The Requisites for a Pastor or Local Ordinary to Assist Validly at Marriage

In order that a pastor or local Ordinary assist validly at marriage, it is required: 1° that they have obtained canonical possession of the benefice or have entered the office; 2° that they not be excommunicated, interdicted, or suspended from office by sentence, or declared such; 3° that they assist within the boundaries of their territory, in which nevertheless they validly take part in the marriages both of subjects and of non-subjects; 4° that, constrained neither by force nor by grave fear, they request and receive the consent of the contracting parties (canon 1095, § 1). It is said:

I. That they have obtained canonical possession of the benefice or have entered the office. Now:

1. Residential Bishops take canonical possession of the diocese as soon as, in the diocese itself, either personally or through a procurator, they have shown the apostolic letters to the Chapter of the cathedral church, in the presence of the secretary of the Chapter or the Chancellor of the Curia, who will record the matter in the acts (canon 334, § 3).

2. With regard to pastors, canon 1444, § 1 is to be attended to: "Induction into possession of a benefice is to be made according to the manner prescribed by particular law, or received by legitimate custom, unless for a just cause the Ordinary has expressly dispensed in writing from that manner or rite; in which case this dispensation takes the place of possession taken."

Note. Possession of a benefice can also be taken through a procurator having a special mandate (canon 1445).

3. One who does not have a benefice but only an office, as a Vicar General, enters his office by the very fact that he begins to exercise it.

II. That they not be excommunicated, interdicted, or suspended from office by sentence, or declared such. Therefore it does not suffice that someone has incurred one of the enumerated penalties, but it is required that either he has been condemned to it by a judge, or that he has been declared to have incurred it. With regard to suspension, note that the faculty is removed only by suspension from office, not by another suspension. Yet a suspension laid down generally also includes suspension from office, unless something else is established (canon 2278, § 2).

III. That they assist within the boundaries of their territory, in which nevertheless they validly take part in the marriages both of subjects and of non-subjects. Therefore the competence of the pastor and Ordinary, as regards valid assistance, is so annexed to territory that within the boundaries of their territory they validly take part in the marriage of all, even of non-subjects; outside those boundaries, in the marriage of no one, not even of subjects. Besides, observe:

1. The local Ordinary and pastor validly assist in houses and churches, even exempt ones, of religious which are situated in their territory, because the aforesaid houses and churches are exempt only by reason of persons.¹ For licit assistance the permission of the regular Prelate is required.

2. Pastors who have territory common with another pastor or with other pastors validly assist at the marriage of all within the territory which is common to them with others.²

3. Those who, in territory assigned to other pastors, have some persons or families, or persons of a determined rite, or a group of persons, for example soldiers, subject to themselves, can take part in the marriages of subjects throughout the whole alien territory, but not in the marriages of others;³ indeed they seem able to assist everywhere at the marriage of subjects. Whether other pastors also can do this within their territory is to be gathered from the statutes of the Holy See.

4. Chaplains or rectors of pious places of any kind exempt from parochial care, provided that full parochial power has been committed to them, are counted as pastors, but only for the persons entrusted to them and in the place over which they preside.⁴ Whether the said faculty belongs to the rector exclusively or cumulatively with the pastor is to be deduced from the prescription of authority (cf. canon 464, § 2).

IV. That, constrained neither by force nor by grave fear, they request and receive the consent of the contracting parties; concerning which note:

1. Grave fear is understood as fear of grave harm, and one inflicted from without, that is, by a free cause. It does not matter whether it is inflicted by the parties themselves or by another. But there seems to be required fear inflicted for extorting assistance; yet it does not seem to matter whether it is inflicted justly or unjustly, because the law does not distinguish between just and unjust fear. Except, however, fear justly inflicted which is within the sphere or line of the law itself, and which is ordered to protecting the law itself. Hence assistance given is valid, whether because the Bishop compels an unwilling pastor by penalties to due assistance, or because those about to marry threaten that they will denounce to the Ordinary a pastor who unjustly denies assistance. For it cannot be admitted that fear of this kind is comprehended by the law according to the mind of the legislator.

2. That they request the consent of the contracting parties. Therefore it does not suffice that those about to marry emit matrimonial consent before the minister, but it is required that he previously and formally have requested the consent. Yet for validity it does not matter whether he does this personally or through an interpreter, by words or by writing, by nod or by another sign. Moreover, with regard to marriages here and now illicit, observe that the request for consent of itself does not involve an invitation to enter marriage, but a mere investigation whether those about to marry wish to contract marriage, so that only material cooperation is furnished.

3. And receive the consent of the contracting parties. This happens by the very fact that those about to marry, after the request has been made, emit consent, with the minister knowing that it is being emitted.

If marriage is celebrated by proxy, the pastor should request and receive consent from the proxy.

POINT II.

¹ Sacred Congregation of the Sacraments, March 12, 1910, ad VIII.

² Sacred Congregation of the Council, February 1, 1908, ad VIII.

³ Sacred Congregation of the Council, February 1, 1908, ad IX.

⁴ Sacred Congregation of the Council, February 1, 1908, ad X.

The Celebration of Marriage.—(a) Requisites for Validity.—In order to be valid, a Catholic’s marriage must be celebrated in the presence of the parish-priest or Ordinary, or of a priest delegated by either, and of at least two witnesses. There are two exceptions to this law, namely, in danger of death when the priest cannot be had and in the case of inability to appear before a priest within a month. This law is most suitable, since marriage is not a mere profane contract, but a Sacrament subject to the Church; the law is also necessary, since secret or clandestine marriages would be impossible of proof, and society and the family would be seriously harmed if they were permitted except in very extraordinary cases.

(b) Requisites for Lawfulness.—The pastor assists lawfully at a marriage if he has assured himself of the freedom of the parties to marry and of his own right to assist officially at their marriage. The pastor has the right to witness a marriage when the parties are his subjects by reason of their location in his parish, or when he has permission from their pastor or Ordinary to assist at the nuptials. When the bride is from one parish and the groom from another, the rule is that the marriage should be held before the bride’s pastor (Canons 1094 sqq.)

The Rite of Marriage.—(a) The essential rite consists in the words of consent spoken by the bride and groom. The assisting priest asks for this consent, and then (except in a mixed marriage) blesses the newly married pair and the ring. Marriage by sign language or through an interpreter or proxy is not lawful without special permission, and marriage by letter is not recognized (Canons 1088 sqq.).

(b) The accidental rite is the nuptial blessing bestowed during the Nuptial Mass that follows on the marriage. This is omitted in mixed marriages, and also as a rule during Advent and Lent. The place for marriage is regularly in the parish church, if it is a Catholic marriage, but outside the church if it is a mixed marriage (see Canons 1100 sqq.). The Ordinary may dispense from the requirements of place (Canon 1109).

