Marriage in the Catholic Church: Notes

Definition of Marriage

• Family Code of the Philippines:
  • A special contract creating a permanent union between a man and a woman.
  • Entered in accordance with the law.
  • Purpose: establishment of conjugal and family life
• Code of Canon Law:
  • An intimate community of life and love, established by the Creator and endowed with its own proper laws.
  • God is the author.
  • Characterized by unity (monogamy) and indissolubility (permanence).
  • Between one man and one woman, who promise to be faithful to each other.
  • A partnership for the good of the spouses, who are open to the procreation and education of children.
  • A partnership of life and love in which a man and a woman mutually and freely accept each other and bestow on each other the very gift of themselves.

Presumption of Validity and Sacramentality

• Marriages are always presumed valid until proven otherwise.
• If a marriage involves two baptized Christians, it is presumed not only valid but also sacramental.
• If one or both parties are unbaptized, the marriage still is presumed to be valid and a good and natural bond.
• Marriage is a lifetime, exclusive partnership between one man and one woman, who give and receive mutual help and love and, from their union, bring forth and rear children.

Requisites for Marriage

• Essential Requisites:
  • Legal capacity
    • Age
    • Not under any impediment to marry (Article 37 and Article 38 of the Family Code)
  • Consent
  • Solemnizing officer
• Formal Requisites:
  • Authority of the solemnizing officer
  • A valid marriage license
  • Marriage ceremony
• Consequences of Absence/Defect/Irregularity:
  • Absence of any essential or formal requisite: marriage is void ab initio (void from the very start).
  • Defect in any essential requisite: marriage is voidable.
  • Irregularity in the formal requisites: does not affect the validity of the marriage, but the responsible party/parties will be civilly, criminally, and administratively liable.

Tripod of Marriage Validity

• Capacity
• Consent
• Canonical Form

Capacity: Diriment Impediments

• Can. 1073: “A diriment impediment renders a person incapable of validly contracting a marriage.”

• Diriment impediments: anything that hinders the free action of an agent in contracting marriage.

  • "Dirimens" means "opposed to the validity of the matrimonial contract."
    • Gravely prohibit marriage
    • Oppose a valid celebration of marriage
  • Affect the juridical capacity of a person to contract a valid marriage.

• Purpose of Impediments:

  • To guarantee the good of the entire community (protect the stability of marriage and family).
  • To avoid damage inflicted either personally or directly to a partner.
  • Related to a system of values.

• Juridical Relevance:

  • A marriage celebrated by an ineligible person renders the celebration unlawful and the marriage contract invalid ipso jure (by the law itself).

Classifications of Impediments

• Of Divine vs. Ecclesiastical Law:
  • Divine Law: founded on God’s law.
  • Ecclesiastical Law: established by the Church for her faithful.
• Absolute vs. Relative:
  • Absolute: hinders a person from contracting marriage with anyone.
  • Relative: hinders a person from contracting marriage with a particular person.
• Perpetual vs. Temporary:
  • Perpetual: by its very nature, can never cease.
  • Temporary: ceases by the passing of time or by dispensation.
• Public vs. Occult:
  • Public: can be proved in the external forum.
  • Occult: cannot be demonstrated in the ecclesiastical court unless divulged although it may be legally or simply be proven.

Impediments of Divine and Natural Law (cannot be dispensed)

• Impotence
• Previous Bond
• Consanguinity (all degrees of Direct Line and up to 2nd degree of collateral line)

Impediments of Ecclesiastical Law (dispensation reserved to the Holy See)

• Sacred Order
• Public Perpetual Vow of Chastity
• Crime

Impediments of Ecclesiastical Law (dispensation can be given by local Ordinary)

• Age
• Disparity of Cult
• Abduction
• Collateral Line of Consanguinity
• Affinity
• Public Propriety
• Adoption

