This docuмent is an absolute abomination before God, a horror crying out to heaven for vengeance. Any prelate who signed this, endorsed this, or in any way promotes this, or even fails to publicly repudiate it will doubtless burn in hell for all eternity unless he should first convert.
85. Saint [sic] John Paul II offered an all-encompassing criterion, that remains the basis for valuation of these situations: "Pastors must know that, for the sake of truth, they are obliged to exercise careful discernment of situations. There is in fact a difference between those who have sincerely tried to save their first marriage and have been unjustly abandoned, and those who through their own grave fault have destroyed a canonically valid marriage. Finally, there are those who have entered into a second union for the sake of the children's upbringing, and who are sometimes subjectively certain in conscience that their previous and irreparably destroyed marriage had never been valid." (FC, 84)
While there are certainly varying degrees of moral culpability when it comes to divorce, as described above, this has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with whether or not their original marriage was invalid and does ABSOLUTELY nothing to justify SUBSEQUENT ADULTERY. Nor does it make any difference what motivated someone to enter into the illicit union (i.e. "the children" -- ah, it's always "the children", tug at the heart string here). Now the Church has long tolerated a couple living together as "brother and sister" for the sake of said "children" ... provided certain conditions applied and there was no danger of scandal. So if it's JUST about the children and not about adultery, there's already provision in place for that. But even the good of children doesn't justify living in sin (ends never justifies the means). Finally, the "subjective certainty in conscience" that their first marriages were not valid means ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. 99% of "divorced" persons will convince themselves that either their first marriage was not valid or else that THEY were the innocent party who was wronged in the proceedings. That's ALWAYS the case. This opens the door for ANYONE who has decided SUBJECTIVELY that they "feel good" about their adulterous union and the circuмstances leading up to it, or else can use the rationalization of the "good of the children" ... to start receiving the Sacraments. This has completely replaced objective moral law with subjectivism. Just as Vatican II replaced dogma and faith and no salvation outside the Church with subjectivism, this replaces the entire moral order with subjectivism.
It is therefore a duty of the priests to accompany the interested parties on the path of discernment according to the teaching of the Church and the orientations of the Bishop. In this process, it will be useful to make an examination of conscience, by way of moments of reflection and repentance. Remarried divorcees should ask themselves how they behaved themselves when their conjugal union entered in crisis; if there were attempts at reconciliation; what is the situation of the abandoned partner ["partner" in the original Italian]; what consequences the new relationship has on the rest of the family and in the community of the faithful; what example does it offer to young people who are to prepare themselves to matrimony. A sincere reflection may reinforce trust in the mercy of God that is not denied to anyone.
So as long as you feel good about your conscience in the entire divorce and remarriage process, you can rationalize with the blessing of these prelates that you are not living in sin and can receive the Sacraments.
Additionally, it cannot be denied that in some circuмstances, "the imputability and the responsibility for an action can be diminished or annulled (CIC, 1735) due to various conditioners. Consequently, the judgment on an objective situation should lead to the judgment on a 'subjective imputability'" (Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, Declaration of June 24, 2000, 2a). In determined circuмstances, the persons find great difficulty with acting in a different way. Therefore, while holding up a general rule, it is necessary to recognize that the responsibility regarding specific actions or decisions is not the same in every case. Pastoral discernment, while taking into account the rightly formed conscience of persons, should take these situations into account. Also the consequences of the accomplished acts are not necessarily the same in every case.
Unbelievable. As long as you subjectively clear yourself of guilt in what led up the second marriage, adultery is fair game. Again, let me repeat, whether or not a party was innocent or guilty in the circuмstances that led to the divorce has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH WHETHER OR NOT THE SUBSEQUENT UNION IS VALID OR LICIT.
As I said, any prelate who supports, condones, and does not publicly repudiate this docuмent will burn in hell for all eternity unless he repents of it first.