The Catholic Church, like any other organisation, has principles and ideals. Those who make a free decision to form part of it accept these and try to live accordingly.
The Church holds that what it believes in has a revealed background. It is not formed just on reason, but on reason which is first enlightened in each individual by a humble acceptance of faith in a God who is above him/her and who has spoken through Christ.
Our Lord has left his teachings in the care of the Church which he founded. The Church has, for 2000 years, endured persecution, mistakes by its members and different cultures.
The Church's beliefs on marriage and the family are founded specifically on our Lord's words: "Have you not read that the Creator from the beginning 'made them male and female'", and "that is why a man leaves his father and mother and becomes attached to his wife, and the two become one flesh. They are no longer two, therefore, but one flesh. So then what God has united, human beings must not divide."
In this passage our Lord links marriage to the words "what God has united", implying that it has a Divine character. In the words "human beings must not divide", He is saying that this power can never be transferred to human beings in the form of divorce.
When speaking about marriage, Jesus also refers to the Greek term porneia which has always been interpreted in the Church as 'illicit marriage', and therefore a presumed marriage that was never united by God. After saying that human beings must not divide, Christ could not have accepted divorce. Otherwise He would have given to human beings the power of dividing, something which He had already excluded.
The Word of God is never accepted in a vacuum, but in a context - that of the Ecclesial community that one has chosen. All doctrine, including the Word of God and its interpretation, is embraced and enhanced by the Ecclesial community. Any other interpretation, by whomsoever it is made, brings that person outside the Church's beliefs and teachings.
The Church believes that it has received from our Lord the mission to pass on to others His teachings, including this vision on marriage and the family.
In secular terms this could be called 'politics' in the original sense of the word. All movements become 'political' when offering their ideas to be considered by society at large. Such ideas, if socially accepted, are consequently promoted and defended by the State.
As a movement, the Church enters into this political sphere by offering its vision to society. This is true of the Church as an institution, but it also true for each and every believer that adheres to it: that what he believes in motivates the way that he forms part of society and his contribution to society, otherwise he would be living in contradiction.
These beliefs include not only the supernatural, but also the deeply-held convictions of what is good to society in terms of environmental protection, social justice, political ethics and all other social ideals.
When the Church and its members enter this kind of dialogue with society, they are motivated by their beliefs. But when communicating their ideas, they do so in a 'secular way', comprehensible to all.
While promoting the stability of marriage, the Church also has to show that the introduction of divorce has consequences on this and on society at large, especially children. This is done especially through research and statistics.
These statistics, when they are scientifically proven, show believers that the words 'let no man divide' are not based on false assumption of God's authority, but on His love for human beings. He is opening our eyes to the consequences which arise when man takes upon himself the power to divide in divorce.
The Lord founded a Church to be a vehicle of his teachings to others. Catholics believe that Jesus loves His Church as He expects its members to show His love for each and every person.
The Church therefore cannot refrain from giving its contribution to society for the common good. It helps the poor and the troubled even in the context of marriage problems affecting all those involved, especially children. Our Lord has taught the Church that it has to be the suffering and not the identity of the person which has to move the Christian to help.
Since the Church has fulfilled its mission in this sphere, how can anyone expect her not to share the Love of God which she carries even on the kind of society which the Lord wishes to build? For the Church, it is not a question of choice but of duty.