I. Age

• Minimum age:
  • 16 for man, 14 for woman (historically).
  • In the Philippines, 18 years old for both man and woman.
• Impediment of ecclesiastical law, may be dispensed by local Ordinary.
• In danger of death and in urgent necessity, this may be dispensed with due consideration to the biological maturity necessitated by marriage as well as a just and proportionate reason.
• A man must complete his 16th year, and a woman must complete her 14th year.
• Parental Consent/Advice (Philippines):
  • If the contracting parties are between the ages of 18 and 21, they must present written consent to the marriage from their father, mother, or legal guardian (Art. 14, Family Code).
  • Any contracting party between the age of 21 and 25 must present written parental advice, i.e., a written indication that the parents are aware of the couple's intent to marry (Art. 15, Family Code).
  • Art. 2 (FCP, 1987).
    *Case Narrative:
    *Ji-ho, a 15-year-old Filipino Catholic, has been dating Ji-ha, a 13-year- old Filipino Catholic. They had been dating for two months and were already having premarital sex. Four months later, Ji-ha missed her period and, with a pregnancy test kit, found out she was pregnant. She told her parents about it. They told Ji-ho and Ji-ha to get married to ensure the child would have a father and a mother.
• Can they validly marry in the Catholic Church?
• No

II. Impotence

• Purpose: Protects the integrity of marriage, particularly its procreative end.
• Can. 1084: §§1-3 – inability to procreate, to execute the conjugal act, or to consummate the marriage.

*Case Narrative:
*Hyun Bin was born with a rare condition. His sexual organ was not fully developed and despite several surgeries, his organ could still not function. Ye-jin knew about Hyun Bin’s condition, but she loves him so much that she agreed to marry him.

• Can they validly marry?
• NO

III. Previous Bond

• Purpose: Protects the integrity of marriage and the stability of conjugal and family relations.
• Can. 1085: §§1-2
  *Case Narrative:
  *Jong Suk married Kang So in 2000. After six months of marriage, they separated ways and were able to obtain a civil affirmative decision on the nullity of their marriage. In 2001, he met Se-ri. Quite certain that she would be a good wife, he proposed marriage to her.
• Can Jong Suk validly marry Se-ri?
• NO

IV. Disparity of Cult

• Purpose: To preserve the Christian faith in the family.
• Can. 1085: §§1-2
• A marriage is invalid when one of the 2 persons was baptized in the Catholic Church or received into it while the other was not baptized.
• The impediment is of ecclesiastical law and so can be dispensed.
• However, certain conditions should be fulfilled:
  1. On the Part of the Catholic:
     • Declaratio of avoiding any danger of defection from the faith,
     • Promissio of baptizing and educating the children in the Catholic Faith;
  2. On the part of the non-baptized:
     • He/she must be informed about the promise and the obligation of the Catholic Partner;
  3. Both must be instructed on the ends and essential properties of marriage that must not be excluded by anyone of them.
     *Case Narrative:
     *Adam, a devout Catholic, works in Saudi Arabia. There, he met Eve, a Muslim. After a two-year relationship as girlfriend and boyfriend, they decided to marry. Adam wants their marriage to be celebrated in the Catholic Church.
• Can they validly marry in the Catholic Church?
• NO, UNLESS THEY WILL GET THE DISPENSATION OF THE LOCAL ORDINARY FIRST.

V. Sacred Orders

• Purpose: To preserve religious values in the community and the dignity of the sacrament of ordination.
• Can. 1087
• Founded on the obligation of celibacy of ordained ministers.
• Dispensation from the impediment of Holy Orders is rarely obtained.
• It is granted only for very grave and truly just reasons and only from the Holy See directly.
• Deacons may be dispensed by the local Ordinary in danger of death.
  *Case Narrative:
  *After ten years as an ordained priest, John bumped into Jane, his former girlfriend. After going out with her several times, he fell in love with her again. He wanted to marry her, but he also loves his ministry as a priest and could not bear the thought of leaving it.
• Can he marry secretly and continue to be a priest?
• NO

VI. Public Perpetual Vow of Chastity

• Can. 1088
• Purpose: To preserve religious values in the community
• Consecrated men and women (monks and nuns) bound by a permanent public vow of religion.
• This impediment ceases with the dispensation of the vow itself by the competent Church authority.

