Ipolt: Remarriage is an 'Objective Contrary to the Commandment of the Lord'

The Bishop of Görlitz also criticizes Bishop Ackermann: "It can" in the future not simply be a matter of adapting to life's conventions - which are one thing  today and another tomorrow, we must measure ourselves rather as baptized in the gospel."

Görlitz (kath.net) "Whether a person is in a state of grace (divorced and remarried or not), no one can say about another. But with  divorce and remarriage it comes to an objective contrary to the commandment of the Lord -., Not so much about how he personally feels before God," said Wolfgang Ipolt, Bishop of Görlitz, to kath.net on request in connection with the public theses of the Trier Bishop Stefan Ackermann.   Ackermann had called for the adaptation of the Catholic sexual doctrine to the factual situation of modern society, specifically in the assessment of remarried divorcees, premarital sex, birth control and homosexuality .   The Fulda Bishops Heinz Josef Algermissen, the Augsburg Bishop Conrad Zdarsa, the bishop of Eichstätt, Gregor Maria Hanke and the press office of the Diocese of Regensburg have expressed decidedly critical of Ackermann's theses, as kath.net has reported.


They may "not even go in the future about adapting life's conventions - which are as different today and as tomorrow, we must rather, as baptized, measure ourselves by the gospel,"  clearly stated the Bishop  to kath.net. He did has the impression, however, "that we can as a Church today make it difficult to be understood in the area of sexual ethics." This was not speaking "against the rules of the game, which we preach", but considered "for us to take the task to heart, with greater sensitivity and to speak with strong language of what lies behind our ethics and  make them inviting."

Basically he portrayed "the Catholic sexual ethics as better than its reputation." The question here is of "humanizing sexuality and cultivating - for the individual and for all who are affected." The Görlitz Bishop asked, "Did we not just painfully learn this in dealing with the cases of abuse in our Church? This is a permanent mission in life for every human being."

Bishop Ipolt suspected,  says kath.net,  that the statements of Bishop Ackermann "were only excerpts quoted. Here are some - though not insignificant sentences -. which had been taken out of context."  Ackermann's statements, alone spoke for themselves," he thought, "is a little simplistic, because many people could be irritated thereby."

Of course it is true, "our sexual ethics can only be understood on the background of faith and be interpreted by our Christian image of man." But basically  it is there in the Church's proclamation also about the people of faith are to remember that this area of his life had something to do with his baptism. Ipolt recalled the admonition of Paul to the Church at Corinth (1 Cor 6, 19): "Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells in you? ... that you are not your own!"

It also reads  "since our baptism, there is nothing that does not belongs to the Lord,'" said Ipolt fixedly, but did point out: "This unfortunately is forgotten by many Catholics.  So they feel it as interference by the Church, when it expresses itself to such questions."

Ipolt pointed out that yes, the upcoming Synod of Bishops will deal with these issues. He classified it as "helpful", "that Pope Francis has asked all these questions on marriage and family and sexual ethics in the context of the new evangelization. This is already shown in the questionnaire, which is to be answered  now in Rome. "Because" such questions in the Catholic Church, of course, are always controlled  and formulated together by the Magisterium, which does not prevent  a bishop from   speaking his mind."

The Bishop of Görlitz  remarked in conclusion: "We as a Church are  the community of disciples of the Lord and have to listen to Him and find out what it wants to say to us today - even in this sensitive areas. We should pray that the Church - and these are not only the bishops with the Pope, but also all the faithful - to find a responsible way forward in matters of marriage and family and, in particular sexual ethics. I am sure that we can be a help to other people who do not belong to our Church or do not even know God,   and support them in their efforts to take the right path in their lives -. Because for this we are sent "

Contact e- mail Bishop Ackermann bischofshof@bistum-trier.de Photo bishop Ipolt © Diocese of Görlitz