Marriage in the Catholic Church
Part of a series on the |
Catholic Church |
---|
Overview |
Catholic Church portal |
Marriage in the
The Catholic Church recognizes as sacramental, (1) the marriages between two baptized non-Catholic Christians or between two baptized Orthodox Christians, as well as (2) marriages between baptized non-Catholic Christians and Catholic Christians,[3] although in the latter case, consent from the diocesan bishop must be obtained, with this termed "permission to enter into a mixed marriage".[4] To illustrate (1), for example, "if two Lutherans marry in the Lutheran Church in the presence of a Lutheran minister, the Catholic Church recognizes this as a valid sacrament of marriage".[3] On the other hand, although the Catholic Church recognizes marriages between two non-Christians or those between a Catholic Christian and a non-Christian, these are not considered to be sacramental, and in the latter case, the Catholic Christian must seek permission from his/her bishop for the marriage to occur; this permission is known as "dispensation from disparity of cult".[5]
Weddings in which both parties are Catholic faithful are ordinarily held in a Catholic church, while weddings in which one party is a Catholic faithful and the other party is a non-Catholic can be held in a Catholic church or a non-Catholic church, but in the latter case permission of one's Bishop or ordinary is required for the marriage to be free of defect of form. [6]
Catholic Church view of the importance of marriage
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: "The intimate community of life and love which constitutes the married state has been established by the Creator and endowed by him with its own proper laws. . . . God himself is the author of marriage. The vocation to marriage is written in the very nature of man and woman as they came from the hand of the Creator. Marriage is not a purely human institution despite the many variations it may have undergone through the centuries in different cultures, social structures, and spiritual attitudes. These differences should not cause us to forget its common and permanent characteristics. Although the dignity of this institution is not transparent everywhere with the same clarity, some sense of the greatness of the matrimonial union exists in all cultures. The well-being of the individual person and of both human and Christian society is closely bound up with the healthy state of conjugal and family life".[7]
It also says: "The Church attaches great importance to Jesus' presence at the wedding at Cana. She sees in it the confirmation of the goodness of marriage and the proclamation that thenceforth marriage will be an efficacious sign of Christ's presence. In his preaching Jesus unequivocally taught the original meaning of the union of man and woman as the Creator willed it from the beginning: permission given by Moses to divorce one's wife was a concession to the hardness of hearts. The matrimonial union of man and woman is indissoluble; God himself has determined it, 'what therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder'. This unequivocal insistence on the indissolubility of the marriage bond may have left some perplexed and could seem to be a demand impossible to realize. However, Jesus has not placed on spouses a burden impossible to bear, or too heavy – heavier than the Law of Moses. By coming to restore the original order of creation disturbed by sin, he himself gives the strength and grace to live marriage in the new dimension of the Reign of God".[7]
History of marriage in the Catholic Church
Early period
Marriage was considered a necessary passage into adulthood, and strongly supported within the
At the same time, some in the emerging Christian communities began to prize the
As the Church developed as an institution and came into contact with the Greek world, it reinforced the idea found in writers such as Plato and Aristotle that the celibate unmarried state was preferable and more holy than the married one. At the same time, it challenged some of the prevalent social norms such as the buying and selling of women into marriage, and defended the right of women to choose to remain unmarried virgins for the sake of Christ. The stories associated with the many virgin martyrs in the first few centuries of the Catholic Church often make it clear that they were martyred for their refusal to marry, not necessarily simply their belief in Christ.
The teaching on the superiority of virginity over marriage expressed by Saint Paul was accepted by the early Church, as shown in the 2nd-century
For much of the history of the Catholic Church, no specific ritual was therefore prescribed for celebrating a marriage – at least not until the late
Church Fathers
Markus notes this impact on the early Christian attitude, particularly as Christian anxiety about sex intensified after 400: "The superiority of virginity and sexual abstinence was generally taken for granted. But a dark undercurrent of hostility to sexuality and marriage became interwoven with the more benign attitudes towards the body. Attitudes diverged, and mainstream Christianity became infected with a pronounced streak of distrust towards bodily existence and sexuality. This permanent 'encratite' tendency was given powerful impetus in the debates about Christian perfection at the end of the fourth and the beginning of the fifth centuries".[16]
While the Church Fathers of the Latin or Catholic Church did not condemn marriage, they nevertheless taught a preference for celibacy and virginity.
Bishop Ignatius of Antioch, writing around 110 to Bishop Polycarp of Smyrna said, "[I]t becomes both men and women who marry to form their union with the approval of the bishop, that their marriage may be according to God, and not after their own lust".[17]
In his On Exhortation to Chastity
In his earlier Ad uxorem also, Tertullian argued against second marriages, but said that, if one must remarry, it should be with a Christian.[22] In other writings, he argued strongly against ideas like those he expressed in his On Exhortation to Chastity; and in his De Anima he explicitly stated that "the married state is blessed, not cursed by God". Adhémar d'Alès has commented: "Tertullian wrote a lot about marriage, and on no other subject has he contradicted himself as much".[23]
Cyprian (c. 200 – 258), Bishop of Carthage, recommended in his Three Books of Testimonies against the Jews that Christians should not marry pagans.[24] Addressing consecrated virgins he wrote: "The first decree commanded to increase and to multiply; the second enjoined continency. While the world is still rough and void, we are propagated by the fruitful begetting of numbers, and we increase to the enlargement of the human race. Now, when the world is filled and the earth supplied, they who can receive continency, living after the manner of eunuchs, are made eunuchs unto the kingdom. Nor does the Lord command this, but He exhorts it; nor does He impose the yoke of necessity, since the free choice of the will is left".[25][26]
There were, of course, counter-views.
