The memorial volume, a history of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore, November 9-December 7, 1884, by Baltimore Publishing Company, Publication date 1885
"Marriage was instituted by God Himself for the propagation and preservation of the human race. It differs from all other contracts made by men, which derive their binding force from the will of the contracting parties and from human laws which sanction them."
"But in marriage it is not so; for marriage is of divine institution and can exist only on the conditions fixed by God Himself. Christian marriage, in its essence, can be governed only by the laws of the divine legislator of the Christian Church. Society did not institute marriage, for marriage was established before all society."
But there arc agencies at work around us that threaten to sap
and destroy this holy institution. The system of divorce and the
laws establishing it in the various States are certainly a fearful
danger to the welfare of society; and all who believe in God’s
law as supreme above all the laws of men, and all who wish to
preserve our country from moral ruin should seriously consider
the consequences that will necessarily follow if the sacredness of
the marriage tie be destroyed or even tampered with.
For divorce destroys the unity of marriage and introduces
virtual polygamy with many of its worst consequences. The people
of this great country, whose instincts are so generally Christian,
hold in detestation the doctrines of Mormonism and consider them
a disgrace and a curse to the nation. Yet in what does Mor¬
monism really differ from the system of divorce ? Mormonism
allows men to have several wives at the same time, while divorce
permits them one after the other. Divorce allows a man to be
married twice, three times, etc., no limit fixed, while the first wife
is still living. In what does that really differ from Mormonism?
It is just as much opposed to the real ends of marriage, to the
mutual love of the married couple, and the proper education of
children; and it is much more adapted to gratify the basest pas¬
sions, as it offers a greater freedom from the embarrassments of
open polygamy. With whatever disgust then we view the shame¬
ful doctrines of Mormonism, with even greater dislike should we
treat the question of divorce. For, as I have just said, it is
opposed to the natural ends of marriage and disturbs the laws
established by ' the Creator. It destroys the mutual love which
should unite the husband and wife, it develops all the causes
which can lead to their unhappiness, it stimulates the worst pas¬
sions of our nature and leads often to the foulest crimes. When
mairicd peisons know that they are united for good or ill until
death, they will naturally cultivate mutual love and mutual for-
beaiancc ; they will support each other’s defects and overlook many
imperfections. For their own sake they feel that they must over¬
come many petty dislikes and make the most of the good quali¬
ties of their companions. Divorce encourages these quarrels and fosters them. It leads even to the worst evils. For if a married
person know that by personal quarrels or by crimes the marriage
can be broken, what an inducement to foster dissension or to fall
into foul sins ! Nay, even snares and pitfalls are thus often pre¬
pared by one of the parties to entrap the unwary steps of the
other, in order to have a pretext for the dissolution of marriage.
It is not a very rare thing that the husband should agree before¬
hand with the seducer to secure the proofs of his wife’s unfaith¬
fulness in order to have the right to divorce her. I pass over
in silence many things ; the shocking revelations of the divorce
courts cannot even be alluded to. You cau judge from what I
have said if divorce be not injurious to the ends of marriage.
The woman becomes degraded by such a law. She is no longer
certain of her position in the household ; for under one pretext or
another she can be driven from her home.
It is no longer even for crime that, divorce is granted. The
most frivolous charges, the most futile reasons are considered suffi¬
cient in many places. Nay, even without the knowledge of one of
the parties it can be obtained by the other. These causes are so
multiplied that in some of our States nothing is more easily
granted. Hence we see the rapid and fearful increase in the
number of broken marriages, — and the horrible fact that in many
places divorces come as high as one in every twelve or ten or
even nine marriages. Divorce then is simply a legalized prostitu¬
tion ; and marriage itself no better than a temporary cohabitation,
stigmatized as a very foul crime in all Christian lands. But
even this is not the whole malice of divorce. It prevents the
proper training and education of children, which is one of the
essential ends of marriage. The true education of the child requires
both father and mother to bring it to completion — the strong
authority of the father, and the loving affection of the mother.