Cooperation in an Unworthy Marriage.—(a) The Priest.—The clergyman acts as the official representative of the Church, and hence only a serious reason will permit his assistance when the unworthiness of one of the parties is known to him in an extra-confessional way. A serious reason would be a threat of bodily harm to the priest or great spiritual detriment to the parties, such as their continuance in the state of sin. A more serious reason is required if one of the parties is an excommunicatus vitandus. Finally, at times only passive assistance is permitted, as in certain mixed marriages in which the non-Catholic refuses to give guarantees, but there is greater danger of perversion without than with the assistance (see 2677 sqq.).

(b) The Spouses.—The bride and groom are the ministers as well as the recipients of Matrimony, and hence, if one of the parties knows that the other is not in the state of grace, there is an administration of a Sacrament to an unworthy recipient. But only charity would bid one to deny the Sacrament to that other party, if one could not induce him to dispose himself, and charity does not oblige with great inconvenience. Hence the worthy party, if he or she has a suitable reason for marrying, does not sin by reason of the other party’s unworthiness.

(c) The Witnesses.—The cooperation of the witnesses is less than that of the priest and of the worthy party, and hence only in an extraordinary case do the witnesses sin by assisting at a marriage contracted before the Church. They may presume that all is well, if the pastor has agreed to the marriage; and even though they are certain that the bride or groom is in mortal sin, the fear of incurring displeasure or harm will ordinarily excuse the best man or bridesmaid from all sin, or at least from grave sin.

Registration of Marriages.—The Code requires that marriages be recorded in the matrimonial and baptismal registers, and that notification be sent to the pastors of the parishes where the bride and the groom were baptized. This duty seems to be grave, since its end is to provide for stable conditions and secure proof of freedom to marry. The entries should be made without delay (i.e., within three days at least), lest they be overlooked or be made incorrectly (Canon 1103).

845. • I. Only that Pastor can validly assist at a matrimony who is the proper Pastor of either contracting party, and therefore one who has jurisdiction over them or at least over either one. For it is established from the Council of Trent that only the Pastor can validly assist at matrimony. From several Declarations of the Sacred Congregation of the Council of Trent, we have it established that Pastor is to be understood in this manner.

II. The jurisdiction of the Pastor is constituted through the habitual domicile or quasi-domicile of the contracting parties, or of either of them, in his parish, but not through domicile of origin or through mere habitation for a brief time. This is gathered from Declarations of the Sacred Congregation and from Benedict XIV, etc. - Thus by the unanimous consent of the theologians.

849. • QUESTION 4. Does a Priest who is falsely considered the Pastor assist validly?

Reply. Yes, if he has a colorable title and is regarded as the Pastor from common error. The reason is that the Church then supplies jurisdiction for the common good. - Thus all. It also appears more probable that the same must be said if common error alone is present without a colorable title, for the same reason, as was said concerning jurisdiction in the internal forum in the Treatise On Penance, no. 548.

QUESTION 5. Does any Priest validly assist at matrimony with the presumed permission of the Pastor?

Reply. No, because it is not true permission; tacit permission, however, or even permission extorted by fear or deceit, suffices. - St. Ligorius, no. 1088, and others commonly.

851. Principles. - I. It is required and sufficient for the validity of matrimony that the Pastor be morally present, like a witness who must give testimony concerning a completed matter. The reason is that the Pastor is employed here as the principal witness deputed by the Church, as is established from Benedict XIV, On the Diocesan Synod, book 13, chapter 23.

II. It is required that the Pastor be addressed and advised concerning what the contracting parties wish to do, or that he be employed by them. The reason is that otherwise the Pastor is not considered to attend to what is being done, nor can he judge that those who act wish to act seriously ¹⁵. It is not required, however, that he was expressly called for this purpose. For it would suffice if he were present there by chance, or had been summoned under another pretext. This is evident from a Declaration of the Sacred Congregation. - Carriere, Compendium, no. 309. - Bouvier.

¹⁵ It suffices that while the contracting parties express consent they give some sign, for example, with the eyes, modulation of the voice, a nod, etc., by which they indicate to the Pastor that they wish to have him as a witness, even though he was not previously informed or called, and by chance, thinking nothing of it, hears them after he has been called to it, etc. These are the words of a Declaration of the Sacred Congregation reported by Benedict XIV, On the Diocesan Synod, book 13, chapter 23, no. 1.

Hence:

1. The merely physical presence of the Pastor does not suffice, since he must attend to what is being done. Hence one who is drunk, sleeping, or insane cannot assist at matrimony.

2. It is not necessary that he see the contracting parties, provided that he hears them clearly expressing their consent. Therefore a blind man can assist at matrimony, but not one both blind and deaf.

756. General rule. "Only those marriages are valid which are contracted before the parish priest or the local Ordinary or a priest delegated by either of them, and at least two witnesses." Thus the Code of Canon Law, can. 1094.

Therefore, in the ordinary celebration of matrimony, the assistance of one of the following is altogether required, together with two witnesses:

1. the parish priest of the place;
2. the local Ordinary;
3. a priest duly delegated.

We shall first speak generally of the requirements on the part of the parish priest of the place, etc., and then of those which are required on the part of the two witnesses.

762. I. Conditions required on the part of the parish priest and the Ordinary for valid assistance. There are three; namely, it is required:

1. That he canonically possess his benefice or office and not have been excommunicated or interdicted or suspended from office by a sentence, or declared such.³⁷

The Sacred Congregation of the Council on March 2, 1908, responded: "By the name of possession here is understood that act which, whether it is called corporal institution, enthronement, installation, or otherwise, nevertheless always effects this: that the one instituted into the benefice thereby acquires the free exercise of the power annexed to his office." The manner of conferring this corporal institution is customarily determined by particular law or by custom.³⁸

A bishop acquires the episcopal office when he has presented to the chapter the letters of institution given by the Supreme Pontiff, or, where no chapter exists, when those letters have been legitimately published in the diocese.³⁹

The right of assisting at marriages is lost: a) by removal from office or benefice. This is evident of itself. b) By excommunication or suspension or interdict from office, provided, however, that these have been imposed by a condemnatory or declaratory sentence; which indeed is wont to happen quite rarely. An excommunication which a parish priest incurs, for example, by the absolution of an accomplice or by the public striking of a cleric, does not yet deprive him of the right of assisting at marriages unless a declaratory or condemnatory decree imposing the penalty of excommunication has been added.⁴⁰

Note. Since in common error the Church supplies jurisdiction,⁴¹ a matrimony celebrated before a putative parish priest is also valid.⁴²

³⁷ Code of Canon Law, can. 1095, § 1.

³⁸ Ibid., can. 1444. Cf. De Smet, De sponsal. et matrim., n. 64; Vogt, Das kirchl. Eherecht, § 25; Van den Acker, loc. cit., c. 1, a. 4.