It was Augustine (354–430), whose views subsequently strongly influenced Western theology,[34] that was most influential in developing a theology of the sacramentality of Christian marriage.[35] In his youth, Augustine had also been a follower of Manichaeism, but after his conversion to Christianity he rejected the Manichaean condemnation of marriage and reproduction for imprisoning spiritual light within material darkness.[36] He subsequently went on to teach that marriage is not evil, but good, even if it is not at the level of choosing virginity: "Marriage and fornication are not two evils, whereof the second is worse: but marriage and continence are two goods, whereof the second is better".[37]
In his On the Good of Marriage, of 401, he distinguished three values in marriage: fidelity, which is more than sexual; offspring, which "entails the acceptance of children in love, their nurturance in affection, and their upbringing in the Christian religion; and sacrament, in that its indissolubility is a sign of the eternal unity of the blessed.[38] Like the other Church Fathers of East and West, Augustine taught that virginity is a higher way of life, although it is not given to everyone to live at that higher level. In his De bono coniugali (On the Good of Marriage), he wrote: "I know what people are murmuring: 'Suppose', they remark, 'that everyone sought to abstain from all intercourse? How would the human race survive?' I only wish that this was everyone's concern so long as it was uttered in charity, 'from a pure heart, a good conscience, and faith unfeigned'; then the city of God would be filled much more speedily, and the end of the world would be hastened".[39] Armstrong sees this as an apocalyptic dimension in Augustine's teaching.[26] Reynolds says that Augustine's comment on this wildly hypothetical objection by Jovinian may have been that the saintliness of a church in which all had chosen celibacy would mean that it comprised enough members to fill God's city or that the church would thereby gather souls to herself even more rapidly than she was already doing.[40] Nevertheless, Augustine's name "could, indeed, be invoked through the medieval centuries to reinforce the exaltation of virginity at the expense of marriage and to curtail the role of sexuality even within Christian marriage".[26]
Finally, Isidore of Seville (c. 560 – 636) refined and broadened Augustine's formulation and was part of the chain by which it was transmitted to the Middle Ages.[41]
Although not a church father, but belonging to the same period, in
Medieval period
Sacramental development
The medieval Christian church, taking the lead of Augustine, developed the sacramental understanding of matrimony. However, even at this stage the Catholic Church did not consider the sacraments equal in importance.
With the development of sacramental theology, marriage was included in the select seven to which the term "sacrament" was applied. Explicit classification of marriage in this way came in reaction to the contrary teaching of
The medieval view of the sacramentality of marriage has been described as follows: "Like the other sacraments, medieval writers argued marriage was an instrument of sanctification, a channel of grace that caused God's gracious gifts and blessings to be poured upon humanity. Marriage sanctified the Christian couple by allowing them to comply with God's law for marriage and by providing them with an ideal model of marriage in Christ the bridegroom, who took the church as his bride and accorded it highest love, devotion, and sacrifice, even to the point of death".[51]
Liturgical practice
Matrimony, for most of Church history, had been celebrated (as in traditions such as the Roman and Judaic) without clergy and was done according to local customs. The first available written detailed account of a Christian wedding in the West dates only from the 9th century and appears to be identical to the old nuptial service of Ancient Rome.[43] However, early witnesses to the practice of intervention by the clergy in the marriage of early Christians include Tertullian, who speaks of Christians "requesting marriage" from them,[52] and Ignatius of Antioch, who said Christians should form their union with the approval of the bishop – although the absence of clergy placed no bar, and there is no suggestion that the recommendation was widely adopted.[17]
In the 4th century in the Eastern Church it was the custom in some areas for marriages to receive a blessing by a priest to ensure fertility.[53] There are also a few accounts of religious nuptial services from the 7th century onward.[54] However, while in the East the priest was seen as ministering the sacrament, in the West it was the two parties to the marriage (if baptized) who effectively ministered, and their concordant word was sufficient proof of the existence of a sacramental marriage, whose validity required neither the presence of witnesses nor observance of the law of the 1215 Fourth Lateran Council that demanded publication of the banns of marriage.[55]
Thus, with few local exceptions, until in some cases long after the Council of Trent, marriages in Europe were by mutual consent, declaration of intention to marry and upon the subsequent physical union of the parties.
The validity of such marriages even if celebrated under a tree or in a tavern or in a bed was upheld even against that of a later marriage in a church.[60] Even after the Council of Trent made the presence of the parish priest or his delegate and of at least two more witnesses a condition for validity, the previous situation continued in many countries where its decree was not promulgated. It ended only in 1908, with the coming into force of the Ne Temere decree.
