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Dear Father Angelo,
I would like to bring to your attention the topic of divorce from one’s wife described in Matthew 5,27-32 and which I report below:

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’

But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna.

And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.

 “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.’

But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery


What strikes me is verse 32: “But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery’’.
And this is my query, a purely theological one.
What does Jesus mean when he says ”unless the marriage is unlawful’’? Concubines are those who live as husband and wife even though they are not from a sacramental point of view. Therefore why does Jesus talk about about divorcing the wife just in this case? If a couple is not married in Church it means that the husband can divorce her, but why should Jesus be talking about those who are not married in front of God? I honestly cannot see how this makes sense?
(…).
I am a Catholic, new to faith, and those  words from the Gospel of Matthew jumped out at me and I would love for you to give me an answer on why these same words have been ‘misunderstood’ (willingly or not) by the Catholic Church.
Thank you.
Peace and love.
Francesco

Priest’s Answer

Dear Francesco,
1. It may actually seem counterintuitive to talk about a wife in the case of concubinage.

Because if she is a concubine or if it is fornication, she is not a wife.

Why then does Jesus command you to leave your wife in case of concubinage?

2. To understand Jesus’ statement it is necessary to remember that in his time women were also allowed to give the divorce certificate. They gave it if they found something bad in the husband. That something bad corresponds to porneia, which means fornication, but also cohabitation or illegitimate union.

3. It was easy in Jesus’ time for some women to divorce their husbands in whom they saw something bad for economic reasons to join a Roman soldier.

The Roman soldier was paid. He received the solidum. This was guaranteed precisely because he was a soldier.

His situation could therefore be economically better than that of her husband.

4. It therefore happened that some women repudiated their husbands to marry a pagan or that other unmarried women contracted a marriage with a pagan.

This marriage was legitimate according to Roman law, but not according to Leviticus which prohibited marrying a pagan.
Therefore, if a Jewish woman married a pagan, her marriage was recognized as such by the Romans, so the two could be called husband and wife, but not by the Jews. In fact it took the form of concubinage or continued fornication. It happened more or less like what happens today when two baptized people get married only civilly. Before the state they are husband and wife, but before the Church and before God the marriage is null and therefore constitutes a kind of cohabitation or concubinage.

So much so that if the two break up despite being civilly married, they can contract a true sacramental marriage with another person.

5. It is the term wife that causes confusion. Because according to Roman law she was truly a wife, but according to Leviticus she was only a concubine, since it was an illegitimate union.

6. I am pleased with the beautiful expression you used “I am new to the faith”.

This means that you have recently received the priceless grace of conversion.

This makes me happy.

I wish you a peaceful continuation of the Christmas holidays, I bless you and I remember you in prayer.
Father Angelo