But where can we get this necessary co-operation on the part
of the parents, if divorce be permitted? To whom will the
child belong? Who shall take charge of him when father and
mother are tom asunder? If he be sufficiently advanced in years,
he must decide for himself. Cruel alternative, unhappy decision,
when he has to reject one or the other parent. If he be very
young, how heart-rending this separation becomes. Shall the young
child be torn from the frantic grasp of a broken-hearted, wretched
9
130
SERMONS OF THE THIRD PLENARY COUNCIL.
mother, driven from her home and her little ones? Ah! }ou can
recall many such scenes ; our daily papers often give us the har¬
rowing details. And there, too, we read of the desperate efforts
of the father to recover possession of his children. But what shall
become of the miserable children themselves, thus parted from
their natural guardians ? Shall they grow up in the principles of
honor and integrity, or rather shall they not become indifferent
to all virtue? And how shall they regard in after years the
parents who brought such shame and ruin upon them ?
I have said enough, I trust, to convince you of the many evil
consequences which necessarily flow from divorce ; yet I have not
enumerated more than a part. When men break down the bar¬
riers which God Himself has raised up to curb the passions, no
one can adequately foresee the fearful havoc and widespread ruin
produced when the full torrent of these passions finds an outlet
for their fury. The exceptions allowed may at first seem without
danger, but they soon create the necessity for granting others. The
little rills soon swell into a mighty torrent that sweeps away every¬
thing in its resistless force. Just as in some countries dykes and
banks have been erected to prevent the waters of the ocean from
covering the land ; the country is safe while the dykes remain
uninjured. But let a little rift be made in them; let the slightest
break occur, and little by little, through the incessant action of the
sea, the fissure is widened, the breach is gradually enlarged, until at
length the full fury of the angry waters bursts through all bounds,
and then widespread ruin and devastation follow, and the land, with
all its riches and beauty, its cultivated plains and smiling gardens,
is entirely submerged. So around society, for its preservation, the
Almighty erected the strong barriers of holy marriage with its
unity and 'indissolubility, as the powerful safeguards of our best
interests. Let but a slight break be made in its binding force,
let but even one exception be admitted, and very soon through
the fierce surging of human passion, — through the constant cravings
of the ever restless heart of man, the whole structure will be
overturned and society be flooded with countless evils.
Let us then, dear brethren, firmly hold that Christian marriage
is one and indissoluble ; that it is the union of one man with
one woman and forever. Let us firmly believe that this is God’s
ordinance from the beginning of the world, and that this is the
CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE.
131
law of Jesus Christ, the Legislator of the new Covenant. For us
Catholics there can be no hesitation. It is the doctrine of our
Church. No matter then what human enactments may be framed, —
no matter what laws of divorce may be published, — no matter
how few or many — whether one or twenty, — causes of divorce be
admitted in the government of our States, — our duty is plain,—
we cannot accept them nor profit by them to break a lawful
marriage sanctioned by the Church of God. Our duty is to
honor ourselves this great sacrament, and to teach others to prize
it by our words and examples. Our duty is to prepare ourselves
worthily for its reception and to live worthily in it after its
reception : to understand its sacredness and its inviolability when
we receive it, and ever after by Christian lives manifest all the
true, blessed fruits of Christian marriage : thus fulfilling the words
of St. Paul cited in my text. (Eph. v, 22, 23.)
"Marriage was instituted by God Himself for the propagation and preservation of the human race. It differs from all other contracts made by men, which derive their binding force from the will of the contracting parties and from human laws which sanction them."
"But in marriage it is not so; for marriage is of divine institution and can exist only on the conditions fixed by God Himself. Christian marriage, in its essence, can be governed only by the laws of the divine legislator of the Christian Church. Society did not institute marriage, for marriage was established before all society."
But there arc agencies at work around us that threaten to sap
and destroy this holy institution. The system of divorce and the
laws establishing it in the various States are certainly a fearful
danger to the welfare of society; and all who believe in God’s
law as supreme above all the laws of men, and all who wish to
preserve our country from moral ruin should seriously consider
the consequences that will necessarily follow if the sacredness of
the marriage tie be destroyed or even tampered with.
