A CLERGYMAN has warmly welcomed moves by the Church of England to allow divorcees to remarry in its churches.

The Rev John Birbeck of Hurst Green has pledged his support for the change in policy in the February issue of The Word, the parish magazine for All Hallows' and St John's churches.

Although the move seems to go against the Church of England's teachings, he said: "I truly believe Jesus would sanction what our church plans to do, provided we also give appropriate pastoral care to those involved.

"In Jesus's day the effect of divorce upon wives could be very cruel. Husbands often acted very callously towards their wives, but all that was required was for the man to say in public to his wife 'I divorce you' three times and that ended the marriage.

"His responsibility as breadwinner also ended, often leaving the wife to face a life of great physical hardship with little prospect of a new relationship.

"Today, once a relationship has irretrievably broken down and both partners have stopped trying, then surely a clean break is best provided there are no dependant children. In marriages with children the decision is much more fraught."

Mr Birbeck said that couples deserved a second chance at happiness, but should not rush into new relationships.

He said: "After a marital breakdown, there needs to be space to come to terms with what happened in the relationship. There are always two sides. To rush blindly into a new relationship with no space for reflection and little time for amendment of life is at best. We often seem to repeat our mistakes and with them inflict more pain and unhappiness all round."

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