³⁹ Code of Canon Law, can. 334, § 3.

⁴⁰ Before the Decree Ne temere, even a publicly excommunicated and suspended parish priest could validly assist at matrimony. Cf. Benedict XIV, De syn. dioec., l. 12, c. 5, n. 2.

⁴¹ Code of Canon Law, can. 209.

⁴² Even a putative parish priest, who by common error is held to be the true parish priest but who, because of an occult defect, invalidly received the parochial office, validly assists at matrimony. It seems, however, to be required that such a parish priest be duly instituted by an ecclesiastical superior; for if he was instituted by the civil government alone, he is an intruded parish priest and lacks all jurisdiction. Wherefore Pius VI wrote to the bishops of France on September 26, 1791: "Since an intruder is in no way a legitimate parish priest and has no title, either true or colorable, a matrimony contracted before him is certainly of no force." (Cf. Van den Acker, Decreti "Ne temere" interpret., c. 1, a. 2.) Besides, such intruders incur an excommunication most specially reserved to the Supreme Pontiff (Code of Canon Law, can. 2334), and if by a public decree they have been excommunicated by name or suspended from office, by that very fact they are incapable of assisting at matrimony.

763. 2. That he assist at the matrimony within the boundaries of his territory.⁴³

Therefore, as regards the validity of the matrimony, it matters nothing whether those about to marry are his own parishioners or outsiders. From this statute it appears that the new law concerning the assistance of the parish priest has been made territorial, and thus the former law concerning the necessity of domicile or at least quasi-domicile, which not rarely caused most intricate questions, has been entirely changed. Churches of exempt religious situated within the territory of a parish are also held to be within it, and therefore the parish priest or local Ordinary validly assists at marriages there.⁴⁴ But if such a church has, as they say, active exemption, or if it is after the manner of an abbey nullius which has the privilege of extraterritoriality, then the faculty of assisting there does not seem to have been conceded to the parish priest or local Ordinary. On the other hand, no priest can validly assist at a matrimony in any church or chapel situated within the territory of the parish unless he has been delegated by the parish priest of the place. Hence, for example, in churches of religious or of the military, no one can validly assist at any matrimony, even of outsiders, unless he has been delegated by the parish priest or local Ordinary. Yet personal parish priests, so called, are excepted, who validly assist at the marriages of their subjects everywhere in the world. This has been expressly sanctioned for the personal parish priests of the East Indies;⁴⁵ thus it has been established for military chaplains, whose faculty held before has not been changed by the new law.⁴⁶ Wherefore a military chaplain validly and licitly assists at the marriages of persons belonging to the military according to the laws of each region, but he cannot (without due delegation) validly assist, even in his own church, at the marriages of other persons. For he does not have the rights of a territorial parish priest.⁴⁷

⁴³ Code of Canon Law, can. 1095, § 1, n. 2.

⁴⁴ Sacred Congregation of the Sacraments, March 12, 1910.

⁴⁵ Sacred Congregation of the Sacraments, June 2, 1910 (Acta Ap. Sed. II, 449).

⁴⁶ Sacred Congregation of the Council, February 1, 1908, ad 7.

⁴⁷ We have written more broadly concerning this matter in Linzer Theol.-prakt. Quartalschr. 1913, 121-127.

764. 3. That, constrained neither by force nor by grave fear, he ask for and receive the consent of the contracting parties.⁴⁸

Hence the parish priest or delegated priest must not only receive but also ask for the consent of those about to marry. By this most salutary law, coerced and surreptitious assistance, which formerly sufficed for validity, is excluded. Even in mixed marriages, the assisting parish priest or priest must ask for and receive the consent of the contracting parties,⁴⁹ at least if the due guarantees are furnished by the contracting parties. But if the contracting parties refuse to furnish those guarantees and cannot be turned away from entering a mixed marriage of this kind, then not even the passive assistance of the parish priest can be validly and licitly conceded. Thus in illicit mixed marriages, assistance so called passive is henceforth no longer valid unless a new and altogether special privilege is present.⁵⁰

Every coerced assistance of the parish priest renders the matrimony entered invalid. Therefore it matters nothing whether grave fear is inflicted justly or unjustly. For the law simply requires for the validity of the assistance that the parish priest not be constrained by grave fear. Moreover, where the law does not distinguish, neither ought we to distinguish. Nevertheless, the assistance of the parish priest does not seem to be invalid if grave fear was induced by an intrinsic cause; for example, if the parish priest assists at the matrimony of a public sinner because otherwise he greatly fears the spiritual ruin both of the woman and of the offspring to be born from the concubinage. On the contrary, the assistance is invalid if the parish priest is compelled to assist at the illicit matrimony of a patron who otherwise threatens deprivation of the parochial office.

Those things thus far said concerning the valid assistance of the parish priest can be briefly comprehended thus: in order that a parish priest validly assist at matrimony, it is required:

1. that he actually possess the benefice or have assumed the office;
2. that he not have been excommunicated, interdicted, or suspended from office by a condemnatory or declaratory sentence;
3. that he assist within the boundaries of his territory (unless he is a personal parish priest);
4. that he be free and not constrained by grave fear to assist;
5. that he ask for and receive the consent of the contracting parties.

⁴⁸ Code of Canon Law, can. 1095, § 1, n. 3.

⁴⁹ Sacred Congregation of the Council, July 27, 1908, ad 3.

⁵⁰ Pontifical Commission, March 10, 1928 (Acta Ap. Sed. XX, 120).

765. The two witnesses, whose presence is required for the valid ordinary celebration of matrimony, must be carefully distinguished from the parish priest or delegated priest, who is wont to be called the authorized or qualified witness of the matrimony. Positive law prescribes nothing concerning the qualities of those two witnesses; hence nothing else is required of them except that they truly testify to the celebration of the matrimony which they themselves saw and heard. It is, however, very fitting that adult witnesses endowed with good morals be employed. Concerning heretics, the Holy Office decreed on August 19, 1891, that "they are not to be employed; nevertheless they can be tolerated by the Ordinary for a grave cause, provided that scandal is absent." It is evident of itself that the insane, the completely intoxicated, and those who are at once deaf and blind cannot be employed as witnesses, because they cannot render certain testimony concerning the manifested consent of those about to marry. In practice care must be taken that the witnesses summoned truly hear the manifestation of the consent of the contracting parties; nevertheless, it suffices for validity that, having seen all the circumstances, they be morally certain of the consent externally given.

II. Conditions required for licit assistance. There are five:

846. Conditions required on the part of the pastor for valid assistance are enumerated in can. 1095, § 1:

"The pastor and the local Ordinary validly assist at matrimony:

1° Only from the day of canonical possession of the benefice having been obtained according to the norm of the canons..., or of office having been begun, unless by sentence they have been excommunicated or interdicted or suspended from office, or declared such;

2° Within the limits only of their territory; in which they validly assist at the marriages not only of their subjects, but also of non-subjects;

3° Provided that, constrained neither by force nor by grave fear, they request and receive the consent of the contracting parties."