In the 12th century, Pope Alexander III decreed that what made a marriage was the free mutual consent by the spouses themselves, not a decision by their parents or guardians.[61] After that, clandestine marriages or youthful elopements began to proliferate, with the result that ecclesiastical courts had to decide which of a series of marriages that a man was accused of celebrating was the first and therefore the valid one.[62][63] Though "detested and forbidden" by the Church,[64] they were acknowledged to be valid. Similarly today, Catholics are forbidden to enter mixed marriages without permission from an authority of the Church, but if someone does enter such a marriage without permission, the marriage is reckoned to be valid, provided the other conditions are fulfilled, although illicit.
Counter-Reformation
In the 16th century, various groups adhering to the
On 11 November 1563, the Council of Trent condemned the view that "the marriage state is to be placed above the state of virginity, or of celibacy, and that it is not better and more blessed to remain in virginity, or in celibacy, than to be united in matrimony".[69] And while Catholics upheld the supernatural character of marriage, it was Protestants who viewed it as not a sacrament and who admitted divorce.[70][71][72]
The decree
For fear that the decree would "identify and multiply the number of doubtful marriages, particularly in Protestant areas, where 'mixed' marriages were common", the council hesitated to impose it outright and decided to make its application dependent on local promulgation. In fact, Tametsi was never proclaimed worldwide. It had no effect in France, England, Scotland and many other countries[80] and in 1907 was replaced by the decree Ne Temere, which came into effect universally at Easter 1908.[74][81][82]
Validity of marriage in the Catholic Church
Part of a series on the |
Canon law of the Catholic Church |
---|
Catholicism portal |
The Catholic Church also has requirements before Catholics can be considered validly married in the eyes of the Church. A valid Catholic marriage results from four elements: (1) the spouses are free to marry; (2) they freely exchange their consent; (3) in consenting to marry, they have the intention to marry for life, to be faithful to one another and be open to children; and (4) their consent is given in the canonical form, i.e., in the presence of two witnesses and before a properly authorized church minister. Exceptions to the last requirement must be approved by church authority. The Church provides
The Catholic Church also recognizes as sacramental, (1) the marriages between two baptized Protestants or between two baptized Orthodox Christians, as well as (2) marriages between baptized non-Catholic Christians and Catholic Christians,[3] although in the latter case, consent from the diocesan bishop must be obtained, with this termed "permission to enter into a mixed marriage".[4] To illustrate (1), for example, "if two Lutherans marry in the Lutheran Church in the presence of a Lutheran minister, the Catholic Church recognizes this as a valid sacrament of marriage".[3] On the other hand, although the Catholic Church recognizes marriages between two non-Christians or those between a Catholic Christian and a non-Christian, these are not considered to be sacramental, and in the latter case, the Catholic Christian must seek permission from his/her bishop for the marriage to occur; this permission is known as "dispensation from disparity of cult".[83] The Church prefers that marriages between Catholics, or between Catholics and other Christians, be celebrated in the parish church of one of the spouses. Those helping to prepare the couple for marriage can assist with the permission process. In present-day circumstances, with communities no longer so homogeneous religiously, authorization is more easily granted than in earlier centuries.
Canonical form
The canonical form of marriage began to be required with the decree Tametsi issued by the Council of Trent on 11 November 1563. The decree Ne Temere of Pope Pius X in 1907 made the canonical form a requirement even where the decree of the Council of Trent had not been promulgated.
While allowing for exceptions, the canonical form of marriage, as laid down in Canons 1055–1165 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law and Canons 776-866 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, normally recognizes marriages of Catholics as valid only if contracted before the local bishop or a parish priest delegated by the bishop or (in the Latin Church only) a deacon delegated by them, and also at least two witnesses. In earlier times, validity was not made dependent on the fulfillment of these two conditions.
Freedom to marry
The participants in a marriage contract must be free to marry and to marry each other. That is, they must be one unmarried man and one unmarried woman with no impediments as set out by canon law.[citation needed]
Impediments
A Catholic marriage cannot be formed if one or more of the following impediments are present,[84] although for some of these a dispensation can be given:
- Antecedent and perpetual impotence[citation needed]
- Consanguinity to the fourth degree in the collateral line (first cousin), including legal adoption to the second collateral line[citation needed]
- Affinity – relationship by marriage, e.g. a brother-in-law, in the direct line
- Prior bond – the bond of a previous marriage, even if not consummated[citation needed]
- seminarian who has become a deacon, similarly to others who leave seminary prior to ordination, may be allowed to marry after a period of time, and with the permission of the ordinary, the Vatican, and his pastor or former religious superior, may continue to function as a secular deacon.[failed verification]
- Perpetual local ordinary, and the permission – subject to final papal approval – of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.[citation needed]
- baptised into a Trinitarian Christian denomination[citation needed]
- Crimen – one party previously conspiring to marry upon the condition of the death of their spouse while still married; also called conjugicide[citation needed]
- Underage – at least 16 for males and 14 for females[citation needed]
- Abduction[citation needed]
Times of year for celebrating a marriage
In the
Mixed marriages
While marriage between a Catholic and any non-Catholic is commonly spoken of as a mixed marriage, in the strict sense a mixed marriage is one between a Catholic (baptized in the Catholic Church or received into it) and a non-Catholic Christian, known in popular parlance as an interdenominational marriage.[88][89]
