Lesson 25: For Better or Worse

Guide Questions

What is marriage?
What is it for?
Can there be marriage between two men, or two women?
Does Christianity change marriage in any way?
Why is marriage considered a calling or vocation?
Can a husband or wife become holy in marriage? Can marriage produce saints? How?
Can a Catholic contract a valid marriage outside the Church? Why or why not?
What are the essential elements of the sacrament? Is consent necessary?
Who are the valid ministers of this sacrament?
What are the so-called goods and requirements of conjugal love?
What is the attitude of the Church toward those people who are divorced and then remarried?
What about people who don't get married?
What criteria should be remembered in the case of mixed marriages? What is a mixed marriage?
What does marriage with disparity of cult mean? What criteria should be kept in mind regarding these kinds of marriage?
Is physical separation of husband and wife allowed? How about dissolution of the bond?
Can an invalid marriage be convalidated? How?

1. What marriage is and what it is for

1.1 In the natural order (order of creation)

It was not the Church that invented marriage. It was God that planned it, from the moment he created our first parents. Thus, the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCCC 337; cf Catechism of the Catholic Church 1601-1605) reminds us:

God who is love and who created man and woman for love has called them to love. By creating man and woman he called them to an intimate communion of life and of love in marriage: "So that they are no longer two, but one flesh" (Matthew 19:6). God said to them in blessing “Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28).

Blessed Pope John Paul II, in the General Audience of 9 January 1980 explains this "nuptial" (from Latin nuptialis -- "marriage" or "wedding") vocation of man.

When God-Yahweh said, "It is not good that man should be alone," (Genesis 2:18) he affirmed that "alone," man does not completely realize this essence. He realizes it only by existing "WITH SOMEONE"--and even more deeply and completely--by existing "FOR SOMEONE."

When we say that marriage is a natural institution, we mean that it springs from human nature, that it is part and parcel of human life, that it can be found in all cultures, that the principles that govern it cover not only Catholics or Christians, but everyone who calls himself human.

What is marriage for? Point 338 of the CCCC (cf CCC 1659-1660) explains the two-fold END OF MARRIAGE.

The marital union of man and woman, which is founded and endowed with its own proper laws by the Creator, is by its very nature ordered [1] to the COMMUNION and GOOD OF THE COUPLE and [2] to the GENERATION and EDUCATION OF CHILDREN. According to the original divine plan this conjugal union is indissoluble, as Jesus Christ affirmed: "What God has joined together, let no man put asunder" (Mark 10:9).

(For a more thorough discussion of the ends of marriage, see Fr Cormac Burke's Covenanted Happiness --http://www.cormacburke.or.ke/node/999.)

1.2 Upgrade

God, however, who gave man the VOCATION to be holy, wanted to provide him with a powerful means by which he can sanctify married and family life. Thus, God raised this natural covenant between man and woman to a sacrament. The CCC (1601) quotes the Code of Canon Law (can 1055 #1; cf Gaudium et Spes 48 #1):

"The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptised persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament."

In what way do husband and wife make their marriage holy? In what way do they become saints through it? Saint Josemaría wrote ("Marriage, A Christian Vocation," in Christ is Passing By 23, 24)

Husband and wife are called to sanctify their married life and to sanctify themselves in it. It would be a serious mistake if they were to exclude family life from their spiritual development. The marriage union, the care and education of children, the effort to provide for the needs of the family as well as for its security and development, the relationships with other persons who make up the community, all these are among the ordinary human situations that christian couples are called upon to sanctify.

They will achieve this aim by exercising the virtues of FAITH and HOPE, facing serenely all the great and small problems which confront any family, and persevering in the love and enthusiasm with which they fulfil their duties. In this way they practice the virtue of CHARITY in all things. They learn to smile and forget about themselves in order to pay attention to others. Husband and wife will listen to each other and to their children, showing them that they are really loved and understood. They will forget about the unimportant little frictions that selfishness could magnify out of proportion. They will do lovingly all the small acts of service that make up their daily life together.

The aim is this: to sanctify family life, while creating at the same time a true family atmosphere. Many christian virtues are necessary in order to sanctify each day of one's life. First, the theological virtues, and then all the others: PRUDENCE, LOYALTY, SINCERITY, HUMILITY, INDUSTRIOUSNESS, CHEERFULNESS.... But when we talk about marriage and married life, we must begin by speaking clearly about the mutual love of husband and wife.

