Case X: Mixed Marriage Before a Protestant Minister

Applied correction from Woywod's opening insert: CASE X, page 51. Ques. 1.—Since 19 April, 1908, all marriages outside the Catholic Church between two parties baptized in the Catholic Church, or between a non-Catholic and one baptized in the Catholic Church are invalid. Exception from this rule was made only for mixed marriages in Germany, and a few other countries in Europe.

Sylvia, a Catholic, makes the acquaintance of a young Protestant, who wishes to marry her. He insists, however, upon marriage by a Protestant minister. Sylvia, though warned by her confessor of the sinfulness of such a marriage, finally assents to his proposition. The following Easter she comes to Confession, seemingly repentant of the wrong done, and promises to use all her influence upon her husband; but so far she has been unable to make him promise a Catholic bringing up for the children, or to get his consent to a repetition of the marriage ceremony before a Catholic priest and witnesses.

The questions are:

1. Is the marriage valid?

2. If not, must Sylvia leave her husband, or may she fulfil her conjugal duties in view of his "bona fides," or can and must the marriage be validated "in radice"?

3. May the confessor give Sylvia absolution and admit her to Holy Communion, and on what conditions?

Solution and argument.

1. The answer to the first question depends upon whether at the place of the marriage ceremony or at the place of abode of both participants the decree of Trent on clandestinity has been promulgated and made binding for Protestants—i. e., promulgated before the Protestants formed independent religious communities. If this is the case, and if no general dispensation has been granted by the Holy See in regard to mixed marriages, such as has been done for some territories, or an extension of the declaration of Benedict XIV, pronouncing Protestant mixed marriages valid, as in Holland, then Sylvia's marriage is invalid. But if the decrees of the Council of Trent have never been promulgated, or not until AFTER the Protestants had formed independent religious communities, whether at the domicile of either of the contracting parties, or (in case the ceremony took place elsewhere) at the place of marriage, then Sylvia's marriage is valid, notwithstanding the Protestant ceremony, because the intention of entering into true matrimony can not be doubted.

2. If the marriage is valid, Sylvia may of course fulfil her duties in spite of the sinfulness of such marriage. Whether she must do so is not so unconditioned and can not be decided in a general way. In deciding this point it would have to be taken into consideration whether the refusal of the wife would be likely to induce her husband to the, for him, difficult consent to a Catholic education of the children. An obstinate non-compliance on the part of the wife would, however, very seldom have the desired effect, would on the contrary be productive of virulence, so that for these reasons such non-compliance can rarely be an obligation, and for the case in view it will be sufficient to regard it as permissible.

If the marriage is invalid, neither the bona fides of Sylvia nor the bona fides of her husband can justify their conjugal relations in such a manner that the confessor can positively permit them. They may only be permitted as long as the validity or invalidity of the marriage remains in doubt even after careful investigation, but not if the marriage is undoubtedly invalid. Even then, however, it is a question of prudence whether the confessor, so long as Sylvia believes firmly in the validity of her marriage, should not be silent on the subject, until the affair could with promise of success be settled definitely.

This raises the further question, how the matter can be finally settled, whether Sylvia must leave her husband, or whether the marriage could or should be made valid. If there is no prospect of the sanatio of the marriage, then there remains nothing for Sylvia but to leave her husband. Upon learning of the invalidity of her marriage she is obliged to do so even at the risk of coming into conflict with civil laws. Even in case where a sanatio of the marriage is not entirely out of the range of possibility, it would be better for the wife to leave her husband if the marriage is still without issue and if, on the other hand, the man persistently refuses to consent to a Catholic education of possible offspring. For her better protection Sylvia might, especially if her marriage was also a civil one, try and find a ground for separation under the civil law.

