Colloquia Theologica Ottoniana

Pope Francis’ theme of integral ecology offers a broader look at the issue of divorce, which not only allows us to move away from an overly “moralising” discourse that fails to see the suffering of people living in “irregular” situations but also to insert the pastoral care of the divorced into the broader context of the Church’s responsibility for creation. First, Pope Francis emphasises the interdependence of the elements that make up the human environment. Since “everything is linked,” social phenomena, including separation or divorce, cannot be considered in isolation. In this article, we propose to rethink the question of separation and divorce from a broader perspective, both in terms of its causes and its consequences. Since “everything is linked,” the culture of profit harms not only the natural environment in which human persons live but also the human environment of relationships. Therefore, when dealing with the causes of a break-up (of a marriage), we must not lose sight of the factors that can weaken emotional relationships (even indirectly), including, for example, the precariousness of employment and the role of mass media in creating a consumerist and therefore more selfish mentality. This article also asks whether the condition of the divorced is not one of the forms or an expression of “disposable culture,” which can be translated into a real material impoverishment through family, community, or social marginalisation. Finally, the re-reading of the question of people living in an “irregular” situation, in the light of integral ecology, highlights not only the importance of the pastoral care of the divorced but also its “reintegrating” function.