Their PURE and NOBLE LOVE is a SACRED thing. As a priest, I bless it with all my heart. Christian tradition has often seen in Christ's presence at the wedding feast in Cana a proof of the value God places on marriage. "Our Saviour went to the wedding feast," writes St Cyril of Alexandria, "to make holy the origins of human life."

Marriage is a sacrament that makes one flesh of two bodies. Theology expresses this fact in a striking way when it teaches us that the MATTER of the SACRAMENT is the BODIES of HUSBAND AND WIFE. Our Lord sanctifies and blesses the mutual love of husband and wife. He foresees, not only a union of souls, but a union of bodies as well. No Christian, whether or not he is called to the married state, has a right to underestimate the value of marriage.

We have been created by God and endowed with an intelligence which is like a spark of the divine intellect. Together with our free will, another gift of God, it allows us to know and to love. And God has also placed in our body the POWER TO GENERATE, which is a participation in his own creative power. He has wanted to use love to bring new human beings into the world and to increase the body of the Church. Thus, sex is not a shameful thing; it is a divine gift, ordained to life, to love, to fruitfulness.

This is the context in which we must see the christian doctrine on sex. Our faith does not ignore anything on this earth that is beautiful, noble and authentically human. It simply teaches us that the rule of our life should not be the selfish pursuit of pleasure, because only sacrifice and self-denial lead to true love. God already loves us; and now he invites us to love him and others with the truthfulness and authenticity with which he loves. It is the paradox expressed in St Matthew's Gospel: "He who seeks to keep his life will lose it; and he who loses his life for my sake will find it."

People who are constantly concerned with themselves, who act above all for their own satisfaction, endanger their eternal salvation and cannot avoid being unhappy even in this life. Only if a person forgets himself and gives himself to God and to others, in marriage as well as in any other aspect of life, can he be happy on this earth, with a happiness that is a preparation for, and a foretaste of, the joy of heaven.

The family is called the "DOMESTIC CHURCH" because it is there where children are trained in the virtues, where they first learn about the faith, where they first learn to pray and where vocations are fostered (Cf CCC 1656-1658, 1666). This is why parents need to be formed very well. It is important that couples take advantage of formation courses that help them carry out their responsibilities.

This holy union is, however, threatened by sin. The Sacrament of Matrimony gives the grace needed to overcome the threat posed by sin. Moreover, the Church offers the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Eucharist so that couples can strengthen themselves and grow in grace and holiness. Frequent reception of these two sacraments are a must if husband and wife are to sanctify their married and family life. (Cf CCCC 339; CCC 1606-1608)

1.3 Essential elements

1.3.1 Matter

Remote: the bodies of the spouses
Proximate: matrimonial consent

Point 344 of the CCCC (cf CCC 1625-1632, 1662-1663) explains:

Matrimonial consent is given when a man and a woman manifest the will to give themselves to each other irrevocably in order to live a covenant of faithful and fruitful love. Since consent constitutes Matrimony, it is indispensable and irreplaceable. For a valid marriage the consent must have as its object true Matrimony, and be a human act which is conscious and free and not determined by duress or coercion.

It is worthwhile quoting here the more explanation of the CCC. In point 1625, it explains the MATTER of the sacrament and requirements for the consent.

The parties to a marriage covenant are a baptised man and woman, free to contract marriage, who freely express their consent; "to be free" means:

- not being under constraint;

- not impeded by any natural or ecclesiastical law.

How important is this consent? Point 1626 says:

The Church holds the exchange of consent between the spouses to be the indispensable element that "makes the marriage" [Code of Canon Law, can. 1057 #1]. If consent is lacking there is no marriage.

What exactly do we mean by "consent"? Canon 1057, Section 2 of the Code of Canon Law defines it as follows:

Matrimonial consent is an act of the will by which a man and a woman mutually give and accept each other through an irrevocable covenant in order to establish marriage.

No 1627 of the CCC further explains:

The consent consists in a "human act by which the partners mutually give themselves to each other": "I take you to be my wife" - "I take you to be my husband" [Gaudium et Spes 48 #1; OCM 45; cf Code of Canon Law, can. 1057 #2]. This consent that binds the spouses to each other finds its fulfillment in the two "becoming one flesh" [Genesis 2:24; cf Matthew 10:8; Ephesians 5:31].

