The following is excerpted from an interview with noted Catholic theologian Monsignor Cormac Burke conducted by The Melbourne Record in 2007.
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A former judge of the Roman Rota has called for Catholics to play a bigger role in counter-acting divorce among friends and family members.
Monsignor Cormac Burke visited Australia this week to give lectures in Melbourne and Sydney. The theme of his Melbourne talk, delivered at the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and the Family, was the importance of commitment in marriage. In an interview with The Record, Mons Burke warned of some of the dangers confronting marriages in the modern world.
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A former judge of the Roman Rota has called for Catholics to play a bigger role in counter-acting divorce among friends and family members.
Monsignor Cormac Burke visited Australia this week to give lectures in Melbourne and Sydney. The theme of his Melbourne talk, delivered at the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and the Family, was the importance of commitment in marriage. In an interview with The Record, Mons Burke warned of some of the dangers confronting marriages in the modern world.
"Atomic" Explosions In Marriage
Among these is a common lack of understanding that every marriage will inevitably go through tough times, including anger against one's married spouse. "All of the successful marriages I've seen have gone through plenty of troubles," he said.
People outside the marriage, especially relatives and friends, can play a crucial role in helping married couples get through these periods of sometimes "atomic" explosion, Mons Burke said. "It's very important that relatives and friends bear in mind that every couple goes through difficulties, and perhaps difficulties that seem insurmountable.
"Sometimes there is an 'explosion' against the other partner. The wise friend should listen, and say nothing, because many of these things can, and do pass. "Friends can do a lot of harm, otherwise," Mons Burke said.
The former judge warned particularly against the question of rivalry between the sexes, and what he calls "global judgments" about the other sex. "Someone might say: 'you're quite right, all men are like that, or all women are like that'," Mons Burke said. "That can not only be unwise but, from a Christian point of view, it can be a very grave sin, showing a lack of prudence and a lack of charity." The better thing in such situations is to say nothing, and after the other person has cooled down, offer them a more balanced picture of their spouse, he said.
The monsignor, a quietly spoken Irishman, is a canon lawyer and a member of the Dublin bar. He is also a professor of modern languages and has published extensively on moral theology, conscience and the anthropology of marriage. He currently teaches at Strathmore University in Nairobi, Kenya. Mons Burke said that moral theology, rather than canon law, had always been his primary field of interest... (to be continued)
People outside the marriage, especially relatives and friends, can play a crucial role in helping married couples get through these periods of sometimes "atomic" explosion, Mons Burke said. "It's very important that relatives and friends bear in mind that every couple goes through difficulties, and perhaps difficulties that seem insurmountable.
"Sometimes there is an 'explosion' against the other partner. The wise friend should listen, and say nothing, because many of these things can, and do pass. "Friends can do a lot of harm, otherwise," Mons Burke said.
The former judge warned particularly against the question of rivalry between the sexes, and what he calls "global judgments" about the other sex. "Someone might say: 'you're quite right, all men are like that, or all women are like that'," Mons Burke said. "That can not only be unwise but, from a Christian point of view, it can be a very grave sin, showing a lack of prudence and a lack of charity." The better thing in such situations is to say nothing, and after the other person has cooled down, offer them a more balanced picture of their spouse, he said.
The monsignor, a quietly spoken Irishman, is a canon lawyer and a member of the Dublin bar. He is also a professor of modern languages and has published extensively on moral theology, conscience and the anthropology of marriage. He currently teaches at Strathmore University in Nairobi, Kenya. Mons Burke said that moral theology, rather than canon law, had always been his primary field of interest... (to be continued)
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