The Catholic Church has from the start opposed marriage between a Catholic and any non-Catholic, baptized or not, seeing it as "degrading the holy character of matrimony, involving as it did a communion in sacred things with those outside the fold. [...] it was but natural and logical for the Church to do all in her power to hinder her children from contracting marriage with those outside her pale, who did not recognize the sacramental character of the union on which they were entering". The Church thus saw as obstacles to a Catholic's marriage what came to be called the two impediments of mixed religion (in Latin, mixta religio) and of difference of worship (in Latin disparitas cultus).[89]
Marriage with a non-Catholic Christian
From an early stage, Church councils forbade Catholic Christians to marry
In 692, the
With the Reformation in the 16th century, more legislation regarding mixed marriages was passed. In those countries where the Council of Trent's Tametsi decree was promulgated, mixed marriages began to be viewed as invalid in the West, not directly because of being mixed, but because a condition for validity imposed by the decree was not observed, namely, that marriages be contracted before the parish priest or a priest delegated by him and at least two witnesses.[91] This decree required the contract to be entered into before the parish priest or some other priest delegated by him, and in the presence of two or three witnesses under penalty of invalidity. Even where the Tametsi decree had been promulgated, the Church did not find it possible to insist on the rigour of this legislation in all countries, owing to strong Protestant opposition. However, the legislation was frequently enforced by Catholic parents stipulating in their wills that their children be disinherited if they renounced Catholicism.[92]
Catholic Christians are permitted to marry validly baptized non-Catholic Christians if they receive permission to do so from a "competent authority" who is usually the Catholic Christian party's
Weddings in which both parties are Catholic Christians are ordinarily held in a Catholic church, while weddings in which one party is a Catholic Christian and the other party is a non-Catholic Christian can be held in a Catholic church or a non-Catholic Christian church.[96]
A condition for granting permission to marry a non-Catholic is that the Catholic Christian party undertake to remove dangers of defecting from the faith and to do all in his or her power so that all the children are baptized and brought up in the Catholic Church; the other party is to be made aware of this undertaking and obligation of the Catholic Christian party.[94]
Marriage with a non-Christian
The early Church did not consider invalid a Catholic's marriage with a non-Christian (someone not baptized), especially when the marriage had taken place before the Catholic's conversion to the faith. It was nevertheless hoped that the converted wife or husband would be the means of bringing the other party into the Church, or at least safeguarding the Catholic upbringing of the children of the union. With the growth of the Church, the need for such unions diminished and the objection to them grew stronger. More by custom than by church legislation, such marriages gradually came to be considered invalid and disparitas cultus came to be seen as an impediment to marriage by a Catholic.
When the
A marriage between a Catholic and a non-Christian (someone not baptized) is seen by the Church as invalid unless a dispensation (called a dispensation from "disparity of cult", meaning a difference of worship) is granted from the law declaring such marriages invalid. This dispensation can only be granted under certain conditions.[97] If the dispensation is granted, the Church recognizes the marriage as valid, but natural rather than sacramental, since the sacraments can be validly received only by the baptized, and the non-Christian person is not baptized.[98][99][100]
Matrimonial Consent
According to Canon 1057 of the Code of Canon Law (1983), marriage is established through the consent of the parties legitimately manifested between persons who are capable, according to the law, of giving consent.[101]
Consent, which no human power can replace, is the efficient cause of marriage.[102] It is defined by Canon 1057.1 as an act of the will by which a man and a woman through an irrevocable personal covenant mutually give and accept each other for the purpose of establishing marriage.[103]
Such consent, however, must be manifested in a legitimate manner, that is, in a manner that has been determined by the Church in the formal solemnities prescribed for the validity of marriage (the canonical form).[104]
The persons manifesting their consent must be capable of doing that according to the law.[105]
Remarriage of widows or widowers
The teaching of the Catholic Church is that a married couple commits themselves totally to one another until death.
Ministers of matrimony
Western Church
The husband and wife must validly execute the marriage contract. In the
This does not eliminate the need for church involvement in the marriage; under normal circumstances, canon law requires for validity the attendance of the local bishop or parish priest (or a priest or deacon delegated by either of them) and at least two witnesses. The priest has merely the role to "assist" the spouses in order to ensure that the marriage is contracted in accord with canon law, and is supposed to attend whenever it is possible. A competent layperson may be delegated by the Church, or may just attend in place of the priest, if it is impractical to have a priest attending. In the event that no competent layperson is found, the marriage is valid even if done in the presence of two witnesses alone.
Eastern Churches
Indissolubility
In the eyes of the Church, even validly contracted natural marriages (marriages in which at least one of the parties is not baptized) cannot be dissolved by the will of the couple or by any action of the state.[113][114] Accordingly, "the Catholic Church does not recognize or endorse civil divorce of a natural marriage, as of a sacramental marriage".[115] However, a natural marriage, even if consummated, can be dissolved by the Church when to do so favours the maintenance of the faith on the part of a Christian, cases of what has been called Pauline privilege and Petrine privilege. In these cases, which require intervention by the Holy See, the Church admits real divorce, the actual dissolution of a valid marriage, as distinct from the granting by merely human power of a divorce that, according to Catholic theology, does not really dissolve the marriage bond.