As mentioned above, consent has to be free. Without that freedom, there is no consent. Without consent, there is no marriage. Point 1628 confirms this:

The consent must be an act of the will of each of the contracting parties, free of coercion or grave external fear [Code of Canon Law can. 1103]. No human power can substitute for this consent [cf Code of Canon Law can. 1057 #1]. If this freedom is lacking the marriage is invalid.

What happens if it is proven that at least one of the partners was coerced? Point 1629 says:

For this reason (or for other reasons that render the marriage null and void) the Church, after an examination of the situation by the competent ecclesiastical tribunal, can declare the nullity of a marriage, i.e., that the marriage NEVER existed [Code of Canon Law, cann. 1097-1107]. In this case the contracting parties are free to marry, provided the natural obligations of a previous union are discharged [Code of Canon Law can. 1071].

In fact, it is not only coercion that can render a marriage null or invalid. Since freedom proceeds from an act of the intellect and the will (see Lesson 26), we can say that anything that either diminishes [1] the knowledge required or [2] the exercise of the will debilitates freedom.

We thus understand the following specifications of the Code of Canon Law with respect to matrimonial consent.

Can. 1095 The following are incapable of contracting marriage:

1. those who lack the sufficient USE OF REASON;

2. those who suffer from a grave defect of discretion of JUDGEMENT concerning the essential matrimonial rights and duties mutually to be handed over and accepted;

3. those who are not able to assume the essential obligations of marriage for causes of a PSYCHIC NATURE.

Can. 1096

Section 1. For matrimonial consent to exist, the contracting parties must be at least not ignorant that marriage is a PERMANENT PARTNERSHIP between a man and a woman ordered to the PROCREATION of offspring by means of some SEXUAL COOPERATION.

Section 2. This ignorance is not presumed after puberty.

Can. 1097

Section 1. Error concerning the person renders a marriage invalid.

Section 2. Error concerning a quality of the person does not render a marriage invalid even if it is the cause for the contract, unless this quality is directly and principally intended.

Can. 1098 A person contracts invalidly who enters into a marriage deceived by malice, perpetrated to obtain consent, concerning some quality of the other partner which by its very nature can gravely disturb the partnership of conjugal life.

Can. 1099 Error concerning the unity or indissolubility or sacramental dignity of marriage does not vitiate matrimonial consent provided that it does not determine the will.

Can. 1100 The knowledge or opinion of the nullity of a marriage does not necessarily exclude matrimonial consent.

Can. 1101

Section 1. The internal consent of the mind is presumed to conform to the words and signs used in celebrating the marriage.

Section 2. If, however, either or both of the parties by a positive act of the will exclude marriage itself, some essential element of marriage, or some essential property of marriage, the party contracts invalidly.

Can. 1102

Section 1. A marriage subject to a condition about the future cannot be contracted validly.

Section 2. A marriage entered into subject to a condition about the past or the present is valid or not insofar as that which is subject to the condition exists or not.

Section 3. The condition mentioned in §2, however, cannot be placed licitly without the written permission of the local ordinary.

Can. 1103 A marriage is invalid if entered into because of force or grave fear from without, even if unintentionally inflicted, so that a person is compelled to choose marriage in order to be free from it.

Can. 1104

Section 1. To contract a marriage validly the contracting parties must be present together, either in person or by proxy.

Section 2. Those being married are to express matrimonial consent in words or, if they cannot speak, through equivalent signs.

1.3.2 Form

The form of marriage is the expression of consent: "I do." (cf CCC 1632; Code of Canon Law can. 1057)

1.4 Subjects and Ministers

This sacrament is unique in this aspect because MAN AND WOMAN are BOTH SUBJECTS AND MINISTERS. The priest or deacon serves as witness, not as minister. The Youcat (261, 1st edition) says:

The man and woman mutually administer the sacrament of Matrimony. The priest or the deacon calls down God's blessing on the couple and, furthermore, witnesses that the marriage comes about under the right circumstances and that the promise is comprehensive and is made publicly.

