Whenever one comes up against a religious edict that is unique to one tradition and not present in most of the others, or then again something that defies common sense,one has one has to begin questioning what has happened.The answer is almost always the same-a misinterpretation of the original scriptures.This applies to the absolute prohibition of divorce in Catholicism as well as the Buddhist denial of the individual soul,the Jewish ‘payees'(the absurd looking curled sideburns on Hassidic Jews) and the burqa in Islam.)All are aberrations of scriptural interpretation(the science known as hermeneutics or exegesis).

So for the current question ,the relevant text is the following:

Matthew 19:3-9 New International Version (NIV)

³ Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”

⁴ “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’^{[a] 5} and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’^[b]? ⁶ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

⁷ “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”

⁸ Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. ⁹ I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

From this text,it is not hard to understand the Catholic position.However, several factors must be considered before jumping to such black and white decisions as do the Catholics here.

Firstly ,this statement was made to the Pharisees-an undisciplined and unruly lot ,it would appear.The context is vital here,as is the context in various citations of the Quran .In fact, in Islam ,there is an entire science called “Asbab al Nuzul” (literally the reasons for the descent-of revelation)dedicated to this question .Contextualization is often vital to properly understanding scripture!

Here,it sounds like the Pharisees are either looking for a “free ride” to divorce their wives whenever they want.Or then again ,they may be trying to trap Jesus in a position which he will have trouble defending in another context-a tactic familiar in contemporary politics-particularly with journalists l.ol So this statement of Jesus may be specific to the Pharisees and their evil intentions.

Let me elaborate here, albeit it in a hypothetical manner.Imagine this scenario .Instead of one of those cynical,provocative Pharisees let us imagine one of Jesus’ sincere followers coming to ask for a consultation.He says the following:’My master and Lord Jesus.25 years ago I got married.We were very attracted to each other early on but over the years we have grown to dislike each other in a very ugly way.I have consulted the Rabbis,I have had our families trying to intervene and I have prayed intensely for this to change but to no avail.It has gotten to the point where I have dreams of eliminating her by any means possible.I would,of course,never do that but the feelings are like that.Would you give me and her permission for a divorce?” Can anyone imagine jesus saying “Didn’t I tell you already that man cannot separate what God has united?Are you not listening to my teachings?!”.A priest or pastor or Imam might say such a thing but Jesus,never! Compassion is the basis of his teaching.I think we really need to take that into account!

There is another way of framing this discussion.If one takes into account the Islamic understanding that Allah is the “muqallib al qulub”(the controller of human hearts) then when a man turns against his wife or vice-versa when a woman’s heart turns against her husband (in a stable ,permanent manner rather than a reactive,frivolous one)this is now an act of God! So it is no longer an act of man causing the separation,but rather an act of God! Thus divorce becomes a practical option-one that is recognized in every other tradition besides Catholicism.

Notice here,that we are not trying to make light of divorce.It is a painful,hurtful and disruptive event on many levels including the effect on any children involved.Almost no one starts out a marriage with the intention of arriving there.However,sometimes,it is the best of a series of bad options.The fact that Jesus mentions the hard-heartedness of the people of Moses echoes clearly  the modern era where hard-heartedness has become the norm.So the example of Moses granting divorce to one of the Children of Israel is all the more relevant.

There is one more important point I would like to raise here.I believe that, despite what I have said above,if someone follows the Catholic principle of not divorcing or the Jewish dress code or the Islamic one even though it is based on scriptural misinterpretation,they will nevertheless be rewarded for their intention of piety.Such is the nature of our paradoxical relationship to the Absolute.May God help us all to acquire His pleasure in all our actions!