While the violation of some regulations may make a marriage illicit, but not invalid, some conditions are essential and their absence means that there is in fact no valid marriage, and the participants are considered not to be actually married. However, Canon 1137 states that children born to a "putative" marriage (defined in Canon 1061, sec. 3 as one that is not valid but was entered into in good faith by at least one spouse) are legitimate; therefore, the declaration that a marriage is null does not render the children of that marriage illegitimate.
Annulments
The Catholic Church has consistently taken the position that, while the dissolution of a valid natural marriage, even if consummated, may be granted for the sake of someone's Christian faith ("in favorem fidei"), though not for other reasons, and that a valid sacramental marriage, if not consummated, may be dissolved, a valid sacramental consummated marriage is indissoluble. There is no divorce from such a marriage. However, what is referred to as a marriage annulment occurs when two competent ecclesiastical tribunals hand down concordant judgments that a particular marriage was not in fact a valid one.[116][117]
Requirements for the validity of marriage are listed in the Code of Canon Law under the headings "Diriment Impediments" (such as being too young, being impotent, being already married, being ordained),[118] "Matrimonial Consent" (which requires, for instance, sufficient use of reason, psychic ability to assume the essential obligations of marriage, and freedom from force and fear),[119] and "The Form of the Celebration of Marriage" (normally requiring that it be contracted in the presence of the parish priest or his delegate and at least two other witnesses).[120]
An annulment is a declaration that the marriage was invalid (or
The teaching of the Catholic church is that annulment and divorce therefore differ, both in rationale and effect; an annulment is a finding that a true marriage never existed, whereas a divorce is a dissolution of marriage.
In canon law there are numerous reasons for granting annulments of marriages that were entered into invalidly.[121] MacCulloch has noted the "ingenuity" of Roman Catholic lawyers in deploying these in the historical context.[122]
Annulments are not restricted to marriages. A similar process can lead to the annulment of an ordination.[123][124]
Sins against marriage and conjugal chastity
The teaching of the Catholic Church is that marriage may only be between one man and one woman with each partner's free and willing consent for the good of each other and for the transmission of human life.[125][126] The church believes adultery, divorce, remarriage after divorce, marriage without the intent to transmit life, polygamy, incest, child abuse, free union, and trial marriage are sins against the dignity of marriage.[127][128] The church also believes that chastity must be practiced by spouses,[129] and that sins against chastity include lust, masturbation, fornication, pornography, prostitution, rape, incest, child abuse, and homosexuality in any shape or form.[130]
The Catholic Church opposes the introduction of both civil and religious same-sex marriage.[131][132][133][134][135] The Church also holds that same-sex unions are an unfavourable environment for children and that the legalization of such unions damages society.[136]
Leading figures in the Catholic hierarchy, including cardinals and bishops, have publicly voiced or actively opposed legislation of civil same-sex marriage
There are a growing number of Catholics globally who dissent from the official position of the Roman Catholic hierarchy and express support for civil unions or same-sex marriage. In some locations, for example North America, Northern and Western Europe, there is stronger support for
In 2021, the Catholic Church reaffirmed its position: That "the Church does not have the power to give the blessing to unions of persons the same sex".[150] In 2023 the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith clarified that individual sinners may be blessed in non-liturgical settings that do not confuse the simple blessing with sacramental marriage in a decree called Fiducia Supplicans.[151]
See also
- Banns of marriage
- Nuptial Mass
- Christian views of marriage
- Christian views on divorce
- Declaration of nullity
- Defender of the Bond
- Impediment of crime
- Matrimonial dispensation
- Natural marriage
- Pauline privilege
- Vetitum
- Parish register
References
- ^ "CIC".
can. 1055 §1
- ^ Studies in Polish and Comparative Law, forgotten books.com, Retrieved 7 July 2014, Association, Polish Lawyers'. (2013). pp. 156-7. Studies in Polish and Comparative Law: A Symposium of Twelve Articles. London: Forgotten Books. (Original work published 1945)
- ^ ISBN 9780809138449.
The Catholic Church considers marriages of baptized Protestants to be valid marriages. So if two Lutherans marry in the Lutheran Church in the presence of a Lutheran minister, the Catholic Church recognizes this as a valid sacrament of marriage.
- ^ ISBN 9789966081063.
We might remind ourselves here that a marriage between a Catholic and a baptized person that takes place in the Catholic Church, or in another Church with permission from the diocesan bishop, is a sacramental union. Such a marriage is a life-long union and no power on earth can dissolve it.
- ^ "Are non-Catholic marriages valid in the eyes of the Catholic Church? What if a Catholic marries a non-Catholic?". Catholic Answers. 1996. Archived from the original on 21 December 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
Supernatural marriages exist only between baptized people, so marriages between two Jews or two Muslims are only natural marriages. Assuming no impediments, marriages between Jews or Muslims would be valid natural marriages. Marriages between two Protestants or two Eastern Orthodox also would be valid, presuming no impediments, but these would be supernatural (sacramental) marriages and thus indissoluble.
- ^ "Frequently Asked Questions about Marriage in the Catholic Church". Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio. 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
If the wedding is celebrated in the Catholic Church, the priest presides, and a non-Catholic minister can be present as a witness. If the wedding takes place in a non-Catholic church, the minister presides, and a priest/deacon may be present to offer a prayer and blessing.
