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Show NEW MARRIAGE LEGISLATION Introduction by the Bishops of the Province Prov-ince of Cincinnati. Venerable Brethren of the Clergy and Beloved Children of the Laity: In compliance with the injunction of our Holy Father, Pope Pius X. we take pleasure in addressing address-ing to you this letter on the all-important subject of Christian marriage, regulated by the recent decree de-cree of the Sovereign Pontiff. This legislation is a new proof of "the spirit of watchfulness and solicitude, which the Church has ever shown in reference to fhe great Sacrament of Matrimony, and which alone should ever entitle her to the gratitude of man and cause her to be regarded re-garded as the most faithful guardian of public and private morality. If so many marriages become, unhappy, and the bond which unites the married couple proves so often a galling yoke, this is to be attributed, in most instances, to the neglect and disregard of the Church's laws in relation thereto." there-to." (II Plenary Council of Baltimore.) Marriage as a natural contract is of Divine institution. in-stitution. We read that after'the creation of Adam, God gave to him Eve as a companio i. "It is not. good for man to be alone; let us make a help like unto himself," said the Lord God, and he created Eve and brought her to Adam. And Adam said: "This is bone- of my bone and flesh of my flesh., Wherefore a man shall leave father and mother and cleave to his wife and they shall be two in one flesh." (Gen. II, 18, 23, 24.) This natural contract was elevated to the dignity dig-nity of a Sacrament by Our Divine Lord. Such has always been the teaching of the Catholic Church. The essence of the Sacrament is the natural nat-ural contract. The contract is made by the free, mutual consent of the contracting parties. Like all contracts, it must fulfill certain, conditions to havIrinTring f orceT4ras?verr the proper regulation regula-tion and greater security of contracts, the mil law lays down certain conditions, the neglect or nonfulfillment non-fulfillment of which renders such contracts null and void; For the transmission of property by will after af-ter death, for instance, certain formalities must be observed byr law, otherwise the will is null and void. Again, the civil law declares certain persons incapable inca-pable of entering into contracts. Those under legal age cannot legally .make debts or dispose of property; prop-erty; nor can they contract marriage. If they do so such contracts have no binding force in law. In many states, the civil law prohibits' marriages, of first cousins. Experience has shown, that these conditions con-ditions enforced by the civil law are for the public welfare. Xcw the Church to whose care Christ entrusted all the Sacraments, has jurisdiction over ths sacv-mental sacv-mental contract, just as the civil power has over urttural contracts. Acting, therefore, on the samj principle as the state, but prompted by a higher and nobler motive, the Church has at all times laid down certain conditions without which she decrees that the matrimonial contract, elevated to th.2 dignity dig-nity of a Sacrament by Our Divine Lord, will be null and void. She has in all past ages established etitain impediments which rendered th? parties affected af-fected thereby incapable of marriage. The spiritual spirit-ual and temporal welfare' of her-ehildren demanded demand-ed such action' on the part of the Church, our mother. One of these impediments is hat ''of Clandestinity, or, that directed against secret marriages. mar-riages. In the sixteenth century, at the Oecumenical Council of Trent, it was decreed, Sess. XXIV, Chap. I, that: "Those who otherwise than in the presence of the parish priest himself, or of another priest acting with the license of two or three witnesses, wit-nesses, shall attempt to contract marriage, the Holy Synod renders such altogether incapable of thus contracting marriage and decrees that contracts of this . kind arc null and void." The decree added that it was not to have force except in those places in which it had been promulgated. The object of this decree was to prevent grave sins and to safeguard safe-guard the unity and stability of Christian marriage. mar-riage. Yielding to the petitions of a large number of Bishops throughout the world, requesting that this decree against clandestinity, as it is called, should be extended to the universal Church, Our Holv Father, through the Sacred Congregation of th? Council, on August 2, 1007, enacted and published the hew law, which will go into effect on Easter Sunday, April 19, 1908. With these few explanations as an introduction, we now communicate to you, Beloved Brethren, the Decree "Xe temere." - DECREE COXCERXIXG BETROTHALS AXD - MATRIMONY. Issued by the Sacred Congregation of the Council by .the Order and With the Authority of Our Holy Father Pope Pius X. The Council of 'Trent, Cap. L Sess.