Jesus speaks today about divorce, a practice which was tolerated by the Jewish leaders. He challenges this stand with words from the creation story in Genesis: "God made them male and female... This is why a man must leave father and mother and the two become one body." After marriage, then, he says that there are not two separate people but one body. "What God has united, humans must not divide." With his disciples, he then goes further: a man who divorces his wife and marries another is guilty of adultery and a woman who divorces her husband and marries another is also guilty of adultery. He does not recognise divorce. The disciples are so shocked that they say it would be better not to marry at all! In our own day divorce has become very common and in some societies one marriage in two breaks up.

Most people enter into marriage with good will and with the intention of having an enduring, lifelong relationship. We need to remember that the Church accepts that marriages can break down and that for various reasons the couple may need to have their separation made legal by a divorce settlement. What the Church forbids is remarriage. However, many Catholics do remarry in a civil ceremony and we need to deal with such people with great sympathy and understanding if they express a sincere desire to remain active members of the Christian community.