166. Church Laws on Marriage

The illustration (1) shows a couple being married before a priest, with two witnesses. This is the only true marriage for Catholics; it is a sacrament; (2) shows a bad marriage; for Catholics it is not a sacrament, but a mere contract before civil authorities. If one or both of the parties are Catholics, a marriage contracted only in accordance with the civil laws is invalid, null and void. The State cannot make Catholics man and wife; it can only register them as such.

Why has the Catholic Church alone the right to make laws regulating the marriages of baptised persons?

— The Catholic Church alone has the right to make laws regulating the marriages of baptised persons, because the Church alone has authority over the sacraments, and over sacred matters affecting baptised persons.

1. The Church alone has authority over holy matters. The Church is the guardian, the custodian of the sacraments, the means of grace for men. On this account, the Church must safeguard these sacraments.

God assigned to secular governments the duty to administer material things; but to His Church He gave power and authority over spiritual matters. "Render, therefore, to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."

2. Marriage is not only a sacrament, but also a contract. The Church, therefore, may interfere with this contract, by laying down laws; just as the civil government rules certain civil contracts binding, or null,

What authority has the State regarding the marriages of baptised persons?

— Regarding the marriages of baptised persons, the State has the authority to make laws concerning their effects that are merely civil.

1. The State may make laws about the aspects of marriage that are purely material, such as laws regarding the filing of the marriage contract, laws about the conjugal property, laws about income tax exemptions according to the number of children a married couple have.

"What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder" (Matt. 19:6). By these words Christ Our Lord restored marriage to its original unity and indissolubility; so that there is no power on earth that can dissolve a marriage that has been validly contracted and consummated. The civil divorces granted by the State to Christians, giving them a right to remarry cannot be recognized by the Church. The State has no right to legislate in contradiction to divine law.

2. Catholics should, however, obey the State laws on marriage as long as these do not contradict laws of God or the Church.

But if some laws are not exactly according to Catholic principles, Catholics should work to have better laws, suited to the full exercise of their religious obligations.

What is the ordinary law of the Church to be observed at the wedding of a Catholic?

— The ordinary law of the Church to be observed at the wedding of a Catholic is this: A Catholic can contract a true marriage only in the presence of an authorized priest and two witnesses.

1. The laws of the Church require a Catholic to be married in the presence of the parish priest, or the bishop of the diocese, or a priest delegated by either of them, and before two witnesses. Catholics are absolutely prohibited from contracting marriage except before a priest of the Church and two witnesses.

There is only one exception to this law. If the pastor, or the bishop, or the priest delegated by either, cannot be had without great inconvenience:

(a) In danger of death, marriage may be contracted validly and licitly before two witnesses; even if there is no danger of death the same may be done, provided it is foreseen that the above condition will last for a month. Thus the couple are truly married and receive the Sacrament of Matrimony.

The action should be written down, signed, and the document given to the bishop or pastor when he comes. No Catholics should take this unusual step except for an extraordinarily grave reason.

(b) If any other priest is available, even if he is not the pastor or the coadjutor, he must be called to assist at the marriage; but the marriage is valid even if contracted before the two witnesses alone. — ( Canon 1098). 2. No Catholic can be married outside the Church, Catholics who go through the form of marriage before a justice of the peace are not married.

They have merely made a civil contract. Therefore, if they live together as man and wife, they sin against the Sixth and Ninth Commandments. Their legal contract may save them from jail, but it will not save them from hell. If they have children, these are registered as illegitimate in the baptismal records.

3. If Catholics attempt to marry before a non-Catholic minister, they not only commit sin, but they are excommunicated from the Church. They are not married.

They are excluded from the sacraments, may not be godparents for baptism and confirmation, and may not receive Christian burial. Their excommunication lasts until they go to confession, receive absolution from the bishop, and get married before a Catholic priest, if they are to live as spouses.

4. A priest in his own diocese may perform the marriage ceremony outside his own parish only with the permission of the parish priest or bishop of the place.

A priest in his own parish, or a bishop in his own diocese, may marry persons not resident therein, with the permission of their pastor or bishop. A Catholic who has dwelt within the limits of a certain parish for a month is considered as belonging to it; also if he has a real place of abode in it, with the intention of remaining.

When does the Church declare a separation of a validly married couple?

— The Church declares a separation of a validly married couple for very grave cause, such as adultery, heresy, threats on the life of either, etc.

1. The separation declared by the Church does not cut the valid marital bond; neither of the parties may marry again till the death of the other. Should the cause cease, they must live together again.

The wronged party should obtain the sanction of the bishop before separation. The need of separation will rarely arise when both husband and wife are good practical Catholics who seriously considered the responsibilities of matrimony before embarking upon it, and who did so with prayer and the blessings of the Church. Who has trusted in God and found Him deaf to supplication?

2. The only "divorce" permitted in the Catholic Church is a separation, with no right to marry anyone else.

Not that the Church forces a couple who cannot agree in peace to continue living together. As far as separation includes property rights, Catholics are required to obtain ecclesiastical permission to start proceedings for a civil divorce. Once the divorce is granted, if the marriage had been a consummated sacramental bond, the contract remains in every other way; and neither of the parties can enter into marriage with another person.