*Case Narrative:
*Sr. Ji-hyun, made her perpetual profession in 2010. In 2013, she met Jun, who approached her for some advice. Their meetings became frequent, and their relationship developed. Jun confessed his feelings to her. She also admitted that she has learned to love him. In 2014, she asked the Holy See for permission to live outside the convent for a year. There, she continued meeting Jun. After six months, she finally decided to marry him.

• Can she validly marry Jun?
• NO, unless Sr. Ji-hyun gets a dispensation from the Holy See.

VII. Abduction

• Can. 1089
• Purpose: To protect the freedom of the person to marry
• The abductor may be the man himself or another acting as his agents.
• It is technically applicable and exclusively relevant to women only.
• Actual abduction or detention of the woman with the intention of marrying her.
• It exists even when the woman initially went willingly with the man but subsequently held against her will upon knowing his marriage intention or eloped with him but subsequently also held against her will upon her refusal to marry him ultimately.
  *Case Narrative:
  *Park Hun, Son-jin's longtime secret admirer, kidnapped her with the intention of marrying her. He threatened to kill her if she refused to marry him. Son-jin has fearfully agreed to marry him. Park Hun made her promise to convince the priest that she is marrying him voluntarily. Having been assured of her promise, he arranged their marriage in the nearby Catholic parish.
• Can they validly marry?
• NO.

VIII. Crime

• Purpose: Protect human life and the integrity of consortium. The murderer for the sake of marriage should not be rewarded by that marriage; partners in crime should never be partners in marriage.
• Can. 1090: §§1-2
  *Case Narrative
  *Ji-won, a married man, is in an illicit affair with Lee, who was married as well. They poisoned their respective spouses so that they can marry each other.
• Can Ji-won and Lee marry validly in the Catholic Church?
• NO.

IX. Consanguinity

• Can. 1091 §§1-4
• Purpose: protect integrity of marriage, and the stability of conjugal and family life
• Relationship by blood
• All degrees in the direct line of consanguinity.
• Up to fourth degree collateral line (dispensation is possible for 3rd and 4th degree).
  *Case Narrative:
  *Ji-chang's parents gave him up for adoption to a wealthy family, who then brought him to the United States. He did not know his biological parents and siblings. Ji-chang returned to the Philippines after twenty years. He met Suzy, who was his biological sister. They fell in love with each other and decided to marry after three years.
• Can they validly marry?
• NO

X. Affinity

• Canon 1092
• Purpose: protect integrity of marriage, and the stability of conjugal and family life
• Juridical relationship arising from marriage and existing between one spouse and the blood relatives of the other spouse
• Prohibits marriage between one surviving spouse and all the blood relatives of the dead spouse in the ascending or descending direct line and in all degrees.
• Admits dispensation but rarely heard of because of basic decency.
  *Case Narrative:
  *Wang-chu, a 40-year-old widower, fell in love with So-yun, her former wife’s 55 year-old biological mother. After two years of dating, they are now planning to marry.
• Can they validly marry?
• NO

XI. Public Propriety

• Purpose: protect integrity of marriage, and the stability of conjugal and family life
• Canon 1093
• Arises when a couple live together (in an invalid marriage) or cohabitated in notorious concubinage
• Prohibits marriage between the man and the blood relatives of the woman (first degree ascending or descending direct line) and vice versa.
  *Case Narrative:
  *Cha-in, a 35-year-old single mother, has been cohabiting with Chonin for five years. After five years, living together had become toxic for them and they mutually decided to separate. Chonin, though, kept in communication with Che-Che, Cha-in’s only daughter. He fell in love with her and proposed to marry her.
• Can Chonin validly marry Che-Che?
• NO

XII. Legal Relationship

• Purpose: protect integrity of marriage, and the stability of conjugal and family life
• Canon 1094
  *Case Narrative
  *Ka Tony, a 50-year-old widower, fell in love with Ka-ha, her previous wife's adoptive daughter. They wanted to marry after being in a relationship for five years.
• Can they validly marry in the Catholic Church?
• NO

