dry.

In the face of such technological progress, it’s easy to assume that everything follows a similar pattern - the new ways make the old ones obsolete. Do you know what else happened in 1981? Raiders of the Lost Ark, the first Indiana Jones movie. Some of you may recall the famous scene in which an expert swordsman flourishes his weapon in readiness to attack, only to be dispatched nonchalantly with a single shot from the hero’s gun. It’s a moment that really sums up the spirit of the age. The hard work and dedication of a traditional martial art, easily overtaken by modern technology.

It is in this context that traditional Catholics are often understood. Sure you can go to all the trouble of learning Latin, but why bother when you can just have Mass in English? Bang! Problem solved. The new ways are so much better than the old! Duh.

So what does this all have to do with Familiaris Consortio? Well, just as the Humber Bridge has been usurped by longer spans, Familiaris Consortio appears to have been overshadowed by a longer Apostolic Exhortation. I refer, of course, to Amoris Laetitia – subtitled “On Love in the Family”. A document which appears to replace Familiaris Consortio as the definitive Church teaching on the family. Out with the old, in with the new.

So is Familiaris Consortio obsolete? Some people might say so. The four ‘Dubia Cardinals’ felt it necessary to ask their first question on this very topic. Familiaris Consortio 84 is clear: “the Church reaffirms her practice, which is based upon Sacred Scripture, of not admitting to Eucharistic Communion divorced persons who have remarried” and that absolution can only be given to those who “are sincerely ready to undertake a way of life that is no longer in contradiction to the indissolubility of marriage”.

Amoris Laetitia on the other hand says that people “in an objective situation of sin – which may not be subjectively culpable” could be “receiving the Church’s help” and “In certain cases, this can include the help of the sacraments”. As the first Dubia asked: “Can the expression “in certain cases” found in Note 351 (305) of the exhortation Amoris Laetitia be applied to divorced persons who are in a new union and who continue to live more uxorio?”

So far Pope Francis hasn’t provided an answer, but traditional Catholics don’t need one – we know what the answer is: No. Of course it can’t. Familiaris Consortio tells us it can’t. Amoris Laetitia doesn’t specify which ‘certain cases’ allow access to the sacraments, but Familiaris Consortio is clear about which do not.

This is how tradition works. The deposit of faith is not replaced by a new edition every time a Pope puts pen to paper. Rather, the new is understood in light of the old. Amoris Laetitia doesn’t replace Familiaris Consortio any more than Familiaris Consortio replaced the Gospel according to St Matthew. Tradition doesn’t therefore mean being ‘stuck in the past’ but rather that the past and the present are stuck together.

All of which is a very long-winded way of saying Familiaris Consortio has not been replaced and is very much still worth reading. Catholic teaching on the family is essential to the Faith. Without families, how can we understand the meaning of “God the Father”? Without families, where does the next generation of priests come from?

So I will end by repeating Pope Saint John Paul II’s words at the end of Familiaris Consortio. It is “indispensable and urgent” to “save and foster the values and requirements of the family”. Especially the clergy: “They must show the family special love. This is an injunction that calls for concrete action.”

“The Future of Humanity Passes by Way of the Family”