As for the Eastern Churches, the CCC (1623) also says:

In the traditions of the Eastern Churches, the priests (bishops or presbyters) are witnesses to the mutual consent given by the spouses [Code of Canon of the Oriental Churches, can. 817], but for the validity of the sacrament their blessing is also necessary [Code of Canon of the Oriental Churches, can. 828].

Point 1630 of the CCC explains why a priest or deacon has to be present.

The priest (or deacon) who assists at the celebration of a marriage receives the consent of the spouses in the name of the Church and gives the blessing of the Church. The presence of the Church's minister (and also of the witnesses) visibly expresses the fact that marriage is an ECCLESIAL REALITY.

For baptised persons, since marriage has been raised to the dignity of a sacrament, a baptised person can only be married VALIDLY if the marriage is done in a sacramental way. The Code of Canon Law (1055 Section 2) explicitly says that

a valid matrimonial contract cannot exist between the baptised without it being by that fact a sacrament.

The CCC (1631) adds:

This is the reason why the Church normally requires that the faithful contract marriage according to the ecclesiastical form. Several reasons converge to explain this requirement [cf Council of Trent: DS 1813-1816; Code of Canon Law can. 1108]:

- Sacramental marriage is a liturgical act. It is therefore appropriate that it should be celebrated in the public liturgy of the Church;

- Marriage introduces one into an ecclesial order, and creates rights and duties in the Church between the spouses and towards their children;

- Since marriage is a state of life in the Church, certainty about it is necessary (hence the obligation to have witnesses);

- The public character of the consent protects the "I do" once given and helps the spouses remain faithful to it.

What about if one of the spouses is not a Catholic? Point 345 of the CCCC (cf CCC 1633-1637) teaches:

[1] A MIXED MARRIAGE (between a Catholic and a baptised non-Catholic) needs FOR LICEITY the PERMISSION of ecclesiastical authority. [2] In a case of DISPARITY OF CULT (between a Catholic and a non-baptised person) a DISPENSATION is required for VALIDITY.

In both cases, it is ESSENTIAL that [1] the spouses do not exclude the acceptance of the essential ends and properties of marriage. It is also necessary for [2] the Catholic party to accept the obligation, of which the non-Catholic party has been advised, to persevere in the faith and to assure the baptism and Catholic education of their children.

1.5 Institution

The CCC (1613) points out that it was the marriage at Cana where Jesus raised the status of marriage to a sacrament.

On the threshold of his public life Jesus performs his first sign - at his mother's request - during a wedding feast [cf John 2:1-11]. The Church attaches great importance to Jesus' presence at the wedding at Cana. She sees in it the confirmation of the goodness of marriage and the proclamation that thenceforth marriage will be an efficacious sign of Christ's presence.

2. The Goods and Requirements of Conjugal Love (see Lesson 35)

2.1 Unity and indissolubility

The Youcat (263, 1st Edition) explains why a valid marriage cannot be dissolved.

Marriage is triply indissoluble: first, because the essence of love is mutual self-giving without reservation; second, because it is an image of God's unconditional faithfulness to his creation; and third, because it represents Christ's devotion to his Church, even unto death on the Cross. (Cf CCC 1605, 1612-1617, 1661)

Blessed John Paul II (15 November 1980) once said about the so-called "trial marriages":

One cannot live a trial life or die a trial death. One cannot love on a trial basis or accept a person on trial and for a limited time.

2.2 Fidelity

Faithfulness goes hand in hand with unity and indissolubility--one has to be faithful for the same three reasons cited above. Regarding mutual giving, the CCC (1646) adds:

By its very nature conjugal love requires the inviolable fidelity of the spouses. This is the consequence of the gift of themselves which they make to each other. Love seeks to be definitive; it cannot be an arrangement "until further notice." The "intimate union of marriage, as a mutual giving of two persons, and the good of the children, demand total fidelity from the spouses and require an unbreakable union between them" [Gaudium et Spes 48 #1].

What is the attitude of the Church toward those people who are divorced and then remarried?

Point 349 of the CCCC (cf CCC 1650-1651, 1665) explains:

The Church, since she is faithful to her Lord, cannot recognize the union of people who are civilly divorced and remarried. "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery" (Mark 10:11-12). The Church manifests an attentive solicitude toward such people and encourages them to a life of faith, prayer, works of charity and the Christian education of their children. However, they cannot receive sacramental absolution, take Holy Communion, or exercise certain ecclesial responsibilities as long as their situation, which objectively contravenes God's law, persists.

