Civil Marriage for the Catholic Church

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Let’s say a couple marries in civil contract only in 2010. And in 2015 they marry in the Catholic Church. For the Church their marriage began in 2015 or 2010?
 
imo said:
Let’s say a couple marries in civil contract only in 2010. And in 2015 they marry in the Catholic Church. For the Church their marriage began in 2015 or 2010?
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The short answer is 2015, but if the church convalidated their earlier marriage, I think a case could be made for 2010, by means of a legal fiction.

Not sure what difference this would make. What matters is that the marriage is now valid.
 
The nature of a sin could change between 2010-2015. For example, flirting with another woman when you are married would be adultery, if you are not, I don’t think so, right?
 
Objectively… but if you believed yourself married and you still chose to flirt with someone else anyway, your intention was sinful.
 
Of course. But sinful in another way. Just trying to be precise. I agree it would be a sin, but not adultery.
 
imo said:
The nature of a sin could change between 2010-2015. For example, flirting with another woman when you are married would be adultery, if you are not, I don’t think so, right?
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The Church does not, and cannot, make things sinful or not sinful retroactively, in the sense of holding it against you.

Sin is not wholly a legalistic thing. It is a matter of the heart, and a matter of where you were in life, and what you were thinking at the time. If you knew you were not married in the Eyes of God prior to 2015, then, no, it would be no sin to “flirt” (chastely, one hopes) as you describe. (You might not want your putative spouse to find out, though 🤨) Our Blessed Lord does not go back and judge you as a married person before the Church convalidates your marriage.

The important thing is to move forward. Your marriage is now valid, and that is all that matters.
 
I think it would still be sinful even if you knew your marriage to be invalid. Not the sin of adultery… but it would be a sin against the person you’ve made a commitment to. You would be causing that person unnecessary heartache. In that situation, you would have to first end things with your putative spouse before pursuing others… otherwise you’re just being a creep.
 
imo said:
For the Church their marriage began in 2015 or 2010?
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Depends on whether their convalidation was a simple convalidation or a radical sanation. If it was simple convalidation: 2015. If a radical sanation: 2010.
 
twf said:
I think it would still be sinful even if you knew your marriage to be invalid. Not the sin of adultery… but it would be a sin against the person you’ve made a commitment to. You would be causing that person unnecessary heartache. In that situation, you would have to first end things with your putative spouse before pursuing others… otherwise you’re just being a creep.
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You know, you’ve persuaded me. I tend to dismiss invalid marriages entirely in my mind, but even in an invalid marriage, there is a commitment between two people, and a decision has to be made. If they can never marry validly (such as when an annulment is impossible), then they have to do the difficult thing and part ways, unless for some serious reason they must remain together in a Josephite marriage. However, if they could marry validly, if some spiritual obstacle were removed, then they would be in much the same position as an engaged couple living together until they resolve that obstacle (by convalidation, etc). True, it would not be adultery, but neither would it be a kind thing to do behind the back of the other partner. I will acknowledge that.
 
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