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Show A CATHOLIC MARRIAGE IS DECLARED NULL Last week in this city a marriage-performed by one of our city pastors was, after a prolonged 'trial, declared null by the matrimonial court of the diocese. Tt was the first case of its kind in the history his-tory of St. Louis. Many similar appeals had in I former years been made for a decree in nullity; but this isthe first time one has been issued. The case is worth recording for the benefit of priests and jeopIe. A young lady from atowu in the interior of the state came to this city for the purpose of marrying mar-rying a young man living here. After consultation they decided to apply to a city rector who had formerly for-merly been the lady's pastor in the country. He is a very careful man. and declined to perform the ceremony without obtaining permission of the pastor pas-tor of the town in the country from which the lady came. This permission was duly obtained, and the marriage was performed in his church in this citv. The matrimonial court of this diocese decided last week that the marriage was null, because the priest in the country who gave the priest in the city permission per-mission to marry the couple had no permission to give, having lost jurisdiction over the lady by her moving from his parish, and the priest who per formed me ceremony, being the parish priest-of neither, and not having permission of the parish priest of either, nor that of the archbishop, was incompetent to assist at the marriage, and it was consequently null and of no effect in canon law. To understand the grounds of this decision it must be borne in mind that St. Louis and a few places in this diocese are under a special dispensation dispensa-tion as regards marriage, the decree of the Council of Trent upon clandestinity having been promulgated, promul-gated, and being in force here. By the effect of this decree Catholics in this city can be married only by their proper parish priest; or. where they belong to two parishes, by the parish priest of either. In certain cases the ordinary can give permission per-mission to any priest to perform "the ceremony. Only three persons, or priests authorized bv the three, can validly assist at a marriage of Catholics in St. Louis. People are restricted to their own parishes when they wish to receive the sacrament of matrimony. This applies to people outside of St. Louis. They-cannot be validly married here, unless they come here to reside permanentlv, aud then they must be married by the parish priest of. the parish where they take up their abode. It j makes no difference whether the parties are aware or tins law or not. It wdl not help matters even if the priest is satisfied he is acting within the law. Catholics who live in St. Louis must be married by their own parish priests, and Catholicsfrom outside out-side the city cannot be married here at all. The law works both ways. Catholics from the city can not go into the country and get married. Where, through want of knowledge or by misrepresenta- tion, such marriages take place, they are null, and will be so declared if brought before" a matrimonial court. The law of Christ against clandestine marriages mar-riages is very strict, and comes down from a time when the domestic relations were very indeterminate. indetermin-ate. In the sixteenth century it was often very difficult dif-ficult to ascertain who were wives and who' were concubines; who were heirs, and who were excluded from inheritance. To fix the status of married couples forever, the Council of Trent enacted a law that Catholics should be married by their own parish priests., before two witnesses, and after three proclamations of the banns in the parish church on three successive Sundays. The - first two requirements it made vital to the contract, and declared that where they were not observed the marriage would be null. This is an interesting and important case, and next week we shall give a fuller account, of the trial and judgment, suppress- ' ing names for obvious reasons. -Western Watchman. |