Adsum

November 2004

Marriage of a Minor

Father Connell Answers Moral Questions
by Very Rev. Francis J. Connell, C.SS.R., S.T.D., L.L.D., L.H.D.

Question: In a state where the civil law gives a girl of eighteen full freedom in the matter of marriage, a priest is asked by a girl of this age to officiate at her marriage. The priest is aware that the girl is acting against the will of her parents. May he, in virtue of the civil legislation, assist at her marriage without seeking any ecclesiastical authorization because of the parents' opposition?

Answer: The Code lays down the prescription: “A pastor shall gravely exhort young persons who are minors not to enter marriage without the knowledge or against the reasonable will of their parents; but if they refuse, he shall not assist at their marriage unless he has first consulted the Ordinary of the place” (Canon 1034). Now, according to the ruling of the Church, a minor is a person under twenty-one (Canon 88, Par 1). Consequently, whatever the civil law may stipulate, a priest should not assist at the marriage of a girl of eighteen whose parents are unaware of what she is doing or are reasonably opposed to the marriage, until he has first consulted the Bishop.

The Solemn Revalidation of a Marriage

Question: If a Catholic couple have attempted marriage before a minister or a civil magistrate, and subsequently wish to have their union validated, may they be married at a nuptial Mass? Could a pastor forbid this?

Answer: There is no law of the Church forbidding marriage at a nuptial Mass to those who have entered a union that is invalid because of lack of the prescribed form. Indeed, per se such a method of convalidation is commendable, because the special blessing of the bride, which the Church desires to impart to every Catholic woman on her entrance into the married state, can ordinarily be given only at Mass. This holds true, even though many years have passed since the couple entered their unlawful and invalid union. Of course, those who have sinned so grievously generally desire to have the validation as private as possible, and the priest should acquiesce to this wish. Sometimes, too, circumstances may be present which would render a public ceremony at Mass inadvisable, if not positively wrong — especially the grave danger of scandal. However, apart from this contingency, the couple have the right to be married at a nuptial Mass, and a pastor's authority does not include the power to forbid it. A Bishop, however, by virtue of Canon 2291, Par. 6, could impose as a vindictive penalty the deprivation of the nuptial blessing. In some dioceses this penalty is the object of general legislation for cases such as we are considering.

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