(b) Consent

• An act of the will by which a man and a woman by an irrevocable covenant mutually give and receive one another for the purpose of establishing a marriage (Can. 1057).
• Can. 1057§1: "A marriage is brought into being by the lawfully manifested consent of persons who are legally capable. This consent cannot be supplied by any human power."
  • Consent is absolute necessary.
  • Exchange of consent must follow the solemnities prescribed by law.
  • Only legally capable persons can give their consent.
• Its object are the essential elements/properties and specific rights and duties of marriage
• In giving his/her consent, the contracting party is presumed to have the intention of establishing a PERMANENT UNION.
• Cann. 1095-1107
• PURPOSE: uphold and safeguard the integrity of human persons in the act of choosing marriage.
  • persons contracting marriage must be WELL-INFORMED and FREE from SERIOUS CONSTRAINT and DECEIPT.

Factors Vitiating Consent

• A. Psychosomatic Incapacity
  • Lack of Sufficient Use of Reason (can. 1095 §1)
  • Lack of Due Discretion of Judgment (can. 1095 §2)
  • Incapacity to fulfill the essential rights and duties of marriage (can. 1095 §3)
• B. Cognitive Incapacity
  • Ignorance (can. 1096 §§1-2)
  • Error (can. 1097 §§1-2)
  • Fraud/Deceit (can. 1098)
• C. Volitive Incapacity (Full and Free Consent)
  • Exclusion (can. 1101 §2)
  • Conditional Consent (can. 1102)
  • Force and Fear (can. 1103)

Grounds for Defective Consent

• INTEGRALITY OF MATRIMONIAL CONSENT
  • a. Lack of Use of Reason
  • b. Grave Lack of Due Discretion of Judgment
  • c. Incapacity to assume the essential obligations of marriage

(1) Psychosomatic Incapacity:

• Canon 1095: Requires contracting parties to have the capacity to:
  • THINK RATIONALLY (use of reason)
  • DECIDE RESPONSIBLY (discretion of judgment)
  • CARRY OUT DECISION BY ACTION (psychological capacity to fulfill the obligations of marriage)

(A) USE OF REASON:

• does not refer to the content of the intellect but to the fundamental ability to know.
• The use of reason must be “sufficient” to understand that marriage is a community of conjugal life for the good of the spouses and the generation and education of children.
  *Case Narrative:
  *Benedict (25 y/o) and Yasmin (24 y/o) met at a business conference in January 2020. They felt strongly attracted to each other and became a couple in less than a week. After a month, Benedict proposed marriage to Yasmin, which she gladly accepted. The night before the wedding, at the bachelor party, Benedict took drugs and had too much to drink. Early the following day, Benedict went to the altar and exchanged consent with Yasmin, apparently still under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
• Was Benedict’s consent valid?
• No

(B) DUE DISCRETION OF JUDGMENT:

• capacity to intend and to will, sufficient knowledge, sufficient deliberation and sufficient internal freedom.
  *Case Narrative:
  *Kristine and Paul have been exclusively dating since their sophomore years in high school. Even then, they had already been engaging in pre-marital sex. Kristine got pregnant in her senior year in college. To spare her family from embarrassment and avoid disappointing her devoutly Catholic parents, Kristine and Paul decided to marry before graduation.
• Was the consent they exchanged valid?
• No

(c) Psychological capacity to assume the obligations of marriage

*Case Narrative:
*Jojie met Lilibeth and was smitten with her. He pursued her even after knowing about her reputation for infidelity. Due to his insistence, Lilibeth agreed to be in a relationship with him. However, she continued having an affair with another man. Hoping that marriage would change her, Jojie proposed to her, and they got married. They were happy in the first few months, but after, Lilibeth started falling back to her old ways.

• Was Lilibeth’s consent valid?
• No

Capacities Compared

(2) COGNITIVE INCAPACITY:

(a) IGNORANCE

• Can. 1096 §1 For matrimonial consent to exist, it is necessary that the contracting parties be at least not ignorant of the fact that marriage is a permanent partnership between a man and a woman, ordered to the procreation of children through some form of sexual cooperation.
• §2 This ignorance is not presumed after puberty.