- XXI Vde reform matrim., made prudent provision against the rash celebration of clandestine marriages, which the Church of God for most just reasons has always al-ways detested and forbidden, bv decreeing: "Those who otherwise than in the presence of the parish priest himself or of another priest acting with the license of the parish-priest or of the Ordinary, and in the prccsuce of two or three witnesses, shall attempt at-tempt to contract matrimony, the Holy Synod renders ren-ders them altogether incapable of contracting marriage mar-riage thus, and decrees that contracts of this kind arc null and void." (Continued on Page 5.) ( '0 ' -'" NEW MARRIAGE REGULATIONS. (Continued from Page 1.) But as the same Sacred Council prescribed that said Decree should be published in all the parishes and was not to have force except in those places in which it had been promulgated, it' has happened that many places in which the publication has not been made have been deprived of the benefit' of the Tridcntine law, and are still without it, and continue con-tinue to be subject.to the doubts and inconveniences of the old discipline. Xor has all difficulty been removed in those places where the new law has been in force. For often there has been grave doubt in deciding as to the person of the parish-priest before whom a mar-, riage is to be celebrated. The canonical discipline did indeed decide that he is to be regarded as the parish-priest in. whose parish one or other of the I contracting parties has his or her domicile or quasi-domicile. quasi-domicile. But as it is sometimes difficult to judge whether a quasi-domicile really exists in a specified case, not a few marriages were exposed to the danger dan-ger of nullity; many, too, either owing to ignorance-or ignorance-or fraud, have been found to be quite illegitimate and void. These deplorable results have been seen to happen hap-pen more frequently in our own time on account of the increased facility and celerity of intercommunication intercommu-nication between the' different countries, even to those widely separated. It has therefore seemed expedient to wise and learned men to introduce some change into the law regulating the form of the . celebration of marriage, and a great many Bishops in all parts of the world, but especially iu the more populous states where the necessity, appears ap-pears more urgent, have petitioned the Holy See to this end. . It has been asked also by very many Bishops in Europe, as well as by others in various regions that provisions should be made to prevent the in-e-onvenienccs arising from sponsalia, that is, mutual mu-tual promises to wed, privately entered upon. For experience has sufficiently shown the many dangers dan-gers of such sponsalia, first as being an incitement 1o sin and causing the deception of inexperienced girls, and afterward giving rise to inextricable dissensions dis-sensions and disputes. . Influenced by these circumstances, ' our Holy Father, Pope Tius X, desiring, in the solicitude lift bears for all the churches, to introduce some modifications modi-fications with the object of removing these drawbacks draw-backs and dangers, committed to the S. Congregation Congre-gation of the Council the task of examining into the matter and of -proposing to himself the measures meas-ures it should deem opportune. He was pleased also to have the opinion of the commission appointed for the codification of Canon Law, as well as of the Eminent Cardinals chosen on this special commission for the preparation cf the new code, by whom, as well as by the S- Congregation of the Council, frequent meetings have been held for this purpose. The opinions of all having been taken, His Holiness ordered the Sacred Congregation of the Council to issue a Decree De-cree containing the laws, approved by himself oi-sure oi-sure knowledge and after mature deliberation, by which the discipline regarding sponsalia and marriage mar-riage is to be regulated for the future and the celebration cel-ebration of them carried out in a sure and orderly manner. In execution, therefore, of the Apostolic mandate, man-date, the Sacred Congregation of the Council oy these letters lays down and decrees what follows: CONCERNING.' SPONSALIA. I. Only those are considered valid and produce canonical effects, which have been contracted in writfng signed by both the parties and by either tin-parish-priest or the Ordinary of the place, or at; least by two witnesses. In case one or both the parties be unable to write, this fact is to be noted in the document and ' another witness is to be aelded who will sign the writing as above, with the parish-priest or the Ordinary Or-dinary of the place or the-two witnesses. II. Here and in the following articles by-parish-priest is to be understooel not only a priest legitimately le-gitimately presiding over a parish canonicall.y erected, but in regions where parishes are not canonicall.y can-onicall.y erected, the priest to whom the care of soulsJias been legitimately entrusted in any specified speci-fied enstrict and who is equivalent to a pavish-pricst; pavish-pricst; and in missions where the territory has nor yet been perfectly divided, every priest gcneraHv deputed by the superior of the mission for the-care the-care of souls in any station. 