Marital Collapse: The Fruit of Conciliar Apostasy
The EWTN News portal (January 31, 2026) reports a 75% decline in Catholic marriages since 1970 alongside a rise in nominal Catholics. It attributes this to “broader societal factors” like delayed adulthood, individualism, and cohabitation, while proposing “proactive” solutions such as marriage preparation programs and dating apps. The article cites “pope” Leo XIV’s vague exhortations against “false mercy” in annulments but avoids confronting the theological root of this collapse.
Naturalism Replaces Sacramental Theology
The article reduces marriage to a sociological phenomenon, stating:
“[Society is] not moving in the ‘marriage direction’” due to “delayed adulthood, high divorce rates, economic pressures… cohabitation.”
This ignores Casti Connubii (Pius XI, 1930), which declares marriage a sacrament “instituted by God” with “laws divinely imposed” (§5). The silence on cohabitation as mortal sin (Council of Trent, Session XXIV) and contraception as “intrinsic evil” (Casti Connubii §54) exposes the conciliar sect’s surrender to naturalism.
Meert’s proposal for “real relational skills, communication, finances” in marriage prep substitutes psychology for the grace of the sacrament. Pius XII condemned such pragmatism: “The family… is not a mere institution of nature… It is, by the will of its divine Founder, a true sacrament” (Sacra Virginitas, 1954, §32).
The Hermeneutic of Rupture in Practice
Marriage rates plummeted precisely as the conciliar revolution dismantled Catholic discipline. The 1983 “Code of Canon Law” (under WojtyÅ‚a) abolished impediments like disparity of cult (Canon 1086 §1), facilitating sacrilegious unions. The article’s reference to “pope” Leo XIV’s warnings against “false mercy” in annulments rings hollow when the same sect issued Mitis Iudex Dominus Iesus (2015), institutionalizing annulment on demand.
The “Love Means More” initiative epitomizes the neo-church’s doctrinal bankruptcy. Its promise to “bring clarity and compassion” mimics the modernist tactic of diluting truth with sentimentality. Compare this to Pius XI’s clarity: “No human law can abolish the natural and primeval right of marriage… or otherwise limit the chief purpose of marriage” (Casti Connubii §8).
Cult of Man Replaces Cult of God
The article’s proposed solutions—dating apps (“SacredSpark”), therapy groups (“Life-Giving Wounds”)—prioritize human ingenuity over divine law. This reflects the conciliar sect’s embrace of Gaudium et Spes §12: “man is the only creature on earth which God willed for itself.”
Contrast this with Pope Pius XI’s encyclical Quas Primas (1925):
“When individuals, families, and states allow themselves to be governed by Christ… unheard-of blessings flow upon society… peace will flourish” (§19).
The collapse of Catholic marriage directly results from dethroning Christ the King. The article’s silence on the Social Reign of Christ confirms the conciliar sect’s apostasy from Immortale Dei (Leo XIII, 1885), which mandated that “states, no less than individuals, are bound to give public worship to God” (§6).
Omission as Confession: The Unspoken Heresies
Nowhere does the article mention:
1. The Mass Crisis: The Novus Ordo’s destruction of sacramental awe (e.g., Communion in hand, vernacular liturgies) severed the faithful from the source of grace. Pius V’s Quo Primum (1570) warned that altering the Mass brings “the wrath of Almighty God.”
2. Contraception: The article ignores Humanae Vitae’s (1968) prophetic warning that contraception would lead to marital breakdown.
3. Religious Indifferentism: The conciliar sect’s false ecumenism (Unitatis Redintegratio) normalized interfaith unions, condemned by Pius IX: “They are in error who think that the eternal salvation of souls can be secured by the profession of any religion” (Qui Pluribus, 1846, §15).
Conclusion: Statist Solutions for a Spiritual Catastrophe
The article ends by asking, “We, the Church, the whole community of faithful, aren’t we all responsible?”—a collectivist evasion of hierarchy. True Catholic ecclesiology teaches: “The church is essentially an unequal society… comprising two categories of persons, the pastors and the flock” (Pius X, Vehementer Nos, 1906, §8). The conciliar sect’s clerical failure to guard doctrine (Lamentabili, Proposition 22) created this disaster.
Until the structures occupying the Vatican repent of their Modernist errors and restore the integral Catholic faith, no “proactive steps” will reverse this collapse. As Our Lord warned: “Without me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
Source:
‘Dramatic’ decline in Catholic marriage highlights need for ‘proactive’ Church response (ewtnnews.com)
Date: 31.01.2026