Minimum knowledge:

• Marriage is a permanent consortium
• Consortium is between a man and a woman
• Ordered to the procreation of offspring
• Sexual cooperation is needed to have children
  *Case Narrative:
  *Adanna, a 15-year-old African girl was arranged to marry Ajani (20- year-old). In their tribe, girls usually marry once they hit puberty. Adanna, who was still fond of playing around with kids, never thought about marriage. Yet, she obeyed her parents’ wishes. Her parents did not talk to her about marriage or what it entails so Adanna does not even know that to be pregnant, she has to have sexual intercourse with her husband.
• Is her consent valid?
• No

(b) ERROR (erroneous/ false judgment)

• Did Dolly’s error about Clyde’s quality invalidate her consent?
• No

*Case Narrative:
*Dolly grew up in an impoverished family. They barely had anything to eat. Because of this, she vowed that she would only marry a rich guy. Through her sacrifices and hard work, she graduated and was able to work in a big company. Once, when she was sent to a conference, she met Clyde, who dazzled her with his charm and wealth. So, when he asked her to marry him, she did not hesitate to say yes. After marriage, however, she finds out that Clyde has a mountain of debts. His creditors are running after him, and his bank account is empty.

• Did Dolly’s error about Clyde’s quality constitute a defect in consent?
• Yes.

*Case Narrative:
*Kathy, a US Citizen, and Michael are good friends. They met when Kathy went to the Philippines for a short vacation. In search of a greener pasture, Michael proposed marriage to Kathy. Kathy, who was never told that marriage is indissoluble and never had any good role models, accepted his proposal, thinking they could divorce after four years.

• Can Kathy give valid consent?
• No.

(c) FRAUD

• Fraud
  • coolly, calculated act of deception done to induce the person into the marriage:
  • quality of the other party, which can disturb gravely, by its nature, the consortium of conjugal life.
  • Can. 10..
• an act through which a person is misled into error about the quality of the other party (e.g misrepresentation, lies or even silence)
• done to secure matrimonial consent
• potentially disruptive of conjugal harmony

*Case Narrative:
*Ashton was a troubled young man who had been in and out of a rehabilitation center for drug dependents. He was discharged from rehab in 2019. That year he met Jinky and courted her. After a month, they officially became a couple. Ashton discovered Jinky’s aversion to drug dependents because she grew up watching how her drug-dependent father would beat up her mom and waste his life on drugs. She mentioned to her once that she would never marry a man who uses drugs. Wanting to marry him, Ashton hid the truth from her and proposed marriage before she found out about his stay in rehab.

• If Jinky were to accept Ashton’s marriage proposal, can Ashton and Jinky give valid consent?
• No

VOLITIVE INCAPACITY

• Can. 1101 §1 The internal consent of the mind is presumed to conform to the words or the signs used in the celebration of a marriage.
• §2 If, however, either or both of the parties should, by a positive act of will exclude marriage itself or any essential element of marriage or any essential property, such party contracts invalidly.

(a) EXCLUSION (TOTAL/PARTIAL)

• One or both parties reject:
  • Marriage itself (Total Simulation)
  • Indissolubility
  • Unity
  • Sacramental Dignity
  • Procreative End of Marriage

*Case Narrative:
*Ellie is the eldest child in the brood of nine. Her parents worked to provide for the big family, so her siblings were often left in her care. Because of this, she resolved not to have a child of her own. So, when Gino proposed marriage, she accepted but decided to avoid pregnancy.

• Is Ellie’s consent valid?
• No

*Case Narrative:
*Bryan is a closet homosexual. He knew that his father, a top-ranking military official, would disown him if he finds out his secret. An only child, his parents constantly badgered him to find a wife to marry. So, Bryan decided to marry Marian, whom he had just met. He did not want to marry her but did so to get his parents off his back.

• Is Bryan’s consent valid?
• No

(b)CONDITIONS

• Condition is a circumstance attached to the consent.
• The validity of the marriage is made dependent on the verification of the circumstance.