- ^ a b "Catechism of the Catholic Church – IntraText". Archived from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- ^ Hebrews 13:4
- ISBN 978-0-81465051-6), p. 54
- ^ 1 Corinthians 7:6–9
- ^ a b Reay Tannahill, Sex in history, Abacus
- ^ Karen Armstrong, Christianity's creation of the sex war in the west, London, 1986
- ISBN 0-13-614934-0
- ISBN 978-1-60206534-5), p. 92
- ISBN 978-0-8122-3938-6. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
- ^ John McManners (editor), The Oxford History of Christianity, University of Oxford, 2002, pp. 69-70
- ^ a b "St. Ignatius of Antioch to Polycarp (Roberts-Donaldson translation)". Earlychristianwritings.com. 2 February 2006. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
- ^ "ANF04. Fathers of the Third Century: Tertullian, Part Fourth; Minucius Felix; Commodian; Origen, Parts First and Second – Christian Classics Ethereal Library". Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- ^ 1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:6
- ^ Revelation 1:6
- ^ "ANF04. Fathers of the Third Century: Tertullian, Part Fourth; Minucius Felix; Commodian; Origen, Parts First and Second - Christian Classics Ethereal Library". www.ccel.org. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
- ^ Pearse, Roger. "Tertullian : Ad uxorem". www.tertullian.org. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
- ISBN 978-0-80910149-8), p. 41
- ^ A Library of Fathers of the Holy Catholic Church, Anterior to the Division of the East and West. J.H. Parker. 1842.
- ^ "CHURCH FATHERS: Treatise 2 (Cyprian of Carthage)". Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- ^ a b c d Karen Armstrong,The Gospel According to Woman: Christianity's creation of the sex war in the west, London, 1986
- ISBN 9781610250672. Retrieved 7 November 2016 – via Google Books.
- ISBN 9781610250672. Retrieved 7 November 2016 – via Google Books.
- ISBN 978-876350778-3), p. 94
- ISBN 9781602065178. Retrieved 7 November 2016 – via Google Books.
- ISBN 9780226289595. Retrieved 7 November 2016 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b "CHURCH FATHERS: Letter 50 (Jerome)". Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- ^ Letter 50 (to Domnio) in Charles Mierow (ed) Letters of St Jerome, Paulist Press, 1962
- ^ Fiorenza and Galvin (1991), p. 317
- ISBN 978-1-56548104-6)
- ISBN 978-0-81320867-1), p. 2
- ^ Augustine, On the Good of Marriage, 8
- ^ Fiorenza and Galvin (1991), p. 318
- ISBN 9780198269953.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ISBN 978-0-39104108-0), pp. 270-271
- ISBN 978-0-85244476-4), p. 203
- ^ Adomnan of Iona. Life of St Columba, Penguin Books, 1995
- ^ a b Karen Armstrong, The Gospel According to Women, London, 1986
- ^ "Catechism of the Catholic Church – The sacrament of the Eucharist". Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- ^ "Catechism of the Catholic Church – IntraText". Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- ^ "SUMMA THEOLOGIAE: The other effect of the sacraments, which is a character (Tertia Pars, Q. 63)". Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-45140795-2), vol. 2, p. 320
- ISBN 978-0-78648539-0), p. 105
- ISBN 978-9-00412925-2), p. 240
- ^ "Internet History Sourcebooks Project". Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- ISBN 978-0-66423432-4), p. 92
- ISBN 978-1-13946290-7), p. 98
- ^ Demetrios J. Constantelos, "Practice of the Sacrament of Matrimony according to the Orthodox Tradition" in The Jurist, vol. 31, no. 4 (Fall 1971), p. 620
- ^ Constantelos (1971), p. 621
- ^ Witte (2012), p. 91
- ^ a b Excerpt from Marriage, Sex, and Civic Culture in Late Medieval London "the sacramental bond of marriage could be made only through the freely given consent of both parties"
- ^ "marriage.about.com". marriage.about.com. 16 June 2010. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
- ^ "Marriage Records". Exploregenealogy.co.uk. 29 October 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-89870-781-6.
- ISBN 978-0-86012455-9), p. 92
- ^ Kenneth Pennington, "Pope Alexander III" in Frank J. Coppa (editor), The Great Popes through History: An Encyclopedia Archived 5 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ISBN 978-0-87973669-9), pp. 241-242
- ISBN 978-0-19157888-5)
- ^ Augustinus Lehmkuhl, "Sacrament of Marriage" in Catholic Encyclopedia (New York 1910)
- ^ ISBN 9780809140190.
Bellitto sacramental status.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-80913770-1), p. 134
- ^ "Trent". Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- ^ a b Diarmuid MacCulloch, Reformation: Europe's House Divided 1490–1700, London, 2008, p356
- ^ (reg), CO Now LLC, Chicago. "~The Council of Trent – Session 24~". Retrieved 7 November 2016.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ISBN 978-0-75463782-0), p. 175
- ^ Peter De Cruz, Family Law, Sex and Society (Routledge 2010), p. 27
- ISBN 978-0-80286165-8), p. 237
- ^ Diarmuid MacCulloch, Reformation: Europe's House Divided 1490–1700, London, 2008, p540
- ^ ISBN 978-0-80914066-4), p. 1326
- ISBN 978-0-77351789-9), p. 105
- ISBN 978-1-58901913-3), p. 132
- ^ The Seven Sacraments Altarpiece of Rogier van der Weyden, of which the detail concerning the sacrament of marriage is given above, shows that the presence of a priest and at least two witnesses was customary more than a century before the decree was composed.
