actually* the church does somewhat view it as a valid marriage, because if the couple were to get divorced, then they would be unable to remarry in the catholic church. if the marriage were totally unrecognized, then anyone divorcing from a completely civil marriage would be free to remarry without annulment in the church. am i getting that right?
my brother was married by a naval captain. my parents werent so happy, but as with all the kids, we did as we pleased. hence, a captain of the 2nd battle group married my brother and his wife in front of 300 marines. far as i know, they went to mass and attended church regularly before he shipped out. i havent heard of any problems with their marriage not being recognized.*No, such a marriage when it involves a Catholic does not enjoy the favor of law. Non Catholics, of course, are not bound to our form of marriage for validity. So if they divorce, a formal process is required to establish their freedom to marry.
A decree of nullity following a marriage validity trial is not necessary to establish the freedom of the parties in such a lack of form case (which must involve at least one Catholic). But something has to be done to be certain, and so there must be some process…
The Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts has decreed that the normal prenuptial investigation suffices in the case of a lack of form. In all cases, no one can witness a wedding without certainty it will be valid and legal. So for the sake of safety, most dioceses require lack of form marriages to be run past the desk of the tribunal or even another office of the chancery. Some kind of decree is then given to assure the priest or deacon and the party of the freedom to marry. A priest *could * even witness a subsequent marriage for validity (other things being correct) without that but he would have acted illegally and would probably be called in to chat with the bishop.
Your brother and his wife may have received a dispensation from the canonical form of marriage, or the situation may have presented a case of the extraordinary form of marriage in which a qualified priest or deacon is not available to witness a wedding. It is, of course, possible neither happened, and consequently, they are mistaken that the ceremony constituted the valid exchange of marital consent. However, no body would go back to investigate that unless your brother or wife brought the question to a tribunal.
The requirement of a civil divorce before an annulment is given is done, in part, so the Church does not run into Church-State problems. And if we think about it, if a couple has not civilly divorced, there is a greater possibility of encouraging reconciliation, to which we are obliged before proceeding with a nullity trial when that is the case.
But when two qualified (not bound by an impediment of divine law) non Catholics marry, no form is required for validity (apart from the Eastern orthodox whose own law imposes a form, the blessing by a priest). Consequently if they divorce and then one or both wish marriage to others in the Catholic Church, a canonical investigation by a tribunal and a decree of nullity is required before that can happen.
