Marriage Before and After Vatican 2

Vatican 2 changed a lot for the Catholic Church. Times have changed, however, and now their are some differences between what marriage was in Vatican 2 and what it is now. Here are four example: number one is that Vatican 2 calls marriage "a vocation." While this is true for some people, but for many people marriage is something that happens, not something that we have been destined for our entire lives. Difference number two is that the church says that marriage, or conjugal, love is never fleeting. As we learned in class, we live in a 'hook-up' culture so sometimes marriage does not always last, hence the high divorce rate. A lot of times people fall out of love just as easily as they fall into love.  Difference number three, though not specifically stated, is the view on Same-Sex Marriage. 50 years ago, same-sex marriage was not even a suggestion, so it was not discussed. Vatican 2 does say, several times, that marriage is between a man and a woman. It can be inferred that the makers of Vatican 2 would not support same-sex marriage. The forth and final difference is that Vatican 2 says that marriage is a necessary part of the church, like any other vocation, but not all forms of marriage are allowed. This is a nicer way of saying that they only support heterosexual marriages. Vatican 2 helped move the Church forward, but there is room for more change.