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Marriage Advocates ask Arlington Diocese to Apply Canon Law in Scandalous Divorce

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January 25, 2008 - 4:52 PST

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA ADVISORY

WESTLAKE, OH (JANUARY 25, 2008) - Concurrent with Vatican Congress on Canon Law Marriage Advocates ask Arlington Diocese to Apply Canon Law in Scandalous Divorce

While a congress on canon law is being held at the Vatican, the Promoter of Justice at the Arlington Diocese is being asked to apply the Code of Canon law and better protect families from routine divorce.

Bai Macfarlane, founder of Mary's Advocates, sent copies of court orders for a particularly scandalous divorce to the Arlington Diocese. To prevent detraction, Macfarlane is not publicly revealing the identity of the couple. Her letter to the Arlington Promoter of Justice, Fr. Robert Rippy, is available on the Internet. She describes a father of seven who committed adultery with a student and is now living with the young woman.

LETTER - www.marysadvocates.org/advise/arlington.html

Macfarlane asks others to contact the Arlington Diocese because she hopes church leadership will understand that the Catholic faithful want the U.S. church to better protect families from routine divorce.

"Children are morally and financially devastated because adulterous spouses aren't required to satisfy their personal obligations toward their family," says Macfarlane. She provided information to the dioceses showing that the adulterous husband professed to be a serious Catholic.

Macfarlane says, "A Catholic might choose to restore his intact family, if he were advise that he is morally obligated to do so, but presently the church is silent and ignores its own canon law on separation of spouses."

Today a congress is being held at the Vatican on the 25th anniversary of the issuance of the 1983 code of Canon Law: "Canon Law in the Life of the Church, research and perspectives in the context of recent Pontifical Magisterium."

A CNA news story about the congress quoted Msgr. Juan Ignacio Arrieta, the secretary of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts. He "noted that the goal of the congress is 'to undertake a purposeful study ... into the progress of the application of the Code.'"
News story - www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=11535

Contact

Mary's Advocates
http://www.marysadvocates.org
OH, US
Bai Macfarlane - Director, 440 871-5404

Keywords

Marriage, Divorce, Civil Rights Rally DC

Category

US Archdiocese & Diocese

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