2.3 Openness to fertility and life

Children are the fruit of human love and are a gift from God. Aside from bringing new life to the world and cooperating with God's work of creation, parents are also the principal and first educators of their children. (Cf CCC 1652-1654)

What sins are gravely opposed to the sacrament of Matrimony? The CCCC (347; cf CCC 1645-1648) says:

ADULTERY and POLYGAMY are opposed to the sacrament of matrimony because they contradict the equal dignity of man and woman and the unity and exclusivity of married love. Other sins include the DELIBERATE REFUSAL OF ONE'S PROCREATIVE POTENTIAL which deprives conjugal love of the gift of children and DIVORCE which goes against the indissolubility of marriage.

3. Effects

The Sacrament of Matrimony brings about two effects. The CCCC (346; cf CCC 1638-1642) says:

The sacrament of Matrimony [1] establishes a perpetual and exclusive BOND between the spouses. God himself seals the consent of the spouses. Therefore, a marriage which is ratified and consummated between baptised persons can never be dissolved. Furthermore, this sacrament [2] bestows upon the spouses the GRACE necessary to attain holiness in their married life and to accept responsibly the gift of children and provide for their education.

What do the terms "ratified" and "consummated" mean? The Code of Canon Law defines them as follows:

Canon 1061

Section 1. A valid marriage between the baptised is called RATUM TANTUM ["ratified only"] if it has not been consummated; it is called RATUM ET CONSUMMATUM ["ratified and consummated"] if the spouses have performed between themselves in a human fashion a conjugal act which is suitable in itself for the procreation of offspring, to which marriage is ordered by its nature and by which the spouses become one flesh.

Section 2. After a marriage has been celebrated, if the spouses have lived together consummation is presumed until the contrary is proven.

Section 3. An invalid marriage is called putative if at least one party celebrated it in good faith, until both parties become certain of its nullity.

4. Celibacy and Virginity

The CCCC (342; cf CCC 1618-1620) asks: Are all obliged to get married?

Matrimony is not an obligation for everyone, especially since God calls some men and women to follow the Lord Jesus in a life of virginity or of celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. These renounce the great good of Matrimony to concentrate on the things of the Lord and seek to please him. They become a sign of the absolute supremacy of Christ’s love and of the ardent expectation of his glorious return.

Saint Josemaría Escrivá once said in an interview ("Women in Social Life and in the Life of the Church," in Conversations with Monsignor Escrivá de Balaguer):

I always say that people who follow a vocation to apostolic celibacy are not old maids who do not understand or value love; on the contrary, their lives can only be explained in terms of this divine Love (I like to write it with a capital letter) which is the very essence of every Christian vocation.

5. Other Questions Related to Canon Law

5.1 Impediments

Impediments can be classified in many ways. In regard to their effect on the sacrament, impediments can either be [1] DIRIMENT (these INVALIDATE an attempted marriage), or [2] PROHIBITIVE or IMPEDIENT (these make a marriage ILLICIT but VALID.) The 1983 Code of Canon Law defines diriment impediments and also spells out the specifics, but does not list prohibitive impediments as such. Hence, the distinction between validity and licitness is less clear than in previous formularies.

Canon 1073 A diriment impediment renders a person unqualified to contract marriage validly.

Can. 1083

Section 1. A man before he has completed his sixteenth year of age and a woman before she has completed her fourteenth year of age cannot enter into a valid marriage.

Section 2. The conference of bishops is free to establish a higher age for the licit celebration of marriage.

Can. 1084

Section 1. Antecedent and perpetual impotence to have intercourse, whether on the part of the man or the woman, whether absolute or relative, nullifies marriage by its very nature.

Section 2. If the impediment of impotence is doubtful, whether by a doubt about the law or a doubt about a fact, a marriage must not be impeded nor, while the doubt remains, declared null.

Section 3. Sterility neither prohibits nor nullifies marriage, without prejudice to the prescript of can. 1098.

Can. 1085

Section 1. A person bound by the bond of a prior marriage, even if it was not consummated, invalidly attempts marriage.

Section 2. Even if the prior marriage is invalid or dissolved for any reason, it is not on that account permitted to contract another before the nullity or dissolution of the prior marriage is established legitimately and certainly.

