North American Conference of Separated or Divorced Catholics, Inc. (NACSDC), which is recognized by USCCB and listed in The Official Catholic Directory, is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation which, among other things, advertises and sells educational materials through its catalogue and website. NACSDC's 2004 Resource Catalog (pg., 33) advertises a book Prayers for Catholics Experiencing Divorce by Vicki Wells Bedard and Rev. William Rabior. The back cover states, "If you are a Catholic going through a divorce, you may find it difficult to pray. Misconceptions about prayer, a sense of a neglected relationship with God, and feelings of self-condemnation often make it hard to pray."
Prayers for Catholics Experiencing
Divorce ©1993 is endorsed with
Imprimi Potest: James Shea, C.SS.R. Provincial,
St. Louis Province, The Redemptorists,
Imprimatur: Monsignor Maurice F.
Byrne, Vice Chancellor, Archdiocese of St. Louis
Excerpts from the book distributed by NACSDC, Prayers for Catholics Experiencing Divorce by Wells Bedard and Rev. William Rabior
I have become a misfit in an institution
that places high regard for intact, two-parent families.
To be human is to expect change,
to lose, to recover, to grow, to stumble, to begin anew.
It seems all those things are acceptable
while we're married.
But should we feel called to a different
response -- to separate or divorce -- we are...what?
Suddenly less than human?
Lord, help this Church that I love,
that helped me grow into adulthood, soften her heart.
Help her reach out to those of us
who are alienated, hurt, or broken by life.
Help her find ways to offer us healing
and peace.
Help her set aside judgments, hear
our pain, hold our fear.
Help her reach out to us, not out
of some code of law but out of genuine compassion and Christlike love.
The divorcing process surrounds
us with laws; let it be the Church that surrounds us with love and mercy.
My sinfulness is not in leaving
my marriage, for sometimes the kindness act of all is in letting go of
another.
Let my Church see this." (pg.
47-48)