Therefore three things are to be attended to:

A. As to time, assistance is valid from the day of canonical possession of the benefice or of office having been begun.

Now: 1° Canonical possession of the benefice, for bishops, is had as soon as in the diocese itself, by themselves or by procurator, they have shown the apostolic letters to the chapter of the cathedral church (can. 334, § 3); for others it is done according to the manner prescribed by particular law or introduced by legitimate custom (can. 1444, § 1).

2° Office having been begun is required for those who do not have a benefice, but only an office, such as the vicar general of the bishop, and the substituted or adjutor vicar of the pastor: it suffices, namely, that the one duly named begin to exercise the office at the time prefixed for this.

3° Valid assistance ceases by the very removal from office or benefice, and also by excommunication, interdict, or suspension from office, after sentence; but not by suspension from sacred things or from jurisdiction.

Let it be noted: a) Even a putative pastor or Ordinary validly assists, namely one who is not such on account of an occult defect, but by common error is reputed to be such: for the Church supplies his power in common error (can. 209); likewise a pastor whose censure passed by sentence is unknown to the parishioners.

b) Likewise in a positive and probable doubt of law or fact concerning his competence for assisting at matrimony (ibid.), because in this case also the Church supplies.

c) Not however, as it seems, an intruded pastor or Ordinary, who neither is such nor has been named such by legitimate authority, even if invalidly, but has been instituted by an illegitimate power, for example, the civil power.

B. As to place, the assistance of the pastor or Ordinary is valid within the boundaries of his territory.

Therefore: 1° Within the boundaries of his own territory he validly assists at the matrimony of all, even non-subjects; outside those boundaries, of none, even subjects.

2° In exempt houses and churches which are situated in his territory, he also validly assists, because they are exempt only by reason of persons (S. C. Sacr., March 12, 1910); it is otherwise if certain institutes have the privilege of extraterritoriality.

3° Where several pastors cumulatively possess the same territory, namely by reason of diverse language, rite, or nation, each one validly assists in the whole territory (S. C. C., Feb. 1, 1908), unless it has been otherwise established by particular law.

4° Personal pastors having jurisdiction only over determinate persons or families: if they are constituted for a determinate territory, they validly assist only in that territory and only for their own subjects; on the contrary, if their competence is restricted by no territory, they validly assist everywhere at the marriages of their subjects.

5° Rectors of pious places, who enjoy full parochial power, cannot assist except at the marriages of their own subjects and only in the place where they exercise jurisdiction (S. C. C., Feb. 1, 1908).

Let the difference from the Tridentine law be noted: according to it, the proper pastor of subjects was bound to assist at matrimony everywhere on earth, so that it was a personal law; but now the pastor validly assists in his territory alone at the matrimony even of non-subjects, so that the law is now territorial.

C. As to mode, it is necessary that the pastor or Ordinary, constrained by no force nor grave fear, request the consent of the contracting parties.

Hence: 1° Force and grave fear, whether brought by the contracting parties or by another, even not unjustly for extorting assistance, invalidates this assistance; but not fear arising from within or from another event, or ordered to the very observance of the law, nor deceit or fraud, even if they were the cause of the assistance.

2° Merely passive assistance of the pastor does not suffice, but active assistance is required: it does not suffice that the contracting parties issue consent before the pastor noticing it, but he himself must by a positive act inquire after and receive their consent.

Let it be noted: a) It makes no difference for validity whether the pastor inquires after consent by himself or through an interpreter, by words or writing or a sign.

b) By the Tridentine law only the passive assistance of the pastor was required, and thus spouses unexpectedly appearing before him and with witnesses, and eliciting consent contrary to his will, contracted validly; this inconvenience is now avoided, since the actual law requires active parts of the pastor, so that if he resists, the consent issued is not valid.

Only those marriages are valid which are contracted before the pastor, or the local Ordinary, or a priest delegated by either one, and at least two witnesses, yet according to the rules expressed in the canons which follow, and with the exceptions saved concerning which in can. 1098, 1099 (Can. 1094).

§ 1. The pastor and the local Ordinary validly assist at marriage:

1°. Only from the day of acquired canonical possession of the benefice according to the norm of can. 334, § 3, 1444, § 1, or of begun office, unless by sentence they have been excommunicated or interdicted or suspended from office, or declared such;

2°. Only within the limits of their territory; in which they validly assist at marriages not only of their own subjects, but also of non-subjects;

3°. Provided that, constrained neither by force nor by grave fear, they ask for and receive the consent of the contracting parties.

§ 2. The pastor and the local Ordinary who can validly assist at marriage can also give license to another priest that he validly assist at marriage within the limits of their territory (Can. 1095).

Who are pastors, and those equated with them, is clear from Canon 451:

§ 1. A pastor is a priest or moral person to whom a parish has been conferred as title, with care of souls to be exercised under the authority of the local Ordinary.

§ 2. With pastors are equated, with all parochial rights and obligations, and they come in law under the name of pastors:

1°. Quasi-pastors, who rule quasi-parishes, concerning which in can. 216, § 3;

2°. Parochial vicars, if they are endowed with full parochial power.

§ 3. Concerning military chaplains, whether major or minor, one must stand by the peculiar prescriptions of the Holy See (Can. 451).

The distinct parts of a diocese into which the diocese itself is divided, to each of which its own particular church with a determined people is assigned and its own particular and proper pastor is set over it for the care of souls, are parishes; parts of an apostolic vicariate and prefecture, if a particular rector is assigned, are called quasi-parishes. Cf. Can. 216, § 3.

§ 4. Without a special apostolic indult, parishes cannot be constituted according to the diversity of language or nation of the faithful living in the same city or territory, nor merely familial or personal parishes; but as regards those already constituted, nothing is to be innovated without consulting the Apostolic See (Can. 216).¹

For the validity of marriage there is required the presence of the pastor or local Ordinary or a priest delegated by either one, and of at least two witnesses; two exceptions are given which we shall explain below.

Nevertheless, in relation to the pastor and local Ordinary, this one and that one validly assist only from the day of acquired possession of the benefice or of begun office.

But if by sentence they have been excommunicated, or interdicted, or suspended from office, or declared such, their assistance is invalid.

The pastor and Ordinary can validly assist only in their own territory.

But in their own territory they validly assist at marriages not only of subjects but also of non-subjects.

Moreover, that this assistance be valid, it is further required that they have been constrained neither by force nor by grave fear.

Finally, it is necessary that they ask for and receive the consent of the contracting parties.

In these points a great distinction is now introduced between the law in force before the Decree Ne Temere and the present law of the Code.