- ^ J. Waterworth, The Council of Trent: The Twenty-Fourth Session
- ISBN 978-0-22607789-5), p. 564
- ^ Leonard Shelford, A Practical Treatise on the Law of Marriage and Divorce, pp. 36-37
- ^ James David O'Neill, "Clandestinity (in Canon Law)" in Catholic Encyclopedia (New York 1908)
- ISBN 978-1-86287136-6), p. 75
- ^ "Are non-Catholic marriages valid in the eyes of the Catholic Church? What if a Catholic marries a non-Catholic?". Catholic Answers. 1996. Archived from the original on 21 December 2013. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
Supernatural marriages exist only between baptized people, so marriages between two Jews or two Muslims are only natural marriages. Assuming no impediments, marriages between Jews or Muslims would be valid natural marriages. Marriages between two Protestants or two Eastern Orthodox also would be valid, presuming no impediments, but these would be supernatural (sacramental) marriages and thus indissoluble.
- ^ "Code of Canon Law - Book IV - Function of the Church Liber (Cann. 998–1165)".
Canons 1083–1094
- ^ "Catholic Marriage Resource Centre – Frequently asked questions about marriage". Archived from the original on 19 July 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- ^ Church, St. Joseph's Ukrainian Catholic. "Marriage – St. Joseph's Ukrainian Catholic Church". Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- ^ "CIC 1917: text - IntraText CT". Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- ^ "Code of Canon Law – IntraText". Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- ^ a b c d e "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Mixed Marriage". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
- ^ New Advent: Catholic Encyclopaedia
- ^ ISBN 978-0-80914066-4), p. 1342
- ISBN 978-0385152068.
- ^ "Concordia Theological Monthly". Concordia Publishing House. 1 January 1942. Retrieved 7 November 2016 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b "Code of Canon Law - Book IV - Function of the Church Liber (Cann. 998-1165)".
- ^ Caridi, Cathy (9 August 2007). "Marriage Between a Catholic and a Non-Catholic". canonlawmadeeasy.com. Canon Law Made Easy. Archived from the original on 6 March 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
- ^ "Frequently Asked Questions about Marriage in the Catholic Church". Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio. 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
If the wedding is celebrated in the Catholic Church, the priest presides, and a non-Catholic minister can offer prayers and ask a blessing on the couple. If the wedding takes place in a non-Catholic church, the minister presides, and a priest/deacon may be present to offer a prayer and blessing.
- ISBN 978-0-56761641-8), p. 56
- ^ United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, "Frequently Asked Questions about Marriage" Archived 1 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Code of Canon Law – IntraText". Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- ISBN 978-0-89453651-9), pp. 112-113
- ISBN 971-92171-0-3.
- ISBN 971-92171-0-3.
- ISBN 971-92171-0-3.
- ISBN 971-92171-0-3.
- ISBN 971-92171-0-3.
- ^ "Catechism of the Catholic Church – IntraText". Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- ^ Sacrament of Marriage Archived 4 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Mária Puskely, Károly Vörös, Vilmos Zsidi. A keresztény Európa szellemi gyökerei. Az öreg földrész hagiográfiája. (The Spiritual Roots of Christian Europe. The Hagiography of the Old World). Kairosz Kiadó, Budapest 2004. pp. 38–40, 59, 177–178
- ^ canons 1108–1116
- ^ Tornieli, Andrea (28 July 2017). "Quebec, Nun ministers a Catholic wedding". La Stampa. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
- ISBN 978-0-33402883-3), pp. 298-299 and Syro-Malabar Matrimony Archived 2 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Pope John Paul II (28 June 1988). "Const. Ap, Pastor Bonus". Archived from the original on 23 February 2001. Retrieved 22 July 2009.
Art 67
- ISBN 978-0-80913844-9), q. 27
- ISBN 978-0-52002760-2), p. 113
- ISBN 978-81-7109725-8), p. 411, footnote 38
- ^ "Code of Canon Law – IntraText". Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- ISBN 978-0-81463190-4), p. 15
- ^ "Code of Canon Law – IntraText". Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- ^ "Code of Canon Law – IntraText". Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- ^ "Code of Canon Law – IntraText". Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- ISBN 978-1-86287136-6), pp. 147-194
- ^ Diarmaid MacCulloch, Reformation: Europe's House Divided 1490–1700, London, 2008
- ^ "Code of Canon Law – IntraText". Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- ISBN 978-1-61643175-4), q. 89
- ^ Reason, Marriage Unique for a. "Marriage FAQ's – Marriage Unique for a Reason". Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- ^ "Dictionary : MARRIAGE". www.catholicculture.org. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
- ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2380-2391 Adultery refers to marital infidelity...Divorce is a grave offense against the natural law...[P]olygamy is not in accord with the moral law...Incest designates intimate relations between relatives or in-laws within a degree that prohibits marriage between them...Connected to incest is any sexual abuse perpetrated by adults on children or adolescents entrusted to their care...The expression "free union" is fallacious...Some today claim a "right to a trial marriage" where there is an intention of getting married later. However firm the purpose of those who engage in premature sexual relations may be, "the fact is that such liaisons can scarcely ensure mutual sincerity and fidelity in a relationship between a man and a woman, nor, especially, can they protect it from inconstancy of desires or whim."