For divorce destroys the unity of marriage and introduces
virtual polygamy with many of its worst consequences. The people
of this great country, whose instincts are so generally Christian,
hold in detestation the doctrines of Mormonism and consider them
a disgrace and a curse to the nation. Yet in what does Mor¬
monism really differ from the system of divorce ? Mormonism
allows men to have several wives at the same time, while divorce
permits them one after the other. Divorce allows a man to be
married twice, three times, etc., no limit fixed, while the first wife
is still living. In what does that really differ from Mormonism?
It is just as much opposed to the real ends of marriage, to the
mutual love of the married couple, and the proper education of
children; and it is much more adapted to gratify the basest pas¬
sions, as it offers a greater freedom from the embarrassments of
open polygamy. With whatever disgust then we view the shame¬
ful doctrines of Mormonism, with even greater dislike should we
treat the question of divorce. For, as I have just said, it is
opposed to the natural ends of marriage and disturbs the laws
established by ' the Creator. It destroys the mutual love which
should unite the husband and wife, it develops all the causes
which can lead to their unhappiness, it stimulates the worst pas¬
sions of our nature and leads often to the foulest crimes. When
mairicd peisons know that they are united for good or ill until
death, they will naturally cultivate mutual love and mutual for-
beaiancc ; they will support each other’s defects and overlook many
imperfections. For their own sake they feel that they must over¬
come many petty dislikes and make the most of the good quali¬
ties of their companions. Divorce encourages these quarrels and fosters them. It leads even to the worst evils. For if a married
person know that by personal quarrels or by crimes the marriage
can be broken, what an inducement to foster dissension or to fall
into foul sins ! Nay, even snares and pitfalls are thus often pre¬
pared by one of the parties to entrap the unwary steps of the
other, in order to have a pretext for the dissolution of marriage.
It is not a very rare thing that the husband should agree before¬
hand with the seducer to secure the proofs of his wife’s unfaith¬
fulness in order to have the right to divorce her. I pass over
in silence many things ; the shocking revelations of the divorce
courts cannot even be alluded to. You cau judge from what I
have said if divorce be not injurious to the ends of marriage.
The woman becomes degraded by such a law. She is no longer
certain of her position in the household ; for under one pretext or
another she can be driven from her home.
It is no longer even for crime that, divorce is granted. The
most frivolous charges, the most futile reasons are considered suffi¬
cient in many places. Nay, even without the knowledge of one of
the parties it can be obtained by the other. These causes are so
multiplied that in some of our States nothing is more easily
granted. Hence we see the rapid and fearful increase in the
number of broken marriages, — and the horrible fact that in many
places divorces come as high as one in every twelve or ten or
even nine marriages. Divorce then is simply a legalized prostitu¬
tion ; and marriage itself no better than a temporary cohabitation,
stigmatized as a very foul crime in all Christian lands. But
even this is not the whole malice of divorce. It prevents the
proper training and education of children, which is one of the
essential ends of marriage. The true education of the child requires
both father and mother to bring it to completion — the strong
authority of the father, and the loving affection of the mother.
But where can we get this necessary co-operation on the part
of the parents, if divorce be permitted? To whom will the
child belong? Who shall take charge of him when father and
mother are tom asunder? If he be sufficiently advanced in years,
he must decide for himself. Cruel alternative, unhappy decision,
when he has to reject one or the other parent. If he be very
young, how heart-rending this separation becomes. Shall the young
child be torn from the frantic grasp of a broken-hearted, wretched
9
130
SERMONS OF THE THIRD PLENARY COUNCIL.
mother, driven from her home and her little ones? Ah! }ou can
recall many such scenes ; our daily papers often give us the har¬
rowing details. And there, too, we read of the desperate efforts
of the father to recover possession of his children. But what shall
become of the miserable children themselves, thus parted from
their natural guardians ? Shall they grow up in the principles of
honor and integrity, or rather shall they not become indifferent
to all virtue? And how shall they regard in after years the
parents who brought such shame and ruin upon them ?
