Secular Marriage - Valid or Invalid-

[Philosophymasta]

Hi,

Does the Church teach whether or not it is possible for a Secular Marriage(Justice of Piece) be sacramental/valid, provided the intentions are correct with the couple?

Thanks.

God Bless,
Mateusz

 

[1ke]

Hi,

Does the Church teach whether or not it is possible for a Secular Marriage(Justice of Piece) be sacramental/valid, provided the intentions are correct with the couple?

Thanks.

God Bless,
Mateusz

Catholics are, of course, bound by the Catholic form of marriage and all of the Canon Law requirements surrounding the contracting of marraige. So, I presume you are talking about non-Catholics.

*Non-Catholics *who marry civilly are validly married. Two *Baptized *non-Catholics who marry civilly are validly and sacramentally married.

There are, of course, some caveats to that. Namely, there can be no *divine law *impediments to the marriage (no prior marriages, no prohibited degrees of kinship, no coersion/force, etc).

And, any non-Catholic contracting marriage would also be bound by the form of their *own *denomination (for example, the Orthodox Churches have a required form of marriage, but there aren’t any others that I know of besides the Orthodox) in order for the Catholic Church to recognize it as valid.

 

[puzzleannie]

Hi,

Does the Church teach whether or not it is possible for a Secular Marriage(Justice of Piece) be sacramental/valid, provided the intentions are correct with the couple?

Thanks.

God Bless,
Mateusz

not enough info
for two non-Catholics, yes presuming they are otherwise free to marry (no previous marriage, nothing that would prevent a valid marriage, proper intent, capacity and free will etc), this would be a valid marriage. If both are baptized, but not Catholic, it would also be a sacramental marriage. the underlying theology is that the spouses are the ministers of the sacrament to each other. The marriage of two non-Catholics is considered valid until proven otherwise.

If either party is Catholic, they are bound by Catholic canon law as well as natural law, so must abide also by Church law on marriage–witness must be a priest or deacon, etc. So you want to give us the rest of the story?

 

[Chinamom]

What about a marriage for two non-catholics, married outside by a protestant minister (Assembly of God) if the bride was baptized but the groom never was (does not even claim to be a Christian), also the groom later admited to be “high” at the time of the wedding? (No previous marriages for either of them). They have 3 children together, live miserably together for 17 years, later divorce the wife remarries an unbaptized Christian (in a Baptist church), then he gets baptized and a couple years later they both become Catholic? (He was married twice before, 1st time to an unbaptized person in a church then later to a Catholic by a Justice of the Peace, and she had also been married before. Very complicated, I know! I think the answer is…the wife’s 1st marriage was not valid and not sacremental (due to his drug-induced and non-baptized state) and their current marriage was not valid or sacremental until after his baptism. Can anyone who is knowledgeable about Canon law help out with this one? Thank you very much!

 

[puzzleannie]

not enough info, and the only way there is ever going to be enough info is if the couple divorces and one party seeks an annulment investigation with the marriage tribunal of the Catholic diocese. Useless to speculate about the specific circumstances of one couple, as each situation is unique. Pointless. If poster is one of the parties they should see a priest. If either party was married before (as I and several other posters have already stated) then they are not free to marry unless and until the previous marriage(s) are investigated and adjudicated as null. Post is very confusing, first neither has been married before, then he has, which is it? see how useless it is to present a few facts and expect an answer relevant to a specific case?

 

[WhollyRoamin]

Probably not valid. But you should take this to your parish for direction, not the Catholic Answers Forum. This is not a good place for such answers, it requires someone with some authority.

 

[Phemie]

What about a marriage for two non-catholics, married outside by a protestant minister (Assembly of God) if the bride was baptized but the groom never was (does not even claim to be a Christian), also the groom later admited to be “high” at the time of the wedding? (No previous marriages for either of them). They have 3 children together, live miserably together for 17 years, later divorce the wife remarries an unbaptized Christian (in a Baptist church), then he gets baptized and a couple years later they both become Catholic? (He was married twice before, 1st time to an unbaptized person in a church then later to a Catholic by a Justice of the Peace, and she had also been married before. Very complicated, I know! I think the answer is…the wife’s 1st marriage was not valid and not sacremental (due to his drug-induced and non-baptized state) and their current marriage was not valid or sacremental until after his baptism. Can anyone who is knowledgeable about Canon law help out with this one? Thank you very much!

If they became Catholic I expect that the 3 prior marriages were investigated by the Marriage Tribunal and decrees of nullity given prior to their being received into full communion.

Her first marriage would be presumed valid but after investigation might be declared invalid due to his drug use at the time of the vows.

His first marriage would be presumed valid until proven not to be. The reasons why it would be found invalid are unknown.

His second marriage, to a Catholic, had to follow certain rules. If the rules weren’t followed (he had to get his first marriage annulled, she had to get her first marriage annulled, she had to get permission to marry a non-Catholic and a dispensation to marry outside the Church) the marriage would NOT be presumed valid and that’s a matter of paperwork only.

But all those prior marriages would have to be declared invalid before their present marriage is valid.

 

[Philosophymasta]

Thanks for the reply, guys. In terms of the story, there is none – just wanted to learn about the Church teaching on secular marriage, etc.

Thanks.

God Bless,
Mateusz