Evening star., 1901-09-24
THE CHURCH AND DIVORCE
EPISCOPAL GENERAL CONVENTION
WILL CONSIDER QUESTION.
Effort VIII BE Made to Make Break
ing of Marriage Ties More
Difficult.

The general convention Of the Protestant
Episcopal Church, which will assemble at
SaE Francisco next week, will take up the
subject of divorce and will endeavor to
place additional obstacles in the way of
divorce and of remarriage of the former
welded couple.
At the last general convention held in
1888 two commissions on the revision of its
canons were appointed The one was to
prepare general scheme of revision and
the other amendments to the marriage and
divorce canons specifically.
This Is the proposed canon governing the
remarriage of the divorced:
mo minister shall solemnize a marriage
between any two persons unless or until by
inquiry he shall have satisfied himself that
neither person has been or is the husband
the wife of any other person then liv-
ing; unless the former marriage was an
nulled by decree of some competent
jurisdiction for cause existing before such
former marriage
Furthermore, a canon suggests discipline
for divorced persons thus:
mo person divorced for cause arising
after marriage and marrying again during
the lifetime of the other party to the d.
vorce shall be admitted to baptism or con-
drmation, or received to the holy COM
munion, except when penitent and separ-
ated from the other party to the subse-
quent marriage, or when penitent and in
immediate danger of death, but this canon
shall not apply to the innocent party to a
divorce for the cause of adultery
Elopements Of young persons are frowned
upon. mo minister shall solemniZe the
marriage of any person who is minor
under the law of the place of marriage
unless the parent or guardian of such
minor is present and consenting or shall
have given written consent to the mar
riage or is permanently resident in a for
eign country"
Other Propositions.
Another precaution against ill-advised
marriages taken follows: mo minister
shall solemnize a marriage except in the
presence of at least two witnesses the
minister or the witnesses being personally
acquainted with the parties
The existing marriage canon permits
minister to marry 'the innocent party in
a divorce suit for the cause of adultery
during the life of the divorced partner. Both
these committees agree in substituting a
prohibition of the marriage of any person
who has been is the husband the
wife of any other person living, unless
the former marriage was annulled by de-
cree of some civil court of competent juriS-
diction for cause existing before such mar
riage.' That is, the marriage of the di-
vorced is forbidden absolutely during the
lifetime of either party to a divorce. a
subsequent canon, however, substantially
the same in both reports, excludes from
munion any divorced person who marries
again, but with this proviso: This canon
shall not apply to the innocent party to 4
divorce for the cause Of adultery
Thus Ii seems that while Episcopal
minister is forbidden to marry the divorced,
innocent parties to divorce suits for adui-
terry may get married by some other min
lister or by civil officer without rendering
themselves liable to communication. The
existing canon requires a minister to ex-
clude from the sacraments any person who
he has reason to believe has been married
otherwise than as the word of God and
discipline Of this church allow" until he
has referred the case Ito the bishop for
his godly judgment thereupon." The pro-
posed canon requires that the minister shall
give to the person due and sufficient de-
nial of such intended denial,' and allows
to the excommunicated an appeal to the
bishop, whose judgment shall be final. The
canon of the special committee on mar
riage and divorce gives to the bishop
power to grant the dispensaton and such
other relief as may be necessary but this
clause Is omitted by the general committee
of revision.
Results in Doubt.
uueStion of capopical revision has