1 CONCERNING MARRIAGE. III. Only those marriages are valid which arc contracteel before the parish-priest or the Ordinary of the place or a priest elelegated by either of these, and at least, two witnesses, according to the rules laiel down in the following articles, and saving the exceptions mentioned unelcr VII and VIII. IV. The parish-pritst and the Ordinary of the place validly assist at a marriage: i) only from the day they have taken possession of the benefice or entered upon their office, unless they have been by a public decree excommunicated by name or suspended from, the office; ii) only within the limits of their territory ; -within which they assist validly at marriages not only of their own subjects, but also of those not subject to them ; iii) provided when invited and asked, and not ' compelled by violence or by grave fear, they demand de-mand and receive the consent of the contracting parties. ' V. They assist licitly: i) when they have legitimately ascertained the free state of the contracting parties, having duly complied with the conditions laid down by the law; ii) when they have ascertained that one of the contracting parties has a domicile or at least has lived for a month in the place where the marriage takes place; . iii) if this condition be lacking the parish-priest , and the Ordinary of the plaee, to assist licitly at a marriage, require the permission of the parish-priest parish-priest or the Ordinary of one of the contracting parties, unless it be a case of grave necessity, which excuses from this permission; iv) concerning persons with fixed abode (vagos)-exeept (vagos)-exeept in case of necessity it is not lawful for a p.irish-priest to assist at their marriage, until they report the matter to the Ordinary or to a priest delegated by him and obtain permission to rrssist; v) in every case let it be held as the rule that the marriage is to be celebrated before the parish priest of the bride, unless some just cause excuse? from this. VI. The parish-priest and the Ordinary of the " place may grant permission to another priest, specified spe-cified and e-ertain, to assist at marriages within the limits of their district. The elelegated priest, in order to assist validlv and licitly. is bound to observe the limits of his mandate and the rules laid down above, in IV and V, for the parish-priest and the Ordinary of the place. VII. When danger of death is imminent and. where the parish-priest or the Ordinary of the place or a priest elelegated by either of these can not be had, in order to provide for the relief of -conscience and (should, the case require it) for the legitimation of offspring, marriage may be contracted con-tracted validly and licitly before any priest and two witnesses. VIII. Should it happen that in any district the parish-priest or the Ordinary of the place or n priest delegated by either of them, before whom marriage can be celebrated, is not to be had, and that this condition of things has lasted for a month, marriage may bo validly and licitly entered upon by the formal declaration of consent made bv the spouses in the presence of two witnesses. IX. i) After the celebration of a marriage the parish-priest or he who takes his place is to write at once in the book of marriages the names of the couple and the witnesses, the place anel day of the celebration of the marriage, and the other details, -according to the method prescribed in the ritual books or by the Ordinary; and this even when an- i other priest elelegated either by the parish-priest himself or by the Ordinary has assisted at the mar- ' riage. N i ii) Moreover the parish-priest is to note also 4 in the book of baptisms, that the married person contracted marriage on such a day in his parish If the married person has been baptized elsewhrr .'. ' the parish-priest who has assisted at the marriage is to transmit, either directly or through the epis- copal curia, the announcement of the marriage that L has taken place, to the parish-priests of the place ' where the person was baptized, in order that the 4 marriage may be inscribeel in the book of baptisms iii) Whenever a marriage is contracted in the manner described in VII and VIII, the priest in ' the former case, the witnesses in the latter arc bound conjointly with the contracting parties to ;( provide that the marriage be inscribed as soon as ( possible in the prescribed books. X. Parish-priests who violate the rules thus far laid down are to be punished by their Ordinaries i according to the nature and gravity of their transgression. trans-gression. Moreover, if they assist at the marriage of anybody in violation of the rules laid down in ii) and iii) of No. V, they are not to appropriate the stole-fees but must remit them to the parish-priest parish-priest of the contracting parties. XI. i) The above laws are binding on all persons per-sons baptized in the Catholic Church and on those who have been converted to it from heresy or schism, (even when 'cither the latter or the former ha3 fallen away afterward from the Church 1 whenever they contract sponsalia or marriage with one another. - . ii) Non-Catholics, whether baptized or unbap- tized. who contract among themselves, are nowhere no-where bound to observe the Catholic form of sponsalia spon-salia or marriage. v The present decree is to be held as legitimately publisheel and promulgated by its transmission to 1 the Ordinaries, and its provisions begin to have th.' force of jaw from the solemn feast of the Resurrection Resur-rection ot Our Lord Jesus Christ, next year lW)t-'Meanwhile lW)t-'Meanwhile let all the Ordinaries of place's sec that this decree be made public as soon as possible and explained in the different parochial churches of their dioceses in order that it mav be known by all.1 These presents are to have force by the special order of our Most Holy Father Pius X. all things to the contrary, even those worthy of spee-ial mention, men-tion, to the. contrary notwithstanding. Given at Rome on the 2d day of August in tho year 1007. VINCENT. Card Bishp. of Palestrina, Prefect. C. DE LAI, Secretary. (To be continued.) |
