Adsum
September 2002
Catholics Assisting at an Invalid Marriage
From the book, Father Connell Answers Moral Questions
by Very Rev. Francis J. Connell, C.SS.R., S.T.D., L.L.D., L.H.D.
Question: If a Catholic assists at the attempted marriage of a Catholic before a non-Catholic clergyman does he incur the same excommunication that is incurred by the Catholic party of the marriage? The reason for believing that he may incur this penalty is the statement of Canon 2231 that in certain circumstances those who concur in the perpetration of a delict incur the same penalty as the chief culprit.
Answer: According to Canon 2231 only those cooperators incur the same penalty as the principal offender who cooperate in the ways mentioned in Canon 2209, 1-3. Now, the mere assistance at an attempted marriage of a Catholic before a non-Catholic clergyman would not put one in any of the categories mentioned in those paragraphs; though it would do so if it constituted an inducement to the marriage so that otherwise the Catholic party would not attempt it.
However, it is well to remember that, even though a penalty is not incurred, the assistance of a Catholic at the attempted marriage of a Catholic before a non-Catholic minister, except in very rare cases, is so proximately a cause of grave scandal and even a manifestation of contempt of the authority of the Church that it must be regarded as a grave sin. A decree of the Congregation of the Propaganda in 1874 stated that regularly such attendance is forbidden, though it added that it could be tolerated for the sake of civil duty only (civilis officii cause tantum), provided there be no scandal, danger of perversion, or contempt of ecclesiastical authority (Collectanea S. Cong. E Prop. Fide, n. 1410). In our country today the danger of scandal and contempt of ecclesiastical authority are almost always present. Hence, whence priests are asked about the lawfulness of attending the marriage of a Catholic relative or friend in a non-Catholic church, the answer should practically always be “No.”
Davis says: “Assistance at a mixed marriage in a Protestant church would not be tolerated, since this would be cooperating in violating a serious church law which forbids mixed marriages without dispen-sation, and such a marriage would now be invalid” (Moral and Pastoral Theology [London, 1945], I, 286). Treating the subject more fully, Bancroft says: “It is certain that Catholics may not be present at such marriages when their presence contains, manifests or implies an approval of the marriage. It seems that, barring other dangers and a sinful intention, friends and distant relatives may be present for a more grave reason in proportion to the greater danger of scandal. Near relatives, and especially parents, brother and sis-ters, however, would seldom have a reason justifying their presence, because of the grave scandal neces-sarily connected with it, because of their obligation to admonish the one who is sinning, and in some cases, because of contempt for the regulations of the Church” (Communication in Religious Worship with non-Catholics [Catholic University of America Press, Washington, D.C., 1943], p. 129).
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