Canon 10: Marriage
10.1 The
matrimonial covenant, by which a couple establishes between
themselves a partnership of the whole life, is by its nature ordered
toward the good of the spouses; this covenant between Baptized
persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a
Sacrament.
10.2 Marriage
is brought about through the consent manifested between the parties
who are capable of giving consent. No human power can replace this
consent.
10.3 All
persons who are not prohibited by canon law can contract Marriage.
10.4 The
Evangelical Catholic Church witnesses and celebrates the marriages
of persons of the same sex, and declares that these marriages to be
valid and equal sacraments of Matrimony in the Church as any other
marriage celebrated by the Church.
10.5 Pastors
of souls are obliged to see to it that their own ecclesial community
furnishes the Christian Faithful assistance so that the matrimonial
state is maintained in a Christian spirit and makes progress towards
perfection. This assistance is especially to be furnished through:
§1 Preaching
and catechesis; so that the Christian Faithful may be instructed
concerning the meaning of Christian Marriage and the duty of
Christian spouses and parents.
§2 Personal
preparation for entering marriage so that the parties may be
predisposed toward the holiness and duties of their new state.
§3 Assistance
furnished to those already married so that, while faithfully
maintaining and protected the conjugal covenant, they may come to
lead holier and fuller lives.
10.6 If they
can do so without serious inconvenience, Catholics who have not yet
received the Sacrament of Confirmation are to receive it before
being admitted into Marriage.
10.7 It is
strongly recommended that those to be married approach the Sacrament
of Reconciliation and the Most Holy Eucharist so that they may
fruitfully receive the Sacrament of Marriage.
10.8 Before
Marriage is celebrated, it must be evident that nothing stands in
the way of its valid and licit celebration.
10.9 All the
faithful are obliged to reveal any impediments they are aware of to
the pastor or to the local ordinary before the celebration of a
Marriage.
10.10 A person
must have completed their eighteenth year of age prior to entering
into the Sacrament of Marriage.
10.11 A person
who, for the purpose of entering Marriage with a certain person, has
brought about the death of that person’s spouse or one’s own spouse,
attempts such a Marriage invalidly.
10.12
Consanguinity in the direct line in any degree whatsoever
invalidates Matrimony.
10.13 In the
collateral line of consanguinity, Marriage is invalid up to and
including the fourth degree.
10.14 A
dispensation can never be given from the impediment of consanguinity
in the direct line.
10.15 A
dispensation can be given from the impediment of consanguinity in
the fourth degree of the collateral line by the local ordinary only
for a grave reason.
10.16 Affinity
in the direct line in any degree whatsoever invalidates Matrimony.
§1 A
dispensation from the impediment of affinity in the direct line can
be given by the local ordinary only for a grave reason.
10.17 They
cannot validly contract marriage between themselves who are related
in any degree whatsoever in the direct line, or up to and including
the fourth degree in the collateral line through a relationship
arising from legal adoption.
§1 A
dispensation can never be granted from the impediment of a
relationship in the direct line arising from legal adoption.
§2 A
dispensation from the impediment of a relationship arising from
legal adoption in the fourth degree of the collateral line can be
granted by the local ordinary only for a grave reason.
10.18 Those
who lack sufficient use of reason are incapable of contracting
Marriage.
10.19 A person
contracts invalidly who enters Marriage deceived by fraud,
perpetrated to obtain consent, concerning some quality in the other
party which by its very nature can seriously disrupt the partnership
of conjugal life.
10.20 In
general, a marriage, which cannot be recognized or celebrated in
accord with the norm of civil law, shall not be witnessed by a
cleric of this denomination without the permission of the local
ordinary. This Canon shall not be interpreted as prohibiting or
invalidating Marriage between persons of differing races, different
ethnic heritage or persons
of a common gender.
10.21 The
internal consent of the mind is presumed to be in agreement with the
words or signs employed in celebrating Matrimony.
10.22 Marriage
can be contracted by means of an interpreter.
10.23 Only
those Marriages are valid which are contracted in the presence of
the local ordinary or the pastor or a priest or deacon delegated by
either of them, who assists, and in the presence of two witnesses,
according to the norms expressed in the following:
§1 The one
assisting at a marriage is understood to be only that person who,
present at the ceremony, asks for the contractants’ manifestation of
consent and receives it in the name of the Church.
10.24 Unless
they have been excommunicated, interdicted, or suspended from office
or declared such, whether by sentence or decree, within the confines
of their territory, the local ordinary or pastor, by virtue of their
offices, validly assist at the Marriages of their subjects as well
as of non-subjects.
10.25 As long
as they validly hold office, the local ordinary and the pastor can
delegate to priests and deacons the faculty to assist at Marriages
within the limits of their territory.
10.26 Outside
of a case of necessity, the rites prescribed in the liturgical books
approved by the Church or received through legitimate custom are to
be observed in the celebration of Marriage.
10.27 If the
Marriage was contracted in a parish where a spouse was not baptized,
the pastor of the place where it was celebrated is to send a notice
of the contracted Marriage as soon as possible to the pastor where
the baptism was conferred.
10.28 Local
ordinaries and other pastors of souls are to see to it that the
Catholic spouse and children of an ecumenical Marriage do not lack
spiritual assistance fulfilling their obligations and are to aid the
spouses in fostering the unity of conjugal and family life.
10.29 For only
serious and urgent reasons can the local ordinary permit a Marriage
to be celebrated secretly.
10.30 Parents
have the most serious duty and the primary right to do all in their
power to see to the physical, social, cultural, moral, and religious
upbringing of their children.
10.31 Persons
who are bound by a public vow of chastity invalidly attempt
marriage.
§ The
impediment cited in Canon 9.31 ceases only after a dispensation from
the vow has been granted by the appropriate authority.
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