The Institute of Family and Marriage welcomes the release from Cork Prison of Harry Rea and confirmation that there is no unilateral Divorce in Ireland.

******** Press Release ******v

For release 26 June 2013

 

The Institute of Family and Marriage welcomes the release from Cork Prison of Harry Rea of Blarney Road, Cork.

 

Harry is a sincere practising Catholic and a member of the Institute’s Deserted Spouses Support Group. He is very well known as being active in defending the life of the unborn and is a member of the Catholic Democrats Party executive.

 

Harry was imprisoned for three months but he did not commit any crime.

 

His imprisonment was at huge cost to the public purse.

 

The charge against him was that he refuses to accept the order made by Judge Murphy, now deceased, to dissolve his Marriage which proceedings Harry did not participate in because it was against his conscience and because he was a Deserted Spouse not a deserter.

 

Whilst in prison the Papal Nuncio was asked to seek the counsel and assistance of the Holy Father. At the same time Senator Norris was written to – notwithstanding this being unusual considering the public persona of Senator Norris – because he had a key role to play in Mr. Rea’s release.

 

Marriage is a unique opportunity for a man and a woman to come together to found a Family and Harry and his Wife consecrated their union in 1981 and were blessed with five children.

 

Marriage is the most precious and important contract a man and woman enter into and one of the most basic premises of all Contract Law is that any proposed amendment to a contract that would fundamentally change that same contract’s original design, intent and/or purposes is (by definition) a null and void attempt, worthless and completely unenforceable, of absolutely no true legal effect, whatever.

 

This means that every individual Spouse, every Priest that solemnised it and every witness to a Marriage have legally-binding rights of “reasonable expectation” to the continued enforcement of the core Marriage principles in place at the time, which in  1981 specified it was ‘till death’ and there could be no divorce.

 

Whilst the divorce legislation was being debated in the Seanad in 1996 Senator Norris had similarly assured everyone that it could not be used unilaterally against a Spouse who had entered into such a permanent contract and who had conscientious and religious objections – such as a sincere Catholic – to that contract being amended in the interim to remove the central permanence aspect.

 

 Senator Norris said,

 

“I received and read a number of correspondences in this matter recently. However, I cannot agree with them. One person suggested that in the aftermath of the referendum and the situation we were faced with we should have a two track marriage system to cater for everybody. Those who believed in divorce could sign a contract that reflected this whereas those who were committed to the situation where marriage was eternal and could never be terminated should sign a mark two version. This is not necessary, even for a religious person.

 

If one holds certain beliefs, gets married in church and makes a solemn commitment to somebody in church as part of a religious sacrament, then surely one is bound by that. The existence of divorce for other people is unlikely to shake one’s belief if it is as strong as claimed.

 

For that reason, no one whatever his or her religious persuasion, need feel threatened by this provision for divorce, which facilitates only those people who want it”

 

Following Mr Rea’s imprisonment the Supreme Court were apprised of the situation and we can look forward to more clarity on this issue in the near future.

 

Whilst we are all grateful that Mr Rea has been released early by behind the scenes activity it is terrible that he and his Family have had to suffer such an injustice for so long.

 

The Rea Family will be seeking compensation for his false imprisonment as clearly he has committed no crime.

 

We all owe a great debt of gratitude to Mr. Rea for his great courage and faith in bringing to light the corruption that has seeped into the way that the Divorce legislation is being implemented and which is undoubtedly ripping apart many other Families which could be saved.

 

By his sacrifice he has established, for all to see, that it is not a crime for a sincere Catholic or a Deserted Spouse who wishes to have the permanence of their Marriage honoured and that reconciliation is the correct path to take, not forced Family dismemberment on pain of imprisonment.

 

The Institute extends its support to any Spouse in a similar position who is being bullied or deceived into taking part in a divorce or a separation or any such Family Law matter where they wish to remain faithful to their Marriage.

 

The members of the Institute wish our dear friend Harry and his Family – whom we have become acquainted with through this ordeal, namely David and Estel, Jacqueline and little Ella, Carolyn, Alison and Fiona and all his many friends and neighbours who supported him – every blessing and fond wish on this the twenty-sixth day of June in the year of Our Lord Two Thousand and Thirteen.

 

God bless

Roger Eldridge, CEO, Institute of Family and Marriage