The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1907-08-31
CLANDESTINITY.

Rome, Aug. 24--Within few days an extraor-
dnarily sensational and revolutionary law inter
esting all Catholic clergymen and laymen in the
United States and affecting directly all Catholics
in America will be promulgated by the Vatican au
thorities.
Until now the church law has been that Amer
lean Catholics can contract marriage validity, al
though illicitly by going before justice or even
before a Protestant minister when duly licensed
by the civil authorities but under the new law all
these marriages will be regarded null and void
among Catholics.
The new law, which is contained in a decree
of the congregation of the council drafted at the
special request of his Holiness, Pope Plus X,
dams that from next Easter no marriages among
Catholics shall be valid unless they are contracted
before duly authorized priest in the presence of
two witnesses.
There will he only two exceptions to this law
which is to be universal for all countries of the
globe. The first is that when there is imminent
danger of death and duly authorized priest is
obtainable, that any obtainable priest perform
the ceremony In the presence of two witnesses.
The second is decidedly revolutionary 1t IS
that when there is no priest obtainable In the dis
trict a man and woman may contract a marriage
that will be valid merely by announcing their
consent or intentions in the presence of two wit
nesses
This latter is the most important change made
in the marriage laws of the church during the
past three centuries. 1t introduces a radical over
turning of legislation in every country of the
world and is regarded the very first indication
of sweeping changes that are to be introduced in
the new code of Plus X which has engaged the
Catholic church for the past four years and which
will cover the entire field of church legislation,
The above cablegram, which appeared in Sun
days Intermountain Republican, has reference to
clandestine marriages. 1t simply means the en-
forcement of the impeachment of clandestinity
acted by the Council of Trent. This means that
Catholics must go before their parish priest and
two witnesses. Wherever the Couneil,of Trent is
published this law holds good. In the United
States it is published in provinces of New Orleans
and San Francisco, Salt Lake being in the lat
ter province, the law is in force in this diocese
It is also published in the diocese of Vincennes.
in the city of st. Louis and the parishes named
st. Genevieve, Florissant and St. Charles. In the
diocese of Alton which includes the central part
of the state of Illinois, it is published in Cahokia,
Kaskasda and Prairie du Rocher The reason
the Council of Trent published in these
places is that, when under French and Spanish
dominion, missionaries from those countries Wis
tied those places and preached the gospel The
impeachment of clandestinity was always binding
in those parishes Hence its publication, if the
cablegram be true, is no innovation and nothing
new to the Catholics of the United States. The
Tridentine decree is in force in all Catholic coun
tries
Even the exceptions and for the causes given,
nothing new. In case of death, the priests
jurisdiction is not limited. as the church makes
every provision for the salvation of the soul. As
the essence of the sacrament of matrimony con-
sists in the mutual, deliberate and voluntary con-
sent of the contracting parties, there is nothing
revolutionary in pronouncing a marriage,
where it is impossible for priest to be present,
and when the parties in the presence of two wit
nesses give their consent, valid The promuIga-
ton of the old law means no radical change, but
simply putting in force the Council of Trent,
which has been the established law governing mar
riages in Catholic countries even in some parts of
the United States and Canada