Christian Preparedness Guides Part 1
I start off this new article series titled “Christian Preparedness Guides” with the Sacrament of Marriage. Marriage is one of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church and is obviously fundamental to society and the Church.
Since the current situation is unprecedented and I am just a layman, I will limit myself in this article to quote Canon Law with some explanations and share an extract from the brilliant book „Gemeinden ohne Seelsorger“ (“Parishes without a Priest”), published 1874 in Paderborn, Germany, with ecclesiastical approbation. I published large parts of the book on my site before. The book gives Catholics ideas on how to carry on with the life of the faith if there is no priest or no legitimate priest is available.
Canon Law
I would like to quote three pertinent paragraphs from Canon Law.
“The consent of the parties, legitimately manifested between persons qualified by law, makes marriage; no human power is able to supply this consent.” (Can. 1057 §1)
This establishes the fact that the consent of the two spouses is the main component of a valid marriage. Although under normal circumstances, the presence of a priest or a deacon is required (see Can. 1108), it is not the priest who confers the sacrament on the two parties.
Canon 843 §1, which I have referenced before and will reference again, states: “Sacred ministers cannot deny the sacraments to those who seek them at appropriate times, are properly disposed, and are not prohibited by law from receiving them.”
In other words, priests are not allowed to hinder a man and a woman who can get married and want to get married at getting married. Neither is anyone else allowed to hinder them: not the government, not their parents and not anyone else. Marriage is a natural right. This means that the priest can’t just for example say: “well, there is a virus going around, so all weddings are postponed”.
The next key passage in Canon Law is Canon 1116:
“If a person competent to assist according to the norm of law cannot be present or approached without grave inconvenience, those who intend to enter into a true marriage can contract it validly and licitly before witnesses only:
1/ in danger of death;
2/ outside the danger of death provided that it is prudently foreseen that the situation will continue for a month.
§2. In either case, if some other priest or deacon who can be present is available, he must be called and be present at the celebration of the marriage together with the witnesses, without prejudice to the validity of the marriage before witnesses only.”
In other words, Catholics can contract marriage only in front of witnesses, if no priest is available and this situation is probably going to last over a month.
From the book “Parishes without a Priest”
[…]
The essence of marriage consists in the mutual, uncoerced, well thought out consent of the spouses to take each other in marriage. But for the marriage to be valid, it must be entered into in accordance with the conditions laid down by the Church for its validity. […] The so-called civil marriage is not an ecclesiastically valid marriage, but merely has a civil effect. The Church requires for marriages:
1) that no impediment to marriage exists between the bride and groom or, if such an impediment exists, that it be removed beforehand by ecclesiastical dispensation;
2) that the bride and groom declare their mutual consent to the marriage in the presence of their own parish priest and two witnesses.
[This is followed by a long explanation about various impediments to marriage. Some make marriage impossible, such as a pre-existing marriage, or consanguinity; other impediments make the marriage illicit but valid (e.g. a vow of chastity or belonging to another denomination). The Church can dispense from the latter.]
[…]
- The priest [or bishop] must be one’s own parish priest [or bishop]; this is the case if either the bride or the groom lives in his parish. If he is unable to provide pastoral care, but can still be reached easily (by traveling), the couple may go to him.
- With the permission of the bishop or parish priest, the marriage may be contracted before another priest.
- No ecclesiastically valid marriages may be contracted before a clergyman who is not nominated by the Church but merely by the secular authorities as a parish priest.
As long as it is at all possible, a Roman Catholic priest must be sought out. […]
But what if whole regions were without a priest and a priest could not be reached even by traveling? There is also advice for this. For important reasons, the pope can dispense from the application of the provision of the Tridentine Council and allow a valid marriage to be contracted without the presence of a priest.
At the time of the aforementioned revolution in France, the ecclesiastical blessing of marriages was completely impossible there. Most of the priests had been driven out, many had been murdered, and only a few were still hiding here and there. […] In 1793, Pius VI issued a rescript in which it says: “Since the majority of the faithful there cannot have a legitimate parish priest at all, marriages contracted by them before witnesses, without the presence of a parish priest, will be both valid and permitted if nothing else (that is, no impediment to marriage) stands in the way, as has been repeatedly declared by Sacred Congregation of the Interpreters of the Council of Trent.”
The Congregation mentioned here by the pope (S. Congregatio Cardinalium Concilii Trid. Interpretum) declared, for example, on Sept. 26, 1602: “If a parish church is vacant, i.e. without a parish priest, and likewise the cathedral church is without a bishop and chapter, who have the authority to delegate (i.e. authorize) another priest to bless a marriage; and there is no one else there, who represents the parish priest or the bishop, then the marriage is valid without the presence of the parish priest, provided that the norms of the Council are observed, where it is possible, that is, at least two witnesses are present. If the parish priest or the bishop are there, but both of them have gone into hiding out of fear of the heretics, without nominating a representative, and one doesn’t know where there are; or if they are staying outside of the diocese due to this fear, and one cannot get to either of them safely (si non sit tutus accessus), then the marriage contracted without the Tridentine form (without a parish priest) is valid, provided that there are two witnesses, as stated.”
The term “representative” is to be understood here as any priest who is authorized by the parish priest (for the parish) or the bishop (for the entire diocese) to bless marriages. The case established by the Sacred Congregation would therefore only occur if the bride and groom were unable to find a legitimate Roman Catholic priest. It is also assum ed that there is no impediment to marriage, or that it has previously been lifted by a dispensation.
[According to the current Code of Canon Law, the parish priest or the bishop may also assign a deacon to represent him.]
[…] (original article)