Catholics praise new divorce law

BY CRISTINA ODONE CATHOLIC LEADERS AND
groups this week hailed plans to reform the divorce laws as an important step in the protection of the family.
The White Paper proposals, which would end the present system of "quickie" divorce, are expected to meet with Cabinet approval next month.
Under the proposals, the present "fault-based" system of divorce would be replaced with a system under which couples would have to wait for a year or even longer after filing papers with a court, in order to obtain their divorce.
In Britain, one in three marriages end in divorce.
The present grounds for divorce were hid in the 1969 Divorce Reform Act, when "no-fault divorce" became Possible.
A state-funded mediation service will be set up to help couples sort out their financial settlements and arrangements for their children without lawyers and the courts. Recourse to mediators would result in savings of £226.7 million last year alone.
Mary Corbett, the President of The Catholic Marriage Advisory Council (CMAC) told the Catholic Herald that the Council had responded to the Consultation Paper in December 1993, welcoming the Paper's intention to support the institution of marriage.
"By removing the no-fault element you make things less acrimonious and provide time for reflection," Mrs Corbett said. She also praised Lord Mackay's suggestion to offer couples contemplating separation or divorce free mediation services.
For Catholic couples in trouble, she said, "the Family Mediation Services knows about us and I expect that at their first meeting, couples will be handed an information pack which will include our name in it."
The success rate for a mediation process such as the one offered by the CMAC "is very encouraging" according to Mrs Corbett.
"We conducted a snap-shot survey of three weeks of CMAC's activities last year. During these three weeks, ten per cent of those couples who were in counselling said that they felt that because they had come to the CMAC their marriage had been saved. That is truly encouraging."
Lord Mackay's White Paper follows a number of
proposals for changes in Catholic marriage vows.
Proposed changes in the wording of Catholic vows resulted from a nationwide consultation undertaken by the Pastoral Liturgical Committee over the past ten years and approved by the Bishops' Conference last November. The changes now await Vatican approval.
Last November, Julian Brazier, Catholic Tory MP for Canterbury, agreed to sponsor a bill amending the Marriage Act.
Also in November, Archbishop Michael Bowen of Southwark called for change in legislation which obliged couples in a Catholic church to introduce their marriage vows.
For divorced Catholics, however, the main problem arises when they plan to remarry.
As Katie Brown, a divorced Catholic, said, "The hardest thing to deal with is that, were I to start a relationship, now that I am divorced, I always think 'if this ever leads anywhere I become an adulteress'. So I never give anyone a chance, and I suspect I won't marry again which is terrible since I am 37, with two small children."
Mgr Peter Smith (left) outside the headquarters of the Bishops' Conference, in London, on Tuesday, after it was announced he is to be the new Bishop of East Anglia. The 51-year-old rector of St John's Seminary, Wonersh, will take over from Bishop Alan Clark (right) who is now to retire. Photo: Press Association