Thursday, December 1, 2016

Lessons on the Sanctity of Marriage from Ronald Reagan and Jane Wyman

By Ann Barnhardt

I always knew that Ronald Reagan had been “married” before Nancy to the actress Jane Wyman. And as I learned about and converted to Catholicism, I assumed that sadly, President Reagan and Nancy were probably not really married, which seemed especially sad given the strength of their bond and devotion to one another. But, objective reality and truth trumps mere sentiment.

But I was wrong about the validity of Ronald and Nancy Reagan’s marriage.

It turns out that Reagan’s “marriage” to Jane Wyman was, in fact, null.  Our Lord never joined them together because Jane Wyman had been validly married and then civilly “divorced” (remember, civil divorce is a fiction) before Reagan in the 1930s.  Jane Wyman converted to Catholicism in ARSH 1954, and thus had her marriage to Reagan formally declared null by The Church, as it should have been.  Jane Wyman was great friends with the devout Catholic Hollywood actress Loretta Young, who was almost certainly instrumental in Wyman’s conversion to The One True Faith.  Jane Wyman eventually became a Third Order Dominican, and was, in fact, buried in the habit of a Dominican nun. She attended President Reagan’s funeral, and of him said this:

“America has lost a great president and a great, kind, and gentle man.”
-Mrs. Jane Wyman, O.P.L.

So, President Reagan and Nancy Davis were, in fact, validly married. This makes me especially happy.

Now, to President Reagan himself.  I came across a letter that Reagan wrote to his son, Michael (whom he had adopted with Jane Wyman) in ARSH 1971 on the occasion of Michael’s marriage, over at Ace of Spades last week.

Reading this letter, it becomes clear that President Reagan was not only capable of love, but loved deeply, and thus, we can know, was NOT a Diabolical Narcissist.  He was probably the last decent, good man to hold that level of power. He wasn’t perfect. Neither was Nancy. No one is.  But, President Reagan was NOT a monster. In short, he was a normal, decent man... (continued)


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