Formerly the announced pastor validly assisted; but now his competence is annexed to the possessed benefice or the office already begun. Formerly he could validly assist as long as he was pastor, although excommunicated or interdicted or suspended from office by public decree through sentence, or declared such; but now he who is bound by such a censure is declared incompetent. Formerly he validly assisted at marriages of his own subjects everywhere on earth; but now he can validly assist only in his own territory. Formerly he validly assisted only at marriages of subjects even in his own territory; but now there he validly assists both subjects and non-subjects. Namely, his competence is territorial, restricted within the limits of his own parish but extended also to marriages of non-subjects. Hence the ancient discipline of the proper pastor is abolished, by which formerly the assistance of that pastor in whose parish at least one of the contracting parties had domicile or quasi-domicile was required for validity; but now the contract must be entered before the pastor of the territory in which the contract is entered, although neither party is his subject. Formerly the pastor validly assisted, although constrained by force or grave fear; hence surprise marriages were valid. But now he assists validly only when free from force and grave fear. Formerly the pastor validly assisted when present under compulsion, yet perceiving words signifying the mutual matrimonial consent of determinate betrothed persons; but now for validity it is required that he ask for and receive the consent of the contracting parties.

Therefore the assistance of the pastor must be physical, formal, free, and active.

¹ Cf. Addenda, p. 1109, n. 52.

Question 1. When does the Ordinary or pastor begin to be competent as the authorized witness of marriage?

Resp. From the day of acquired possession of the benefice or of begun office.

§ 3. Residential Bishops take canonical possession of a diocese as soon as, in the diocese itself, either personally or through a proxy, they have shown the apostolic letters to the Chapter of the cathedral church, in the presence of the secretary of the Chapter or the chancellor of the Curia, who is to refer the matter into the acts (Can. 334).

§ 1. Induction into possession of a benefice is to be made according to the mode prescribed by particular law or received by legitimate custom, unless from a just cause the Ordinary has expressly dispensed in writing from that mode or rite; in which case this dispensation takes the place of possession taken (Can. 1444).

Question 2. Can a putative pastor validly assist?

Resp. Affirmatively, if from common error he is judged such.

Question 3. Does any priest of the diocese, exercising the sacred ministry without special delegation of the local Ordinary or pastor, validly assist at marriage by force of a general faculty conceded to him of administering all sacraments which do not require the episcopal order?

Resp. Negatively.

Question 4. Which excommunicated, suspended, or interdicted pastor is not competent?

Resp. A pastor is not competent who by sentence has been excommunicated, suspended from office, or interdicted, or declared such. This disposition of the Code corresponds to other canons by which it is required, for external penal effects, that the penalty have been inflicted or declared by condemnatory sentence, especially when it is a question of privation or restriction of the use of priestly power or of other sacred ministers. Cf. Can. 2261, 2264, 2275, 2284.

Question 5. Whether by a prohibition made by the Ordinary, lest the pastor espouse certain persons, the jurisdiction of that pastor is so taken away that, for contracting marriage contrary to such a prohibition, he is not the legitimate pastor?

Resp. "That the marriage contracted before a pastor to whom it has been interdicted by the Bishop lest he intervene is valid." Thus the Sacred Congregation of the Council in the Gienn. case, year 1581. "On which matter," says Benedict XIV, "there seems to be able to be stirred up no difficulty of graver moment. For since there is not that authority in the Bishop that he could induce a diriment impediment which does not exist, or establish as null and invalid some marriage which by the prescription of the canons is not null and invalid, the marriage will indeed be illicit if it is celebrated before him whom the Bishop has forbidden to be present at a celebration of this kind; he also will sin gravely who, with the superior's prohibition despised, furnishes assistance to it; but by no reason will it be able to be said that the marriage itself lies under the defect of nullity." - De Syn. Dioec., 1. 13, c. 23.

Question 6. What things are required that the assistance of the pastor be valid?

Resp. From what has been said it is clear that two things are required: 1°. he must be a voluntary witness, coerced by no force or grave fear; 2°. he must assist actively by asking for and receiving the matrimonial consent of the spouses. That this mode of assistance, formal, voluntary, and active, is necessary for validity is gathered first from the fact that it is prescribed as a condition sine qua non, through the particle provided that, and second from the end of the legislator, who intends to found those statutes by which all marriages made by surprise are rendered null and invalid. - Cf. Acta S. Sedis, v. 40, p. 531.¹

¹ Cf. Addenda, p. 1111, n. 54.

Question 7. "Whether Ordinaries and pastors, not only explicitly but also implicitly invited and asked, provided nevertheless that constrained neither by force nor by grave fear they ask for and receive the consent of the contracting parties, can validly assist at marriages?"

Resp. "Affirmatively." Thus the Sacred Congregation of the Council, 28 Mar. 1908. It is no longer required that the pastor assist as one invited and asked. - Cf. Can. 1095, § 1.

Question 8. What is the competence of the Ordinary and pastor in relation to marriage?

Resp. It is territorial. But the territory is diverse: that of the Ordinary is the diocese, vicariate, etc.; but that of the pastor is a parish canonically erected, a quasi-parish, or a district defined and perfectly divided from others, or an entire station in places where the territories are not yet perfectly divided. - Leitner, Die Verlobungs- und Eheschliessungsform, p. 33. Cf. Can. 451, §§ 1, 2.

Question 9. What fear invalidates the assistance of the pastor?

Resp. Grave fear, or fear falling upon a constant man. A constant man is one who in some class is of ordinary fortitude, namely, who above others of the same class is distinguished neither by timidity nor by strength of soul. The fear will be grave when the evil inflicting it is such that no one fearing it loses the name of a constant man. Whenever such fear is inflicted by an extrinsic free cause in order to compel the assistance of the pastor, and for that reason he assists, the marriage is null and invalid. But if the pastor unjustly refuses to assist, and on account of this cause is compelled by grave fear to be present, even then the contract must be called null. For where the law does not distinguish, neither ought we to distinguish; but the law simply excludes assistance furnished from grave fear. This vexation can easily be removed, because any pastor or Ordinary is suitable and competent for the validity of marriage, indeed in a case of necessity even for liceity. Nevertheless the wedlock entered before a pastor who, finally yielding to importunate prayers, assists will be valid.

Question 10. What is established by the new law in relation to witnesses?

Resp. Besides the presence of an authorized witness, at least two witnesses are required; therefore more can be present. As regards them the ancient discipline is in force. It suffices that they enjoy the use of reason. Therefore non-Catholics can also validly be assumed, or those deceived by fraud or coerced by fear; adults or minors; men or women; wholly unwilling and not knowing how to write. Nevertheless heretics are illicitly assumed. S. C. Inq., 19 Aug. 1891.