Can. 1086

Section 1. A marriage between two persons, one of whom has been baptised in the Catholic Church or received into it and has not defected from it by a formal act and the other of whom is not baptised, is invalid.

Section 2. A person is not to be dispensed from this impediment unless the conditions mentioned in cann. 1125 and 1126 have been fulfilled.

Section 3. If at the time the marriage was contracted one party was commonly held to have been baptised or the baptism was doubtful, the validity of the marriage must be presumed according to the norm of can. 1060 until it is proven with certainty that one party was baptised but the other was not.

Can. 1087 Those in sacred orders invalidly attempt marriage.

Can. 1088 Those bound by a public perpetual vow of chastity in a religious institute invalidly attempt marriage.

Can. 1089 No marriage can exist between a man and a woman who has been abducted or at least detained with a view of contracting marriage with her unless the woman chooses marriage of her own accord after she has been separated from the captor and established in a safe and free place.

Can. 1090

Section 1. Anyone who with a view to entering marriage with a certain person has brought about the death of that person’s spouse or of one’s own spouse invalidly attempts this marriage.

Section 2. Those who have brought about the death of a spouse by mutual physical or moral cooperation also invalidly attempt a marriage together.

Can. 1091

Section 1. In the direct line of consanguinity marriage is invalid between all ancestors and descendants, both legitimate and natural.

Section 2. In the collateral line marriage is invalid up to and including the fourth degree.

Section 3. The impediment of consanguinity is not multiplied.

Section 4. A marriage is never permitted if doubt exists whether the partners are related by consanguinity in any degree of the direct line or in the second degree of the collateral line.

Can. 1092 Affinity in the direct line in any degree invalidates a marriage.

Can. 1093 The impediment of public propriety arises from an invalid marriage after the establishment of common life or from notorious or public concubinage. It nullifies marriage in the first degree of the direct line between the man and the blood relatives of the woman, and vice versa.

Can. 1094 Those who are related in the direct line or in the second degree of the collateral line by a legal relationship arising from adoption cannot contract marriage together validly.

5.2 Mixed marriages and disparity of cult

In places where the majority is not Catholic, there often arises the situation of mixed marriages or marriage with disparity of cult. With regard to mixed marriages, the Code of Canon Law says:

Can. 1124 Without express permission of the competent authority, a marriage is prohibited between two baptised persons of whom one is baptised in the Catholic Church or received into it after baptism and has not defected from it by a formal act and the other of whom is enrolled in a Church or ecclesial community not in full communion with the Catholic Church.

However, points 1633 and 1634 of the CCC point out:

In many countries the situation of a MIXED marriage (marriage between a Catholic and a baptised non-Catholic) often arises. It requires particular attention on the part of couples and their pastors. A case of marriage with DISPARITY OF CULT (between a Catholic and a non-baptised person) requires even greater circumspection.

Difference of confession between the spouses does not constitute an insurmountable obstacle for marriage, when they succeed in placing in common what they have received from their respective communities, and learn from each other the way in which each lives in fidelity to Christ. But the difficulties of mixed marriages must not be underestimated. They arise from the fact that the separation of Christians has not yet been overcome. The spouses risk experiencing the tragedy of Christian disunity even in the heart of their own home. Disparity of cult can further aggravate these difficulties. Differences about faith and the very notion of marriage, but also different religious mentalities, can become sources of tension in marriage, especially as regards the education of children. The temptation to religious indifference can then arise.

In the case of mixed marriages, it would be good if Christian communities can come together to draw up a pastoral practice for mixed marriages. In this way, the couple can be helped to live the obligations of marriage. (Cf CCC 1636)

As for marriages with disparity of cult, the Catholic spouse has to strive through love, humility, patience, and persevering prayer to bring the non-believing spouse to the faith. (Cf CCC 1637)

5.3 Separation of spouses

The Church allows physical separation of spouses. The CCCC (348; cf CCC 1629-1649) states:

The Church permits the physical separation of spouses when for serious reasons their living together becomes practically impossible, even though there may be hope for their reconciliation. As long as one’s spouse lives, however, one is not free to contract a new union, except if the marriage be null and be declared so by ecclesiastical authority.

5.3.1 Dissolution of the Bond

Below are the prescriptions of canon law regarding dissolution of the bond.