- ^ Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 347 and 349 Adultery and polygamy are opposed to the sacrament of matrimony because they contradict the equal dignity of man and woman and the unity and exclusivity of married love. Other sins include the deliberate refusal of one’s procreative potential which deprives conjugal love of the gift of children and divorce which goes against the indissolubility of marriage...The Church, since she is faithful to her Lord, cannot recognize the union of people who are civilly divorced and remarried.
- ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2348-2349 All the baptized are called to chastity... Married people are called to live conjugal chastity;...
- ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church 2351-2357 Lust is disordered desire for or inordinate enjoyment of sexual pleasure..."Both the Magisterium of the Church, in the course of a constant tradition, and the moral sense of the faithful have been in no doubt and have firmly maintained that masturbation is an intrinsically and gravely disordered action."...Fornication is carnal union between an unmarried man and an unmarried woman. It is gravely contrary to the dignity of persons and of human sexuality...Pornography consists in removing real or simulated sexual acts from the intimacy of the partners, in order to display them deliberately to third parties. It offends against chastity...Prostitution does injury to the dignity of the person who engages in it, reducing the person to an instrument of sexual pleasure...Rape is the forcible violation of the sexual intimacy of another person...Graver still is the rape of children committed by parents (incest) or those responsible for the education of the children entrusted to them...homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.
- ^ "Pope Repeats that Same-Sex 'Marriage' is "Anthropological Regression"". National Catholic Register. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
- ^ Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Considerations regarding proposals to give recognition to unions between homosexual persons, 5 Archived 13 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
- ^ "Catholic Church Strongly Opposed To Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage In Md". 2 March 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
- ^ "Submission to Constitutional Convention". Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- ^ a b Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Recognition to Unions between Homosexual Persons, 2003, points 7 and 8
- ^ a b Comment. "We cannot afford to indulge this madness". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 29 April 2012
- ^ a b "Cameroon Catholic lawyers vow to uphold anti-gay laws: News". Africareview.com. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
- ^ a b "Nigerian Catholics congratulate President for making same-sex marriage a crime | Gay Star News". Archived from the original on 13 March 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
- ^ a b "Vatican condemns Spain gay bill". BBC News. 22 April 2005. Retrieved 8 January 2007
- ^ a b "Bishops vow to 'boycott' weddings over gay marriage - Independent.ie". Independent.ie. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
- ^ a b "Bishops issue warning over bid to legalise gay marriages". 29 March 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- ^ a b "Croatia says 'I do' to gay civil unions". Gay Star News. 5 August 2013. Archived from the original on 24 August 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
- ^ Liz Jones (6 June 2012). "Seattle Catholics Divided On Repealing Gay Marriage". NPR.
- ^ Patrick, Joseph (16 April 2013). "France: Archbishop of Paris warns that equal marriage will lead to a more violent society". PinkNews.co.uk. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
- ^ Day, Michael (23 July 2012). "Catholic Church in polygamy attack on civil unions – Europe – World". The Independent. London. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
- ^ "Irish cardinal urges opposition to homosexual civil unions". Catholic News Agency. Armagh, Ireland. 25 August 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
- ^ See *United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. "Refworld | Philippines: Treatment of homosexuals and state protection available (2000-2005)". UNHCR. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
- Newport, Frank (20 May 2011). "For First Time, Majority of Americans Favor Legal Gay Marriage". Gallup. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
- "Survey – Generations at Odds: The Millennial Generation and the Future of Gay and Lesbian Rights". Public Religion Research Institute. 29 August 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
- "Data Points: Support for Legal Same-Sex Marriage". The Chronicle of Higher Education. 16 March 2010. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
- "Pew Forum Part 2: Public Opinion on Gay Marriage". Pew Research Center. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
- "Most Irish people support gay marriage, poll says". PinkNews. 24 February 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
- Jowit, Juliette (12 June 2012). "Gay marriage gets ministerial approval". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
- "Les Français, les catholiques et les droits des couples homosexuels". Ifop.com. 14 August 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
- Report | Catholic Attitudes on Gay and Lesbian Issues: A Comprehensive Portrait from Recent Research Archived April 3, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
- Newport, Frank (20 May 2011). "For First Time, Majority of Americans Favor Legal Gay Marriage".
- ^ Grossman, Cathy Lynn (23 March 2011). "U.S. Catholics break with church on gay relationships". USA Today.
- ^ "Responsum of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to a dubium regarding the blessing of the unions of persons of the same sex". press.vatican.va. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
- ^ "Vatican says priests can bless same-sex couples without condoning their lifestyles". catholic news agency.com. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
External links
- Catechism of the Catholic Church: The Sacrament of Matrimony An authoritative summary of Church teaching on marriage, including the main requirements for the celebration of the sacrament of Marriage.
- Order of the Rite for Celebrating Marriage During Mass Order of a Catholic wedding during Mass, with links to official texts from the Rite of Marriage
- Liberté plus haute… The canon law for dummies.
- Arcanum Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII on Christian Marriage
- Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. .
- Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. .
- Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. .