Their assistance must be such that they can testify concerning the marriage celebrated of this bridegroom and bride. Therefore material presence is not sufficient, but it is necessary that the witnesses know what is being done. Therefore they must see the spouses and perceive and understand the signs expressing consent; but if they do not see the contracting parties themselves, yet hear known voices while they pronounce consent, the assistance is valid.

Nevertheless it is not required that determinate witnesses be invited, or that certain persons be so employed that these and not others are witnesses; but it suffices that those who are present at the celebration can make faith concerning the marriage entered, since it is certainly established to them concerning the furnishing of consent. And hence a marriage entered before the pastor and several persons, all of whom can duly testify concerning the consent given, is valid, although the two invited witnesses were not present.

Question 11. Whether "exempt regular churches, according to the tenor of the decree, can be considered as the territory of the pastor or Ordinary in whose territorial district they are situated, for the effect of assistance at marriage?"

Resp. "Affirmatively." (S. C. de Sacr., 13 Mar. 1910.)¹

¹ Cf. Addenda, p. 1151, n. 126.

You Will Resolve. - Marriages are invalid:

1°. When the pastor or Ordinary or one delegated by either is lacking;

2°. When at least two witnesses do not assist;

3°. When it is contracted before the proper pastor of the spouses outside his own territory without the necessary delegation of the Ordinary or pastor of the place in which it is contracted;

4°. When it is contracted before a non-delegated priest, or before a delegated deacon;

5°. When it is contracted before the pastor announced for the place, but not yet possessing the benefice;

6°. When it is contracted before a pastor excommunicated or interdicted or suspended from office by sentence;

7°. When it is contracted before a pastor compelled by grave fear to assist;

8°. When it is contracted before an invited pastor, indeed hearing but not asking for consent;

9°. When it is contracted before a pastor present by chance, but not actively assisting.

Question 9. Who ought to assist when the bridegroom and bride are from diverse parishes?

Resp. In any case, let it be held as a rule that marriage be celebrated before the pastor of the bride unless some just cause excuses. - Cf. Can. 1097, § 2.

The same must be said here concerning pastor as also before: namely, he is the one in whose parish the bride either is domiciled or quasi-domiciled or has already stayed for a month. Hence if the bride is subject to one pastor only by reason of that stay, but the man to another by reason of domicile, regularly the marriage is to be celebrated before the former, because he, in the sense of this law, is the woman's pastor.

By this paragraph a norm is established by which matters may proceed better. But from following this norm any just cause of convenience or utility excuses, indeed the very desire of the spouses, if they refuse to present themselves before another pastor. A grave reason is not required here, but simply a just one. Wherefore we also judge with Vermeersch, l. c., n. 64, that the obligation of this paragraph is not grave. Therefore pastors of brides ought not to be excessive in urging their right.

"Marriages of Catholics of mixed rite, unless something else has been provided by particular law, are to be celebrated in the rite of the man and before his pastor" (Can. 1097, § 2). Marriages both among the Greek-Ruthenian faithful and among the faithful of mixed rite are to be blessed in the rite of the woman by the pastor of the woman. Thus S. C. de Prop. F., 17 Aug. 1914, De Spirituali Administratione Ecclesiae Graeco-Ruthenae in Foederatis Civitatibus Americae Septentrionalis.

Question 1. Who is the delegating pastor or Ordinary?

Resp. The Ordinary or pastor is understood not of the contracting parties, but of the place in which the matrimonial contract is celebrated: the Ordinary, namely, for his diocese, and the pastor for the parish. For validity requires the assistance of the pastor or Ordinary of the place of contract, or of one delegated by either. Hence if a priest assisted in some territory without delegation from the Ordinary or pastor of this place, although with license of the pastor of the contracting parties, the marriage would be invalid.

Question 2. To whom can this license or delegation be conceded?

Resp. This license or delegation can be conceded only to a priest, and to one certain and determinate, but not to a deacon, nor to an indeterminate priest. Delegation is validly made by naming the priest personally, or by designating his office, for example, Father N.; the pastor of St. Patrick; the first assistant of the church of St. Anne; the chaplain of St. Mary's orphanage; for in all these cases the priest is truly determinate and certain. But delegation by which the choice of any priest at pleasure is left to the spouses is null; for it is made to an indeterminate person.

Question 3. In what way must this delegation be made?

Resp. The Code prescribes no mode. Wherefore it can be conceded to the delegate either in writing or by living voice, without intermediary or through a messenger, absolutely or conditionally. - Cf. Wernz, l. c.

Question 4. Can a pastor generally delegate certain persons for his own territory?

Resp. Negatively: § 1. License must be given expressly to a determinate priest for a determinate marriage, with any general delegations excluded, unless it is a question of cooperating vicars for the parish to which they are attached; otherwise it is invalid (Can. 1096).

Question 5. Does tacit or even presumed delegation suffice?

Resp. Negatively to both; because according to the canon it must be given expressly, and presumed delegation is null. In the Code expressly and tacitly do not sound the same. - Cf. Can. 1123.

Question 6. Is this license or delegation circumscribed by territorial limits?

Resp. It is always circumscribed within the limits of the territory of the delegating person. Hence one conceded by the Ordinary is so circumscribed by the limits of the diocese that outside it it cannot even validly be employed. By like reason, one conceded by the pastor is circumscribed by the limits of the parish.

Question 7. What must be said if a pastor, constrained by grave fear, delegates a priest, and this priest, invited and asked, assists and asks for and receives consent?

Resp. It is disputed. The first opinion denies that the delegation is valid. For no one can transfer to another more right than is known to belong to himself. - Cf. Gennari, l. c., p. 56. - Pezzani, l. c., n. 119. But the other opinion affirms that the delegation is valid. For although the pastor himself cannot validly assist, nevertheless it has not been provided in law concerning the invalidation of the concession of license to assist, which indeed is not an act of jurisdiction, but by better right is called the substitution of another authorized witness. Cf. Ojetti, l. c., n. 103. - Ferreres, l. c., n. 309 and following. Vermeersch, l. c., n. 50.

Question 8. Does the delegate validly assist before he knows that delegation has been given?

Resp. Affirmatively, if he himself sought it and assists only after it has been given. For the very petition is tacit acceptance. In this case delegation is valid from the moment of concession. Certainly such assistance would be illicit after delegation has been given but before it is known.

Negatively, from the common opinion, if the concession is made while the delegate is ignorant and has not sought it, although a third person seeks it for him without his knowledge. See the response (in Wernz, n. 180, note 218) of the Sacred Congregation of the Council, 9 Dec. 1626: "Given ignorance of the license, the marriage is invalid." And again 3 July 1734: "Acceptance of the license or delegation is required." The reason is that this license has itself after the manner of a donation, which obtains effect only from the time of acceptance. This is the opinion received today. Yet others affirm that the concession is valid as soon as it is made, because it is a gracious concession. - Cf. Wernz, v. 4, n. 180, n. 218. - D'Annibale, v. 1, n. 225. Canon 37 must altogether be seen.