Can. 1141 A marriage that is ratum et consummatum can be dissolved by no human power and by no cause, except death.

Can. 1142 For a just cause, the Roman Pontiff can dissolve a non-consummated marriage between baptised persons or between a baptised party and a non-baptised party at the request of both parties or of one of them, even if the other party is unwilling.

Can. 1143

Section 1. A marriage entered into by two non-baptised persons is dissolved by means of the pauline privilege in favour of the faith of the party who has received baptism by the very fact that a new marriage is contracted by the same party, provided that the non-baptised party departs.

Section 2. The non-baptised party is considered to depart if he or she does not wish to cohabit with the baptised party or to cohabit peacefully without affront to the Creator unless the baptised party, after baptism was received, has given the other a just cause for departing.

Can. 1144

Section 1. For the baptised party to contract a new marriage validly, the non-baptised party must always be interrogated whether:

1. he or she also wishes to receive baptism;

2. he or she at least wishes to cohabit peacefully with the baptised party without affront to the Creator.

Section 2. This interrogation must be done after baptism. For a grave cause, however, the local ordinary can permit the interrogation to be done before baptism or can even dispense from the interrogation either before or after baptism provided that it is evident at least by a summary and extrajudicial process that it cannot be done or would be useless.

Can. 1145

Section 1. The interrogation is regularly to be done on the authority of the local ordinary of the converted party.

This ordinary must grant the other spouse a period of time to respond if the spouse seeks it, after having been advised, however, that his or her silence will be considered a negative response if the period passes without effect.

Section 2. Even an interrogation made privately by the converted party is valid and indeed licit if the form prescribed above cannot be observed.

Section 3. In either case, the fact that the interrogation was done and its outcome must be established legitimately in the external forum.

Can. 1146 The baptised party has the right to contract a new marriage with a Catholic party:

1. if the other party responded negatively to the interrogation or if the interrogation had been omitted legitimately;

2. if the non-baptised party, already interrogated or not, at first persevered in peaceful cohabitation without affront to the Creator but then departed without a just cause, without prejudice to the prescripts of cann. 1144 and 1145.

Can. 1147 For a grave cause, however, the local ordinary can allow a baptised party who uses the pauline privilege to contract marriage with a non-Catholic party, whether baptised or not baptised; the prescripts of the canons about mixed marriages are also to be observed.

Can. 1148

Section 1. When he receives baptism in the Catholic Church, a non-baptised man who has several non-baptised wives at the same time can retain one of them after the others have been dismissed, if it is hard for him to remain with the first one. The same is valid for a non-baptised woman who has several non-baptised husbands at the same time.

Section 2. In the cases mentioned in Section 1, marriage must be contracted in legitimate form after baptism has been received, and the prescripts about mixed marriages, if necessary, and other matters required by the law are to be observed.

Section 3. Keeping in mind the moral, social, and economic conditions of places and of persons, the local ordinary is to take care that the needs of the first wife and the others dismissed are sufficiently provided for according to the norms of justice, Christian charity, and natural equity.

Can. 1149 A non-baptised person who, after having received baptism in the Catholic Church, cannot restore cohabitation with a non-baptised spouse by reason of captivity or persecution can contract another marriage even if the other party has received baptism in the meantime, without prejudice to the prescript of can. 1141.

Can. 1150 In a doubtful matter the privilege of faith possesses the favour of the law.

5.3.2 Separation While Bond Remains

The following canons of the Code of Canon Law regulate situations of separation with the bond remaining.

Can. 1151 Spouses have the duty and right to preserve conjugal living unless a legitimate cause excuses them.

Can. 1152

Section 1. Although it is earnestly recommended that a spouse, moved by Christian charity and concerned for the good of the family, not refuse forgiveness to an adulterous partner and not disrupt conjugal life, nevertheless, if the spouse did not condone the fault of the other expressly or tacitly, the spouse has the right to sever conjugal living unless the spouse consented to the adultery, gave cause for it, or also committed adultery.

Section 2. Tacit condonation exists if the innocent spouse has had marital relations voluntarily with the other spouse after having become certain of the adultery. It is presumed, moreover, if the spouse observed conjugal living for six months and did not make recourse to the ecclesiastical or civil authority.

