24th August, 2015
Cyriacus Izuekwe
The head of Catholic church, His Holiness, Pope Francis has summoned Catholic Bishops for a crucial meeting on the rising cases of divorce that has ruffled the church and to consider the issue of divorce as requested by some members.
This was made known on Sunday by the spiritual director of a Catholic church’s society called Association of Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary , Rev. Monsignor (Dr) Philip Hoteyin.
Rev Hoteyin stated this at the Nigeria Airforce Base, Ikeja during the solemn admission ceremony of new members of the society for 2015.
He said the meeting with the Pope is scheduled to hold in October this year to deliberate on the rising cases of broken marriages.
He said the church may consider the issue of whether to grant divorce request by Catholic faithful who are married according to the church’s doctrine.
The church had over the decades frowned at divorce once a couple is wedded in the church, thus members seeking for dissolution of such marriages are not granted such request.
But the rising cases of broken marriages has now forced the church to consider whether marriages can be dissolved by the church.
Hoteyin noted that on daily basis marriages are breaking down and attributed it to lack of tolerance between partners.
He revealed that he alone had at least 600 cases of broken marriages which he had been trying to resolve and more church members are coming with cases of failed marriages seeking for dissolution.
He said he wished the option of granting divorce would not be considered at the meeting, adding that the church should seek how to resolve marital crises.
He advised the couples to tolerate one another and live in peace as Christian families.
Hoteyin advised women to be submissive to their husbands and husbands should love their wives as the Bible teaches.
He noted that some men beat their wives as if they were their house maids which often leads to separation, broken homes and this affects both the marriage and children.
Thousands of Catholic faithful attended the event to witness the admission of new members of the society.
The yearly event attracted both the old and new members as well as their friends and well wishers.