I have said enough, I trust, to convince you of the many evil
consequences which necessarily flow from divorce ; yet I have not
enumerated more than a part. When men break down the bar¬
riers which God Himself has raised up to curb the passions, no
one can adequately foresee the fearful havoc and widespread ruin
produced when the full torrent of these passions finds an outlet
for their fury. The exceptions allowed may at first seem without
danger, but they soon create the necessity for granting others. The
little rills soon swell into a mighty torrent that sweeps away every¬
thing in its resistless force. Just as in some countries dykes and
banks have been erected to prevent the waters of the ocean from
covering the land ; the country is safe while the dykes remain
uninjured. But let a little rift be made in them; let the slightest
break occur, and little by little, through the incessant action of the
sea, the fissure is widened, the breach is gradually enlarged, until at
length the full fury of the angry waters bursts through all bounds,
and then widespread ruin and devastation follow, and the land, with
all its riches and beauty, its cultivated plains and smiling gardens,
is entirely submerged. So around society, for its preservation, the
Almighty erected the strong barriers of holy marriage with its
unity and 'indissolubility, as the powerful safeguards of our best
interests. Let but a slight break be made in its binding force,
let but even one exception be admitted, and very soon through
the fierce surging of human passion, — through the constant cravings
of the ever restless heart of man, the whole structure will be
overturned and society be flooded with countless evils.
Let us then, dear brethren, firmly hold that Christian marriage
is one and indissoluble ; that it is the union of one man with
one woman and forever. Let us firmly believe that this is God’s
ordinance from the beginning of the world, and that this is the
CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE.
131
law of Jesus Christ, the Legislator of the new Covenant. For us
Catholics there can be no hesitation. It is the doctrine of our
Church. No matter then what human enactments may be framed, —
no matter what laws of divorce may be published, — no matter
how few or many — whether one or twenty, — causes of divorce be
admitted in the government of our States, — our duty is plain,—
we cannot accept them nor profit by them to break a lawful
marriage sanctioned by the Church of God. Our duty is to
honor ourselves this great sacrament, and to teach others to prize
it by our words and examples. Our duty is to prepare ourselves
worthily for its reception and to live worthily in it after its
reception : to understand its sacredness and its inviolability when
we receive it, and ever after by Christian lives manifest all the
true, blessed fruits of Christian marriage : thus fulfilling the words
of St. Paul cited in my text. (Eph. v, 22, 23.)
PASTORAL LETTER OF THE ARCHBISHOPS AND BISHOPS OF THE UNITED STATES ASSEMBLED IN THE THIRD PLENARY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE, TO THE CLERGY AND LAITY OF THEIR CHARGE
1. Christian Marriage. — The basis of the Christian home is Christian
marriage; that is, marriage entered into according to religion, and cemented
by God’s blessing. So great is the importance of marriage to the
temporal and eternal welfare of mankind, that, as it had God for its Founder
in the Old Law, so, in the New Law, it was raised by Our Divine Lord to
the dignity of a sacrament of the Christian religion. Natural likings
and instincts have their own value and weight; but they ought not
by themselves be a decisive motive in so important a step as Christian
marriage ; nor are they a safe guarantee for the proper fulfillment of the high
ends for which marriage was ordained. That Christian hearts and lives
may be wisely and rightly joined, God must join them, and religion
sanctify the union; and though the Church sometimes, permits the con¬
traction of mixed marriages, she never does so without regret and without
a feeling of anxiety for the future happiness of that union and for the
eternal salvation of its offspring.
2. The Indissolubility of Marriage. — The security of the Christian
home is in the indissolubility of the marriage tie. Christian marriage,
once consummated, can never be dissolved save by death. Let it be well
understood that even adultery, though it may justify “ separation from
bed and board,” cannot loose the marriage tie, so that either of the parties
may marry again during the life of the other. Nor has “legal divorce”
the slightest power, before God, to loose the bond of marriage and to make a
subsequent marriage valid. “ Whom God hath joined together, let not
man put asunder.”1 In common with all Christian believers and friends of
civilization, we deplore the havoc wrought by the divorce-laws of our
country. These laws are fast loosening the foundations of society. Let
Catholics, at least remember that such divorces are powerless in conscience.
Let them enter into marriage only through worthy and holy motives, and
with the blessings of religion, especially with the blessing of the Nuptial
Mass. And then, far from wishing for means of escape from their union,
they will rejoice that it cannot be divided but by death.