Section 3. If the innocent spouse has severed conjugal living voluntarily, the spouse is to introduce a cause for separation within six months to the competent ecclesiastical authority which, after having investigated all the circumstances, is to consider carefully whether the innocent spouse can be moved to forgive the fault and not to prolong the separation permanently.

Can. 1153

Section 1. If either of the spouses causes grave mental or physical danger to the other spouse or to the offspring or otherwise renders common life too difficult, that spouse gives the other a legitimate cause for leaving, either by decree of the local ordinary or even on his or her own authority if there is danger in delay.

Section 2. In all cases, when the cause for the separation ceases, conjugal living must be restored unless ecclesiastical authority has established otherwise.

Can. 1154 After the separation of the spouses has taken place, the adequate support and education of the children must always be suitably provided.

Can. 1155 The innocent spouse laudably can readmit the other spouse to conjugal life; in this case the innocent spouse renounces the right to separate.

5.4 Convalidation of Marriage

What about marriages which were invalid because of a diriment impediment--is there a solution to validate them? The Code of Canon Law treats of this topic in two articles: [1] Simple Convalidation; and [2] Radical Sanation.

ARTICLE 1. SIMPLE CONVALIDATION

Can. 1156

Section 1. To convalidate a marriage which is invalid because of a diriment impediment, it is required that the impediment ceases or is dispensed and that at least the party conscious of the impediment renews consent.

Section 2. Ecclesiastical law requires this renewal for the validity of the convalidation even if each party gave consent at the beginning and did not revoke it afterwards.

Can. 1157 The renewal of consent must be a new act of the will concerning a marriage which the renewing party knows or thinks was null from the beginning.

Can. 1158

Section 1. If the impediment is public, both parties must renew the consent in canonical form, without prejudice to the prescript of can. 1127, §2.

Section 2. If the impediment cannot be proven, it is sufficient that the party conscious of the impediment renews the consent privately and in secret, provided that the other perseveres in the consent offered; if the impediment is known to both parties, both are to renew the consent.

Can. 1159

Section 1. A marriage which is invalid because of a defect of consent is convalidated if the party who did not consent now consents, provided that the consent given by the other party perseveres.

Section 2. If the defect of consent cannot be proven, it is sufficient that the party who did not consent gives consent privately and in secret.

Section 3. If the defect of consent can be proven, the consent must be given in canonical form.

Can. 1160 A marriage which is null because of defect of form must be contracted anew in canonical form in order to become valid, without prejudice to the prescript of can. 1127, §2.

ARTICLE 2. RADICAL SANATION

Can. 1161

Section 1. The radical sanation of an invalid marriage is its convalidation without the renewal of consent, which is granted by competent authority and entails the dispensation from an impediment, if there is one, and from canonical form, if it was not observed, and the retroactivity of canonical effects.

Section 2. Convalidation occurs at the moment of the granting of the favour. Retroactivity, however, is understood to extend to the moment of the celebration of the marriage unless other provision is expressly made.

Section 3. A radical sanation is not to be granted unless it is probable that the parties wish to persevere in conjugal life.

Can. 1162

Section 1. A marriage cannot be radically sanated if consent is lacking in either or both of the parties, whether the consent was lacking from the beginning or, though present in the beginning, was revoked afterwards.

Section 2. If this consent was indeed lacking from the beginning but was given afterwards, the sanation can be granted from the moment the consent was given.

Can. 1163

Section 1. A marriage which is invalid because of an impediment or a defect of legitimate form can be sanated provided that the consent of each party perseveres.

Section 2. A marriage which is invalid because of an impediment of natural law or of divine positive law can be sanated only after the impediment has ceased.

Can. 1164 A sanation can be granted validly even if either or both of the parties do not know of it; nevertheless, it is not to be granted except for a grave cause.

Can. 1165

Section 1. The Apostolic See can grant a radical sanation.

Section 2. The diocesan bishop can grant a radical sanation in individual cases even if there are several reasons for nullity in the same marriage, after the conditions mentioned in ⇒ can. 1125 for the sanation of a mixed marriage have been ful-filled. He cannot grant one, however, if there is an impediment whose dispensation is reserved to the Apostolic See according to the norm of ⇒ can. 1078, §2, or if it concerns an impediment of natural law or divine positive law which has now ceased.