The most important point is whether there is any prospect for a sanction of the marriage. If the husband refuses assistance from the priest who has the case in hand, and if he absolutely refuses a renewal of the marriage vow before him, then any other validation but a sanatio in radice is impossible, and therefore excluded. But will a sanatio in radice be granted? Formerly such a sanatio has been almost impossible in view of the persistent refusal of the Protestant part to consent to the Catholic education of the children. Recently, however, in view of the difficulty of dissolving a civil marriage, Rome has granted it in acute cases, if the Catholic party used his or her utmost efforts to have the children brought up in the Catholic faith. An interesting case of this kind is found in Acta S. Sedis Vol. xxx. pp. 382, etc. It treats of an invalid union between a Catholic woman and a non-baptized man by civil marriage. The latter refused to be baptized or to guarantee a Catholic education of the children, but gave his wife a free hand as regards the actual bringing up of the children. To separate this wife from her husband offered too many difficulties. Rome gave a dispensation for the impediment of disparitas cultus and then validated the marriage in radice on the condition that the wife should be impressed with her most rigorous duty to use her utmost efforts for the conversion of her husband, and to look out for the Catholic education of all their offspring. This case has a great similarity with the one now under consideration. If in Sylvia's case a dissolution of the marriage offers too many difficulties, there remains nothing but to inquire whether Rome will consider the circumstances sufficiently important to grant a sanatio in radice.

3. The third question is, whether Sylvia can be admitted to the sacraments. Here we must make distinction between Communion and absolution. As the case must be considered a public one, Sylvia can not be admitted to Holy Communion until the scandal given by her offense has been publicly expiated and reconciliation with the Church has taken place. This is not done until the question of her invalid marriage has been settled either by separation or by validation. Even if Sylvia should be ignorant, and meanwhile be left in ignorance, of the invalidity of her marriage, still she is aware of the grievous sinfulness which lies in a Protestant marriage ceremony for Catholics; she knows that that alone excludes her from the sacraments until everything has been satisfactorily settled. The same must of course be said of the priestly absolution, because marriage before a Protestant minister brings with it for the Catholic excommunication, in utroque foro; however, ignorance of excommunication may have excused the action before the conscience, and on the other hand the necessary reparation and public repentance, or renunciation before witnesses if necessary, may take place before the request to Rome and the subsequent granting of a dispensation is accomplished. For these reasons it would not be necessary to postpone a reconciliation with God through priestly absolution. Care is to be taken, that Sylvia has the sincere intention to conform to the requirements of the Church. The confessor must therefore insist upon these conditions: 1. Sylvia must faithfully promise to conform to the requirements of Rome, where her case is to be decided. 2. She must faithfully promise to do her utmost to bring about the conversion of her husband and the Catholic education of her children. 3. If she is aware of the invalidity of the marriage she must in the meanwhile refrain from the conjugal relation, and as this would be difficult if she lives with her husband, she must find a pretext to go away from him for awhile. 4. She must, if so required by the rules of the diocese, publicly renounce before the pastor and witnesses her scandalous violation of the precepts of the Church as regards mixed marriages.

If possible to obtain these points from Sylvia, then there would be nothing in the way of sacramental absolution, at least if the priest has the power to absolve in foro interno of fautor haeresis, otherwise a request for release from the excommunication would have to be made to the proper authorities—unless indeed ignorance has excused from excommunication. If the permission of the authorities would take too long to obtain, and if Sylvia would find it too hard to carry longer her heavy burden of sin, then the confessor may, without special authorization, give absolution from excommunication and sin, with the obligation, however, that this absolution will also have to be settled with Rome within a month's time. Sylvia would have to declare her determination to perform any penance decided upon for her by Rome, and she must give her consent that recourse be taken to Rome; she must be made to understand that otherwise she would fall anew under the ban of excommunication. The authority to give absolution from papal cases "in the meantime," merely for the reason that it would be too hard for the penitent to wait longer, has been explicitly given to confessors by decree of the Holy Office of June 16, 1897, with approbation of the Holy Father. The most difficult point in our case would probably be the demand stipulated under No. 3, if Sylvia be aware of the invalidity of her marriage. If a temporary absence from home can not be arranged, and if Sylvia does not show a determination to employ the means necessary to make the proximate danger of committing sin a remote one, then there can under no circumstances be any absolution until everything has been properly put in order.