Dispensation from canonical form etc

[do_justly_love_mercy]

I have a question about dispensation from canonical form for a marriage and the possible forms of marriage in general. I appreciate that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic will make it more difficult for us to make firm plans at this stage.

During my recent visit to the UK, I became engaged. I am a US citizen resident in the US and my fiancé is a British citizen resident in the UK. We are both Catholic.

My fiancé and I met at university in Oxford (I was a first-year postgraduate, he was a first-year undergraduate). We are members of the same college. I chose the college because my dad is a member and my parents lived there when they were first married. My fiancé’s sister is also now a current undergraduate. We are therefore strongly considering being married in the chapel, although this is not non-negotiable.

I will also be moving to the UK to begin a new job as soon as the Home Office and COVID-19 permit, so we are keen to marry as soon as possible. We want a very small, simple ceremony with as little ostentation and expense as possible.

As I understand it, our options would include:

• Marry at the university Catholic chaplaincy or a Catholic parish church, either of which would fulfill both the civil and ecclesiastical requirements for a valid marriage.
• Marry in a civil ceremony followed by a Catholic ceremony in the college chapel.
• Apply for dispensation from canonical form from the archdiocese and then be married by an Anglican priest in the college chapel. My question is whether it is possible to receive dispensation from canonical form if we are both Catholic. When I looked at the form to apply for dispensation, it assumed that one of us was non-Catholic. We would also need a special licence from the archbishop of Canterbury, and because I am not British we would both have to attend an interview at the Faculty Office in Westminster. This option would be quite attractive if it did not seemingly involve a lot of bureaucracy with the British government and the Catholic and Anglican Churches.

We are in touch with a priest locally, but I remain confused about the dispensation from canonical form. I am also wondering whether there are any other options that we are not aware of or any other factors to take into consideration.

Thanks for any clarifications and suggestions!

 

[1ke]

My question is whether it is possible to receive dispensation from canonical form if we are both Catholic

No, this is not done.

If you are both Catholic, Catholic form is required.

 

[UpUpAndAway]

Congratulations on your engagement

My question is whether it is possible to receive dispensation from canonical form if we are both Catholic.

My understanding is that it is not.

…and 1ke’s post above confirms that.

 

[do_justly_love_mercy]

Thanks, @1ke and @UpUpAndAway. This contradicts what we have been told, but I was asking because I was sure we had been told wrong, so thanks for confirming that. It’s kind of good, because getting married with the special licence from the archbishop of Canterbury sounded like a massive hassle. So I guess we just choose between civil wedding followed by Catholic wedding or Catholic wedding that is also a civil wedding. It’s because of how wedding venues are licensed in England.

 

[Phemie]

Your best option at this point is for your fiancé to approach his parish priest and ask what he has to do to get married at the chapel by a Catholic priest. If it’s possible to do so he still needs his pastor’s permission.

 

[TomH1]

My question is whether it is possible to receive dispensation from canonical form if we are both Catholic.

No! I know that @1ke has already kindly answered your question. I can confirm that here in England and Wales that a request for a dispensation from canonical form will receive a negative response when both parties are Catholic.

The only suggestion I can give you and (a) I do not know if it would be possible and (b) I do not know how complicated the paperwork may be. The suggestion is would be to get permission from the Archbishop of Birmingham in whose archdiocese Oxford lies to be married in the college chapel. In addition, the governing body or head of the college would need to give their/his/her permission.

Anglican churches are used in England and Wales to celebrate Catholic Mass. I know this is frequently done in rural areas where the Catholic community has no church of its own. However, it infers that permission can be had to celebrate Catholic sacraments in Anglican churches.

At the moment it is not possible to celebrate marriage in the UK (possibly even illegal). Not only has the UK Parliament passed a law to this effect but the Catholic Church in England and Wales is enforcing the rules laid down by civil authority. I suspect that the earliest this is going to happen is 2021.

I pray that we can all return to normal life soon. I never thought I would crave the mundane. I do hope that you can soon arrange your marriage.

 

[do_justly_love_mercy]

@Phemie Thanks, my fiancé worships with the Dominicans at the Priory of the Holy Spirit. I’ll ask him to talk to a priest we both know there.

@TomH1 Thanks, you seem pretty knowledgeable about local laws, so that is very useful. We were told that where there is a good pastoral reason to do so (I presumed such as a relationship with a particular place of worship or minister) it was possible to get married according to the Anglican liturgy. It sounded wrong and it turns out it is wrong.

I know that some Anglican colleges do not permit any non-Anglican weddings, but I believe our head of house gives permission as a matter of course. I have heard of couples waiting up to 18 months to get married at an Oxford college, but hopefully a smaller college with less spectacular surroundings and fewer regular services could squeeze us in sooner. I assume there are no legal restrictions on the time of day as I believe there are for civil marriages in England.

As you say, the problem will be coronavirus. I had no idea weddings could be banned until next year. That seems rather hard on couples who need to marry in a hurry, e.g. imminent danger of death or where the woman is pregnant or where somebody is at risk of deportation. Have they considered making more use of weddings with just two guests as required by law? Not for couples like us, of course, but for people who could face serious consequences if they cannot get married for a year.

Under the circumstances, our best option may be to marry at the Oratory, since this involves the minimum amount of bureaucracy. The Priory Church of the Holy Spirit, where my fiancé worships, and where I worship with him when visiting, does not do weddings under any circumstances and asks couples to go to the Oratory instead.

 

[TomH1]

but hopefully a smaller college with less spectacular surroundings and fewer regular services could squeeze us in sooner.

I can understand wanting to marry in the chapel of your college but do not understand why you want to marry in just any old Oxford college chapel. I don’t even know if a college will allow it if you have no association with it.

I assume there are no legal restrictions on the time of day as I believe there are for civil marriages in England.

It is my understanding that the laws that determine during which part of the day marriages can be celebrated applies across the board. The Church in England and Wales accepts this because it is not contrary in any way to Church law.

Under the circumstances, our best option may be to marry at the Oratory

I would suggest this is the best place if it is the parish in which you live.

I’m afraid though you’ll have to put everything temporarily on hold for an indefinite period until the authorities decide we can all get back to normal life.

 

[do_justly_love_mercy]

I can understand wanting to marry in the chapel of your college but do not understand why you want to marry in just any old Oxford college chapel. I don’t even know if a college will allow it if you have no association with it.

Sorry, that was an oblique way of saying that the college that my fiancé and I attended is not one of the really beautiful ones like New College or Trinity or really grand like Christ Church. I feel it would be mean to identify it by name, as I have a lot of affection for it, but it’s not on the tourist itineraries!

I would suggest this is the best place if it is the parish in which you live.

Oh, my fiancé is a policeman, we couldn’t afford to live in the city center! He has adopted the Dominican priory in the city center as his church because he likes it there - the liturgy is beautiful but quite austere and the preaching is of an exceptional standard - as you’d hope! As they don’t do weddings they ask couples to go to the parish church of St. Aloysius, but of course you are right, we should go to my fiancé’s actual parish church. The Oratory is not really my cup of tea anyway, although I don’t doubt that they are great folks.

 

[TheLittleLady]

As you say, the problem will be coronavirus. I had no idea weddings could be banned until next year. That seems rather hard on couples who need to marry in a hurry, e.g. imminent danger of death or where the woman is pregnant or where somebody is at risk of deportation. Have they considered making more use of weddings with just two guests as required by law? Not for couples like us, of course, but for people who could face serious consequences if they cannot get married for a year.

This is the advice that is coming from Dioceses of which I am aware.

Marriage is something that can be done by proxy, by a layperson if the Bishop approves.

 

[do_justly_love_mercy]

Thank you. Unfortunately, proxy marriage is not legal in England or California. I think the Church requires a legal civil marriage as well as a valid canonical marriage, although perhaps there are exceptions.

 

[TheLittleLady]

Yes, we always obey the law of the land, simply pointing out that the Church makes Marriage as less complicated as they can.