- Oct 31, 2008
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I'm just reflecting on this complicated issue with my sister-in-law and relating it to an episode of a sitcom I used to love. Long story short, two of the main characters are married, the wife had an absentee father who is trying to reconcile with her and her husband naively invites him to Thanksgiving. After realizing her dad still hadn't changed enough, if at all, the husband kicked him out and went to find his wife who had left in anger. He tells her family's a privilege not a right, and her dad has to earn it.
Do you guys think that conflicts too much with the Church's teachings on marriage and family?
Reason I bring this up is my wife is trying her best to guide her younger sister who's unmarried, pregnant, and her boyfriend who's 11 years her junior isn't indicating any movement towards marriage. We would let this play out more on it's own and stay out of it if we didn't see all of the stress that his actions are putting on my sister-in-law and thus, presumably, the unborn baby. At first we were encouraging them to get married because we thought that'd be best for everyone, but we laid off that a long time ago and now my wife is wrestling with telling her sister she ought to leave this guy. She doesn't want to create a situation like her own kids were in where their parents weren't together, but she also sees the father's lack of "stepping up" or "manning up" and worries about how it could affect her sister and her unborn niece's health. Especially when her sister has a history of mental health problems.
I started thinking that the father/boyfriend is acting like he doesn't have to act cause she's already "stuck" with him, which led me to me remembering that line from the show.
I'm probably way off base from a Catholic standpoint but if I am then it really seems like a no-win situation.
Do you guys think that conflicts too much with the Church's teachings on marriage and family?
Reason I bring this up is my wife is trying her best to guide her younger sister who's unmarried, pregnant, and her boyfriend who's 11 years her junior isn't indicating any movement towards marriage. We would let this play out more on it's own and stay out of it if we didn't see all of the stress that his actions are putting on my sister-in-law and thus, presumably, the unborn baby. At first we were encouraging them to get married because we thought that'd be best for everyone, but we laid off that a long time ago and now my wife is wrestling with telling her sister she ought to leave this guy. She doesn't want to create a situation like her own kids were in where their parents weren't together, but she also sees the father's lack of "stepping up" or "manning up" and worries about how it could affect her sister and her unborn niece's health. Especially when her sister has a history of mental health problems.
I started thinking that the father/boyfriend is acting like he doesn't have to act cause she's already "stuck" with him, which led me to me remembering that line from the show.
I'm probably way off base from a Catholic standpoint but if I am then it really seems like a no-win situation.