But if the Ordinary delegates assistants by statute, then capability for assisting is joined with the function or office. Cf. Vermeersch, l. c., n. 66.

Question 9. When does delegation cease?

Resp. Delegation ceases by revocation made by the delegating person and intimated to the delegate before the celebration of marriage; but if the priest assisted before the revocation was intimated to him, the delegation had not yet been efficaciously removed, and the marriage would be valid. - Cf. Ojetti, l. c., n. 34.

But if the delegating person dies or is deprived of office before the marriage, the delegate assists validly.

License given for a time or under condition also ceases when the time has elapsed or the condition has not been fulfilled.

Question 10. What must be said if the delegate by common error is held to be a priest but is not?

Resp. The delegation is valid, because a colored title with common error supplies the defect. Wernz, v. 4, n. 180, note 213.

Question 11. Can a delegate subdelegate?

Resp. Negatively, unless he has the special faculty of subdelegating.

Question 12. Which delegate has this faculty?

Resp. 1°. A delegate of the Roman Pontiff, unless the business has been reserved to the personal diligence of the delegate.

2°. A delegate of an inferior magistrate to the whole class of causes; or

3°. A delegate of the same inferior magistrate for assisting at one particular marriage, with the faculty of subdelegating received at the same time from the same. - Cf. Wernz, v. 2, nn. 553 and following.

Question 13. Can the local Ordinary or pastor concede this faculty of subdelegating?

Resp. Affirmatively.

Question 14. Who are delegates to the whole class of causes?

Resp. Delegates to the whole class of causes are those who are delegated either to all species of causes in some genus, for example, in parochial care, or to all causes contained in a certain species, for example, to all matrimonial causes. Thus Wernz, v. 2, n. 551. In our matter, delegates to the whole class of causes are: an assistant priest to whom all parochial functions are committed absolutely, fully, and without any restriction of parochial ministry; an assistant who is deputed to all matrimonial business.

Question 15. Are assistant priests among us to be held as delegates to the whole class of causes?

Resp. Negatively, but in each diocese it must be inspected whether faculties of assisting at all marriages in the parish are conceded to them.

Question 16. What is the distinction between the license concerning which in Canon 1095, § 2, and the license concerning which in Canon 1097, § 3?

Resp. The first (Can. 1095) is necessary for the value of the sacrament; the other (Can. 1097) for liceity; the first renders the priest to whom it is conceded a competent (authorized) witness of the contract; the other supposes him competent from elsewhere; the first is circumscribed by the territory of the conceding person, the other not likewise.

Titius and Bertha, pertaining to parish A, wish to enter marriage in parish B before the coadjutor of parish C. This coadjutor is altogether incompetent to assist at marriage; in order that he may put off that incompetence, he needs the license of the pastor (or Ordinary) of church B. Having received it, he becomes an authorized witness in the territory of parish B. And if he at once assisted there at the nuptials, these would be valid. Yet since the spouses are not subjects of the pastor of territory B, for licit assistance he needs the license of their own proper pastor, who is the pastor of territory A. This latter gives consent to the coadjutor of church C, who by the delegation received from the pastor of church B becomes the authorized witness of the nuptials of Titius and Bertha, who now at last can contract valid and licit marriage in the alien parish B before the aforesaid coadjutor.

Question 17. In what way must the delegate execute his function?

Resp. The delegate, in order that he may assist validly and licitly, is bound to observe the limits of the mandate. "Delegated power is to be understood strictly, nor is it extended to matters and cases not specified in the delegation," as Riganti says, Reg. Cancell., v. 1, p. 293. Therefore he who exceeds the limits of the mandate places invalid acts. Hence one delegated to assist at the nuptials of Titius and Bertha invalidly assists at the nuptials of Thomas and the same Bertha or at the nuptials of others; one delegated to assist at marriages to be contracted in this month of July invalidly assists after the month of July has elapsed. The delegate is subject to the same rules pertaining to validity or liceity to which the pastor is subject.

Notes: Wherefore, in order that the delegate may validly assist, it is necessary:

1°. that he have received delegation from competent authority, the local Ordinary or pastor, who already has obtained the benefice or begun office;

2°. that he not be excommunicated or interdicted or suspended from office by sentence, or declared such;

3°. that he exercise the delegation within the limits of the territory of the delegating person;

4°. that he ask for and receive the consent of the contracting parties.

Those things which are prescribed for the liceity of assistance pertain to the pastor rather than to the delegate, unless by diocesan law or custom the process by which free state is established is reserved to the Ordinary. Wherefore the pastor must first have moral certitude concerning licit celebration before he delegates another to assistance.

But if the pastor has done all these things, nothing remains to be furnished by the delegate except the bare ministry of assistance.

But if the pastor has not done them, either by himself or through another, the delegate himself is bound to do them; and in this case, in order that he may assist licitly, it is necessary:

1°. that it be established to him concerning the free state of the contracting parties; hence he himself must institute the inquiry;

2°. that it be established to him concerning the domicile or quasi-domicile, or at least concerning the monthly stay, of one or the other contracting party in the place of marriage;

3°. in defect of domicile or quasi-domicile or monthly stay, besides delegation from the Ordinary or pastor of the territory of the contract, that he have license from the Ordinary or proper pastor of one or the other contracting party, unless grave necessity excuses;

4°. as regards wanderers, that he refer the matter to the Ordinary or his delegate so that he may receive permission to assist;

5°. if the bride pertains to the parish of the contract, there will be no difficulty; but if the bridegroom, not the bride, pertains to it, then either delegation has been made by the Ordinary or by the pastor. If by the Ordinary, likewise there is no difficulty; if by the pastor of the bridegroom, since he himself can judge concerning the just cause excusing, he will scarcely ever delegate another unless it is established concerning it, and thus the delegate may proceed securely to the celebration. - Cf. Cronin, l. c., p. 219 and following. - Pezzani, l. c., n. 118. Vermeersch, l. c., n. 70. - Ojetti, l. c., n. 108. - Besson, l. c., p. 146. Gennari, l. c., p. 33.

If the pastor or Ordinary or delegated priest who would assist at marriage according to the norm of Canons 1095, 1096 cannot be had or approached without grave inconvenience:

1°. In danger of death, marriage contracted before witnesses alone is valid and licit; and even outside danger of death, provided it is prudently foreseen that that condition of affairs will last for a month;

2°. In either case, if another priest who can be present is at hand, he must be called and, together with the witnesses, must assist at the marriage, with the validity of the wedlock before witnesses alone saved (Can. 1098).

