Marital infidelity is a serious problem that has damaged many marriages. God hates divorce and yet divorce is rampant both inside and outside of the church. From the Catholic viewpoint, the sacrament of marriage is meant to be permanent, for better or for worse. This means constant fidelity to each other and indissolubility of the union. The deepest reason is found in the fidelity of God to his covenant, in that of Christ to his Church. Through the sacrament of Matrimony the spouses are enabled to represent this fidelity and witness to it. Through the sacrament, the indissolubility of marriage receives a new and deeper meaning.
Another term for marital infidelity is adultery or extramarital affairs. Adultery or marital infidelity is generally defined as consensual sexual intercourse by a married person with someone other than his or her lawful spouse. In many jurisdictions, an unmarried person who is sexually involved with a married person is also considered an adulterer. The common synonym for adultery is infidelity as well as unfaithfulness or in colloquial speech, cheating. It was also known in earlier times by the legalistic term "alienation of affection". Statistics suggest that 40% of women and 60% of men at one point indulge in extramarital affair. It''s estimated that 80% of marriages will have one partner at one point or another involved in marital infidelity. 70% of married women and 54% of married men did not know of their spouse''s extramarital activity. Women are initiating 70% - 75% of all divorces.
Male infidelity is the most frequent reason for marital separation. The husband lacks self-control, spiritual purity and obedience to God''s commands. Of the two sources of male infidelity, this is by far the most important and is the main source of the problem of unfaithfulness in a marriage. A few other emotional needs of the husband who searches for affairs outside the marriage: eternally looking for the Dream Girl, looking for challenges in his extramarital encounters, seeking to recapture youth, repeating the pleasures of sexual explorations in youth, wanting a relationship devoid of obligation and responsibility, wanting emotional comfort in numbers and lastly, looking at the other woman as a status-affluence symbol.
Teachings of the church value marriage as a sacred covenant between the husband and wife and especially to God. Breakage to this covenant is likely committing a sin to God and breaking your vows to your spouse and to God making this act very grave. Affecting your relationship to your spouse, to your children, and your integrity to the society you live in.
The most important thing to remind every married couples to take the responsibilities as a spouse serious. The partner has the responsibility to keep the relationship burning by keeping open communication to each other open. There are tips here provided below to prevent infidelity:
• “Stay honest with your partner… Dishonesty and deception cause infidelity to flourish.
” Be open and tell your partner when you feel an attraction to someone else or are tempted to stray—you''ll be less likely to act on it.
• “Monitor your marriage.” Pay attention to whether your needs are being met. If they''re not, speak up and address it in a constructive manner.• “Stay alert for temptations.'''' Make a real effort to be aware of when an emotional connection may be forming outside your marriage so that you can stop it from going too far resulting in infidelity.
• “Don''t flirt.” Flirting expresses interest and opens the door to infidelity. Such behavior can nudge relationships beyond platonic boundaries and into infidelity.• “Recognize that work can be a danger zone.” Avoid situations that could lead to romance or emotional bonding such as private lunchoffee breaks.
• “Beware of the lure of the Internet” where “affairs develop quickly” and inhibitions are instantly lowered and infidelity seems innocent.
• “Keep old flames from re-igniting.” Protect your marriage by avoiding partners from past relationships—or bring your partner along if you do decide to meet with them.
• “Value the intimacy of your marriage.” Open up to your partner and deepen your relationship so that you won''t feel the need to seek intimacy elsewhere, resulting in infidelity.
• “Make sure your social network supports marriage.” Spend time with other married couples or friends who share your values and respect monogamous relationships.
Overall, infidelity tends to arise when a person''s needs are simply not being met within their marriage, leading them to fill those needs elsewhere. When partners understand each other''s needs and make an ongoing effort to meet them, infidelity is much less of a threat. Open channels of communication are crucial to expressing unfilled needs and preventing resentment from building over time. We must see the consequences of our action first before we act because we may never now it could cost your marriage, identity, and image in the society like what happened to the person at this case. Awareness to each other’s feeling and support is the only solution and prevention of infidelity in our society. Let us keep the sacredness of marriage holy and keep families intact and Christ-centered.