Cardinal Coccopalmerio and Ed Peters, responding to political pressure, are the first ever to publicly flip 180 degrees from centuries-old Church discipline and state that bishop's permission is not required for divorce due to the absence of government concordat. To hold such a position is heretical b/c it denies that the marriage contract (not just the bond) belongs to God. What they are both ignoring is the fact that divorce involves natural/divine law (CCC 2384). Pope Leo XIII and Fr. John Beal explain that the marriage contract is a matter of natural/divine law. Ed Peters and Card. Cocco are saying it is not. Can. 1692 establishes that the divorce sentence (split the baby) must not be "contrary to divine law." The civil sentence is usually evil which is why a trusted source (bishop or benign state) must ensure justice beforehand. Divorce and separation are canonical issues. Personal conscience is never adequate to adjudicate one's own case and ensure equity. The Catholic divorce do-it-yourself discipline has gotten so bad in the West that Peters and Cocco's politically correct explanation/solution is gladly accepted w/o question as gospel by most. After all, who wants to be the bearer of some truthful but radically bad news? Don't ask, don't tell.