Thus far we have seen that the authorized witness of nuptials is either the local Ordinary, or the pastor of the territory of the contract, or one delegated by either. Now come, there are cases in which none of them can be had. Must one despair in these circumstances? By no means. For most wisely and most piously Holy Mother Church provides for these also, by establishing a twofold exception to the general law.

In danger of death, marriage contracted before witnesses alone is valid and licit if an authorized witness according to the norm of Canons 1095, 1096 cannot be had or approached without grave inconvenience. This canon in no way requires for validity the presence of a priest, but only of witnesses. Something is had for proving that wedlock has been entered, namely the presence of two or more before whom consent is furnished. It is altogether sufficient that these alone be present. In this indeed there is a great distinction between this canon and article VII of the Decree Ne temere: the Decree required the assistance of a priest and two witnesses; the canon requires not the former but the latter.

But for liceity, if another priest is at hand, he must be present together with the witnesses. The reason of the matter is that by his priestly help he may obtain God's blessing for the nuptials.

Question 8. If any priest alone assists, is the marriage valid?

Resp. Negatively, because the law requires at least two witnesses for validity; thus according to the norm of this canon. It would indeed suffice that the priest be present together with another common witness; then satisfaction would have been made to the canon.

Outside the article of death it can happen that somewhere an authorized witness, the local Ordinary, pastor, or delegate, cannot be had. Think of regions of missions to which a legitimate minister very rarely comes, or kingdoms in which persecution rages, or very extensive districts through which a missionary is accustomed to travel only twice or three times in a year. Then certainly the Church does not wish to urge the form essential in ordinary adjuncts; otherwise marriage would have to be numbered among those things which cannot be done. Such cases obtained also under the chapter Tametsi, and provision was made for them. Thus, for example, S. Inq., 1 July 1863, to the Bishop of Valparaiso: "When access is difficult and not safe, and it is unknown when the pastor can be had, and it is foreseen that he will be absent from the place for the space of at least one month, and there is no other who supplies the place of the pastor, that marriage is valid without the presence of the pastor, yet with the form of the Council observed in it insofar as possible, namely with at least two witnesses employed." A fortiori, the Church, founding a law to be valid everywhere, admits some tempering; and just as in the particular impossibility of having the legitimate superior, when danger of death is imminent, satisfaction is made to it while the necessity for validity of the presence of two witnesses is retained, so in regional impossibility it is content with these last alone, as is clear from the following.

And also outside danger of death, provided it is prudently foreseen that that condition of affairs will last for a month (Can. 1098, 1°).

Therefore, just as in the article of death, so outside the article of death, if the pastor or local Ordinary or delegated priest who would assist at Marriage cannot be had or approached without grave inconvenience, provided that a prudent judgment is had that this condition of affairs will last for a month, Marriage is validly contracted before two witnesses. Therefore in some way the form is preserved and provision is made for the security of the sacrament.

In this case also, if another priest who can be present is at hand, he must be called and must assist at the Marriage together with the witnesses, with the validity of the wedlock before witnesses alone saved (Can. 1098, 2°).

Question 3. What must the pastor describe?

Resp. The names of the spouses and witnesses, the place and day of the celebrated marriage, and other things according to the mode prescribed in the ritual books and by the proper Ordinary. In the Roman Ritual various formulas for various adjuncts are found, as for example if a delegate assisted, if denunciations were omitted or dispensations conceded. The Ordinary can also add other things to the prescriptions of the Ritual according to the customs of the region, which some Bishops have already done in certain dioceses, for example, concerning the signature of those about to be married and of the witnesses. In brief: in this matter let the pastor conform himself to the Roman Ritual and diocesan statutes.

Question 10. To what are the witnesses of a marriage according to the norm of Canon 1098 bound?

Resp. They are bound in solidum with the contracting parties to furnish the same thing to which the priest is bound with the contracting parties in the former case.

Instruction to Ordinaries concerning free state and the denunciation of an entered marriage with relation to the decree Ne Temere.

I. "It is recalled to the memory of pastors that it is not licit for them to be present at marriage unless it has been legitimately established to them concerning the free state of the contracting parties, with those things to be observed by law being observed; and the same are especially to be admonished not to omit requiring testimony of baptism from the contracting parties, if this was conferred on them in another parish.

II. "But that the things prescribed in n. IX, sec. 2, of the mentioned Decree may be duly observed, the denunciation of the celebrated marriage to be transmitted to the pastor of baptism should carry with itself the described names and surnames of the spouses and of their parents, the age of the contracting parties, the place and day of the nuptials, the names and surnames of the witnesses who were present, and should have the subscribed name of the pastor with the parochial seal added. But an accurate inscription should indicate the parish, diocese, town or place of baptism of the spouses and those things which pertain to writings to be safely transmitted by public carriers.

III. "If perhaps it happens that, even with the cautions concerning which in n. 1 employed, the pastor of baptism, in receiving the denunciation of marriage, discovers that one or the other of the contracting parties is already bound to other nuptials, he will signify the matter as soon as possible to the pastor of the attempted marriage." - S. Cong. Sacr., 6 Mar. 1911.

§ 1. The following are bound to observe the form established above:

1. All baptized in the Catholic Church and converted to it from heresy or schism, although either the former or the latter afterward defected from it, as often as they enter marriage among themselves;

2. The same, of whom above, if they contract marriage with non-Catholics, whether baptized or non-baptized, even after a dispensation has been obtained from the impediment of mixed religion or disparity of cult;

3. Orientals, if they contract with Latins bound to this form.

§ 2. But with the prescription of § 1, n. 1, remaining firm, non-Catholics, whether baptized or non-baptized, if they contract among themselves, are nowhere bound to observe the Catholic form of marriage; likewise those born of non-Catholics, although baptized in the Catholic Church, who from infant age grew up in heresy or schism or infidelity or without any religion, as often as they contract with a non-Catholic party (Can. 1099).

XIII. A parish priest is called by force, guile, or fear to assist at a matrimony: is this matrimony to be called valid? The more recent authors commonly affirm it, and adduce several declarations of the Congregation of Cardinals. To which, if they be authentic, I subscribe. But these being set aside, this matrimony would seem to me invalid, at which a parish priest compelled by guile, fraud, or fear falling upon a constant man should assist. For the wishes of the Council are that this sacrament be freely celebrated. Grave fear struck into the betrothed makes the matrimony null, as has been said above. Why not fear struck into the parish priest? That those sin mortally who contract matrimony before a parish priest held by force, or by guile, or assisting by chance in passing, all teach. What if the parish priest should close his eyes and stop his ears, and protest that he neither sees nor hears what is done? That even then the matrimony is valid the Salmanticenses and Leander affirm, and assert it out of Farinacius from the Declarations of the Cardinals. These declarations being set aside, which I with difficulty believe to be authentic, I should call such a matrimony null. One must nevertheless stand by the decisions, if they be authentic.