• Past and Present Condition: valid if the condition is fulfilled at the time of marriage
• Future Condition (intention is to suspend the effect of the commitment): invalid

*Case Narrative:
*Mario, an Italian photographer, was assigned to cover an event in Poland. There, he met Bianka (Polish) and was attracted to her. Not wanting a long-distance relationship, he helped her find work in Italy and cohabited with her there. Now, Mario works for a Catholic organization. At work, he had repeatedly been asked about the status of his relationship with Bianka. He did want to marry Bianka but was hesitant to do so because of her constant smoking, which he finds extremely annoying. To remedy the situation, he talked with her and told her clearly that he would marry her if she quit smoking. Bianka promised she would. Mario, thinking that Bianka had already quit smoking, married her.

• Will Mario’s consent be valid even if Bianka did not stop smoking?
• No

*Case Narrative:
*Before marrying Julie, Kevin asked her if her family had a history of mental illness. He placed a condition that he would only marry her if she could assure him that no one in his family had a mental illness.

• Is the condition placed in the consent valid?
• No

*Case Narrative
*Ben married Jonna, a law student. Before proposing, Ben specifically told Jonna that he would honor his marriage only if she will pass the board exam. Jonna was confident she will ace the bar exam and so, she did not pay heed to Ben’s condition.

• If Jonna passes the Bar exams, will the marriage be valid?
• No
• If Jonna fails the Bar exams, will the marriage be valid?
• No

( c) FORCE OR GRAVE FEAR

• Can. 1103 A marriage is invalid which was entered into by reason of force or of grave fear imposed from outside, even if not purposely, from which the person has no escape other than by choosing marriage.
• One cannot validly enter marriage by force or with grave fear which seriously compromises a person’s marital freedom.
• External coercion contradicts the very nature of marriage as an intimate partnership of life and love.
• When FORCE exerted is IRRESISTIBLE whether ADVERTENTLY/INADVERTENTLY whether the INTENTION is MARRIAGE OR NOT, marriage is INVALID

*Case Narrative:
*Yna and Ino had been in a secret relationship for four years. They love each other very much but cannot get married because Yna’s parents wanted her to marry Jack, a family friend. Since childhood, Yna has worked hard to please and get the approval of her perfectionist parents. Nevertheless, she bravely told them about her relationship with Yno and her desire to marry him. Her parents threatened to disown her and never speak with her again if she continued with her plan. Afraid of disappointing them, she married Jack instead.

• Is Yna’s consent valid?
• No

(c) Canonical Form

• Constitutive procedure for the celebration of marriage as stipulated by Church law

TRIPOD OF MARRIAGE VALIDITY

• NB: A defect in any of these renders canonical marriage NULL AND VOID AB INITIO
• PURPOSE:
  • Marriage is a public/Church institution.
  • Requires intervention of competent authority which represents the respective community.
  • Legal clarity and certainty
  • Protection and welfare of individual

CANONICAL FORM

• couple who must be present in person or by proxy in very exceptional cases. They should externally and explicitly signify and exchange their mutual consent or through words or signs themselves or thru an interpreter
• Minister:
  1. bishop, priest or deacon who assist at the marriage.
  2. Ordained Official Witness:
     • wherever there is lack of priests and deacons, the diocesan bishop can delegate lay persons to assist at marriages with the previous favorable vote of the episcopal conference and after having obtained the permission of the Holy See
  3. Lay Official Church Witness:
     • Requirement for a lay person to assist at marriage:
       • Competent to give instructions to those to be married,
       • And able to perform the matrimonial liturgy correctly
  4. Two Common Witnesses:
     • minimum requirements are sufficient use of reason and knowledge of the nature of marriage.
     • marriage without QUALIFIED WITNESS possible in two instances:
       • (1) danger of death;
       • (2) apart from danger of death provided that it is prudently foreseen that the same conditions will continue to prevail for a month
  5. Extraordinary Form:
     • Binds couple, at least one of whom is baptized in the Catholic Church.
     • May be obtained for mixed marriage and disparity of cult on the ff conditions:
       • Local Ordinary of the intended place of marriage was consulted
       • the norms of Episcopal Conference on the requisites and manner of granting a dispensation has been complied with
       • marriage should still be public
  6. Dispensation from Canonical Form: