Marriage validity/form

[Linda_Reed]

A person who has gone through the Rite of Acceptance could have a possible marriage problem. The person was married by a priest who was suspended many years prior since he married. One person in this marriage was Catholic; the other a non baptized person. Does this marriage lack form or validity? The current priest says it is valid. Is this correct? How does one check on these things? I don’t wish to have this person get all the way to being baptized and find there is an issue that needs to be resolved. That is very annoying.

 

[Catholic2003]

A “lack of form” is when a Catholic marries before a justice of the peace or a non-Catholic minister without obtaining a dispensation from the bishop. Such marriages are clearly invalid, and obtaining a decree of nullity is straightforward.

A “defect of form” is when the marriage is done in the Catholic Church, i.e., before a Catholic priest, but there was something wrong with the Church paperwork. For example, the priest didn’t have the proper authority to conduct a marriage, etc. It should be possible to check with the diocese to see if the priest had the authority to conduct marriages in that diocese at the time in question. Also, you could check the current copy of the Catholic party’s baptismal certificate to see if the marriage was properly recorded there.

 

[Brendan]

Linda Reed:

A person who has gone through the Rite of Acceptance could have a possible marriage problem. The person was married by a priest who was suspended many years prior since he married. One person in this marriage was Catholic; the other a non baptized person. Does this marriage lack form or validity? The current priest says it is valid. Is this correct? How does one check on these things? I don’t wish to have this person get all the way to being baptized and find there is an issue that needs to be resolved. That is very annoying.

The best place to start is to find a priest who currently sits on the Marriage Tribunal in your Diocese and discuss with them.

Just to be clear, the priest who witnessed the marriage was suspended at the time he witnessed the marriage? Or did that happen sometime afterward.

If he was suspened at the time, the marriage would seem to be lacking form, since the other party was Catholic.

Get as much information as you can, and run it past a priest on the Tribunal

 

[Linda_Reed]

Suspended long before. Used to be the pastor of the church in question then left to marry. There would have been about 15+ years between this person leaving his ministry and the marriage I have in question.

 

[Linda_Reed]

Catholic2003:

A “defect of form” is when the marriage is done in the Catholic Church, i.e., before a Catholic priest, but there was something wrong with the Church paperwork. For example, the priest didn’t have the proper authority to conduct a marriage, etc…

Thank you. It may seemsso picky, but no one else is concerned with the issue and I guess I wonder if it is my place to even bring it up. After interviewing the person in question, I have brought up the concern, but so far nothing has been done about this. So, is it at all worth bringing up or am I just being picky?

 

[Catholic2003]

Linda Reed:

Suspended long before. Used to be the pastor of the church in question then left to marry. There would have been about 15+ years between this person leaving his ministry and the marriage I have in question.

Even a layperson can perform a valid Catholic marriage with the appropriate approval, so this isn’t an absolute proof.

I think the key factor would be the notation on the official baptismal record of the Catholic party to the marriage in question.

 

[Catholic2003]

Linda Reed:

Thank you. It may seemsso picky, but no one else is concerned with the issue and I guess I wonder if it is my place to even bring it up. After interviewing the person in question, I have brought up the concern, but so far nothing has been done about this. So, is it at all worth bringing up or am I just being picky?

It looks like our posts crossed wires. I don’t think checking the Catholic party’s baptismal record would be too picky, but if that looks okay then I wouldn’t question further. However, if the baptismal record does not have the marriage recorded, that is indeed a big problem.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

Linda Reed:

A person who has gone through the Rite of Acceptance could have a possible marriage problem. The person was married by a priest who was suspended many years prior since he married. One person in this marriage was Catholic; the other a non baptized person. Does this marriage lack form or validity? The current priest says it is valid. Is this correct? How does one check on these things? I don’t wish to have this person get all the way to being baptized and find there is an issue that needs to be resolved. That is very annoying.

It is easy to verify this. The Catholic party simply contacts the parish of their Baptism and requests a certified copy of their Sacramental record. If the Sacrament of Marriage is listed then it was considered valid at the time it was celebrated. If it’s not listed then it most likely may not be valid.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

Catholic2003:

It looks like our posts crossed wires. I don’t think checking the Catholic party’s baptismal record would be too picky, but if that looks okay then I wouldn’t question further. However, if the baptismal record does not have the marriage recorded, that is indeed a big problem.

Sounds like the right solution.  I

If the marriage is not recorded, it is a serious problem, butone that is easily rectified. It might take a month or so to rectify; so iyou are wise to get on it now.