, 1907-09-19
CHANGES IN
THE LAWS
CATHOLIC CHURCH UNDERGOING
REVOLUTION IN MATTER OF
MARRIAGE REGULATIONS

~N
Being Unable to Secure a Pries'
to Contract What is Known a.
Common Law Marriage.
In order to avert serious evils, the
Catholic church. which from time i'm
memorial has laid stress on the sane
tity of matrimony. has promulgated
a new set Of rules governing the ceIe.
bration of the ceremony which is 60
ing to prove startling when formally
presented through the bishops and
archbishops of America, says the Den.
yer Post. One of the new rules legit,
imatizes what is generally known DIS
the ''common-law" marriage in rare
cases, for the reason that it has been
proved by time that in certain isolated
sections of the country great evil re-
suits from the %infrequent visits of the
priest.
This one feature of the new code Is
bound to meal agitation among the
clergy, and while it is generally fav.
| u Sa' IN hihSSi vi u I VlolIJ
OF the law is great.
Translated from the Latin, in which
tongue the sacred congregation of the
propaganda speaks, tie new law reads:
Wording Of Law.
Should it happen that in any dis.
trict the parish priest or the ordinary
of the place or a priest delegated by
either of them before whom marriage
can be celebrated is not to be had, and
that this condition of things has lasted
for a month, marriage may be validly
and licitly entered upon by the formal
declaration of consent made by the
spouses in the presence of two wit
~nesses."
The Celebrants.
Technically the church regards the
parties to a marriage ceremony as the
~celebrants and does not teach that the
priest has the power OF administering
the sacrament, but that he is a neces
saly witness.
The law, however, specifically sets
out that such a contract may be re
garded as a marriage only when there
is no priest available nor has there
been for a period of thirty days. TIC
satisfy the state the civil ceremony
may be performed before a magistrate
Breaking Engagements.
The amendment of the new law on
sponsalia is a salient feature ofsthe
new code. The church has always
recognized a previous engagement not
broken by mutual consent as a ban to
matrimony, and of late in Denver the
priests have repeatedly encountered
difficulty in securing a d%ispensation
for marriage where one of the parties
has broken an engagement without the
consent of the other. Father Organ
has fatty refused to be a party to such
o ceremony. The new law says that
the only sponsalia (espousaD which
shall be considered binding by the
church shall be made in writing and
witnessed by the parish priest. En-
gagements entered into without this
precaution shall not be considered a
ban to marriage with another party,
Must Go to Parish Priest.
The necessity of going to the parish
priest for the marriage ceremony is
performed by other than the parish
priest or some n delegated by him
is valid, but is on the part of the offic,
iating priest a breach of the law.
The Tablet, the official organ of the
Catholic church to carry it's message
to the English-speaking people, gives
a lucid Interpretation Of the ley law.
which, in part, follows:
Interpretation of Law.
up to this time, when a Catholic
in defiance of the law of the church,
has so far forgotten himself as to be
married in a Protestant church or in
a registry Office, the church held the
marriage to be sinful and sacrilegous,
and the parties guilty Of grievous sin,
but at the same time recognized the
marriage to be valid and binding and
the parties to be truly man and wife
After Easter next such marriages in
Protestant churches Of registry Offices
| will be for Catholics, not only sinful,
but invalid, and the persons who con
| tract them will have merely gone
through an empty ceremony and will
be no more man and wife after it thar
they were before"
! Form Of Common Marriage.
The Tablet says: Let us suppose
the exceptional case that A and B are
living in the wilds of Australia, or
America, or in some country where
there is a violent persecution Of the
church, and they find that, after wait.
ing for a whole month the priest of the
place, or any other priest authorized
by him or by the bishop is not acces'
sible, then they have only to call two
witnesses and take each other as mar