Sweeping Reform! Dramatic change! Cumbersome, complicated procedure gone! Clearing away rules dating from 1741! Fast-track annulments in 45 days! No charge, no fault annulments! These are some of the ways that the media has characterized and sensationalized the new rules that Pope Francis issued Sept. 8 for granting annulments in the Catholic Church.

In the fifth century before Christ, the Greek playwright Sophocles wrote the tragedy entitled Antigone. The protagonist, Antigone, is one of theater’s most powerful women. Antigone faces a conflict that is profound and poignant. The newly crowned King of Thebes has forbidden a proper burial for her brother. Does she obey him or does she show the proper respect for her brother?

The city of Damascus in Syria claims the title of being the world’s oldest continuously inhabited city. The Hyksos, the Aramaeans, the Assyrians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Muslims, the Mamelukes, the Ottomans and the French have all left their imprint on this ancient city. Today, in the midst of a protracted civil war in Syria, its citizens cling to their normal routine in the shadow of Roman ruins and along the alleyways of the souks.