2794. The Elements of Marriage as a Sacr_Moral theology

of marriage are found in the contract, for the Sacrament is the natural

pact elevated to the dignity of a sacred sign productive of grace. The

remote matter is, therefore, the bodies of the spouses, or the bodily

rights which they give one another (I Cor., vii. 4). Since the

indeterminate part of a contract is the offer or bestowal, and the

determinate part the approval, the proximate matter of Matrimony is

found in the grant of mutual conjugal rights externally manifested, and

the form in the acceptance of that right externally manifested.

(b) The ministers and the recipients of Matrimony are the parties

themselves, since it is they alone who make and receive the contract.

In order to be a recipient of the Sacrament it is necessary that a

person be baptized and be free from all natural, divine and human

impediments that make one incapable of the contract of marriage.

sanctity and is of help especially for the due performance throughout

life of the duties of the conjugal state and for domestic blessedness

and happiness.

2795. Duties in Connection with Marriage.--The duties in reference to

marriage as a permanent state of life were treated already in 2613

sqq., and we shall consider here only the duties that have to do with

marriage as a contract and a Sacrament. These duties can be arranged

under three heads: (a) before marriage, there are obligations in

reference to the preparation for marriage, which consists remotely in

engagement or espousals, and proximately in compliance with duties owed

to divine, ecclesiastical, and civil law (e.g., license from the State,

establishment of freedom to marry, proclamation of banns,

dispensations, confession); (b) during marriage, in addition to the

common obligations of intention and a state of grace, there are special

duties in reference to the external form or rite of marriage; (c) after

marriage, there is a duty of making canonical records and of validating

defective marriages.

2796. Betrothal or Engagement.--Engagement is a promise of their future

marriage made by competent persons.

(a) It is a promise, either unilateral or bilateral, the latter being

espousals or betrothal in the strict sense of the word (1749). Like

every promise, engagement is not binding unless it be made with

requisite deliberation and freedom from force and fear. But a valid

engagement to marry has not the same strength, either from divine or

from human law, as a contract of marriage, and hence fraud or light

fear unjustly produced and which induces one to become engaged leaves

the engagement rescindable at the will of the innocent party. Canon Law

requires certain formalities for a valid engagement, and without them

there is no obligation in either forum. The law is that the contract of

betrothal be in writing, and be signed by the parties and also by the

pastor or local Ordinary or two witnesses, and that, if one or both of

the parties be unable to write, this be noted in the document and an

extra witness be added (Canon 1017).

(b) It is a promise made by competent persons. Hence, there is no valid

engagement if a party is incapable either naturally (e.g., one who has

not the use of reason) or canonically (e.g., one who has not attained

the age of seven years). It is against good morals to be engaged to two

persons at the same time, with the understanding that one will marry

the second after the expected death of the first; and much more is it

immoral for a married person to become engaged to marry another, the

marriage to take place after the death of the present consort. Some

canonists hold that engagements are not valid before the age of

puberty, on account of the lack of sufficient discretion.

not a contract of marriage. A nuptial engagement is invalid if the

marriage promised is invalid or unlawful, for no one can bind himself

to sin. An invalid marriage is promised if there is a diriment and not

dispensable impediment in the way, or if in spite of a removable

impediment the engagement is unconditional, unless the mind of the

parties is to marry after the impediment has ceased. The Church seems

to regard as null an engagement made on the condition that the Pope

will dispense an impediment. An unlawful marriage is promised when the

parties cannot marry without sin (e.g., when the marriage will bring

great sorrow or disgrace on parents), or when they promise to marry in

a sinful way (e.g., with the understanding that they will abuse

marriage). But an unlawful promise of a lawful marriage is not

necessarily invalid, and hence an engagement dependent on an immoral

condition not opposed to the substance of marriage would become

obligatory on fulfillment of the condition (see 1878 d, 1886).

2797. It should be noted that the former diriment and impedient

impediments produced by espousals are no longer in force, and even a

valid engagement gives no right to an action for the celebration of

marriage.

2798. Is an Engagement Necessary before Marriage?--(a) An engagement is

not strictly necessary. Neither the validity nor the lawfulness of

marriage depends on espousals, for there is no law that requires this.

Hence, if for a reasonable cause a man and woman married without any

previous binding pledge on either side, the marriage would be good and

lawful. The formal engagements of Canon Law are not common in this

country, but an informal engagement usually precedes matrimony.

(b) Engagement is most suitable and useful. Men are accustomed to fit

themselves by long and serious study for the business of a profession

or calling, and to enter into preliminary agreements about contracts of

major importance (as in contracts to sell), and certainly marriage, a

contract and vocation that binds until death and upon which the

spiritual and temporal welfare of society and individuals rests, is

among the most momentous of human agreements. The special advantage of

engagement is that it affords a means of preventing hasty and

ill-advised unions, of discovering impediments, of securing the consent

of parents, and of preparing oneself in knowledge and virtue for the

duties of the married state. If engagements were regarded and treated

as a period of training for serious and sacred duties, not as a time

for frivolity or enjoyment, there would be fewer divorces and less talk

about trial marriages. On the duties of engaged persons to one another,

see 2628, 2629.

2799. Duties to Parents or Guardians in Reference to Marriage.--(a)

There is, _per se_, a duty of consulting with one’s parents about one’s

marriage; for he who marries without their knowledge, generally exposes

himself to the danger of making a serious mistake, and moreover as a

rule the interests of parents themselves are bound up intimately with

the marriages of their children. Hence, unless a very serious reason

excuses, he who marries without advising with his parents sins

grievously by his rashness or want of filial affection. The same is

true, if a child wilfully disregards the wishes of his parents by

stubbornly marrying when for a good reason they disapprove. If their

opposition is imperative and emphatic, or if they are grief-stricken at

thought of the imprudent marriage, the sin is serious; but if their

opposition is mild and the match not a very bad one, the sin is venial.

The consent or counsel of parents is not necessary for validity,

however, since it is not they who are getting married, and no law makes

their consent or counsel an essential part of the compact. _Per

accidens_, their consent or counsel is not even necessary for

lawfulness, as when the children live far away from their parents, or

when marriage has to be contracted without delay, or when the parents

are unreasonable in their opposition.

(b) There is, _per se_, no duty of obeying one’s parents in the matter

of marriage: first, because marriage supposes choice, admiration, and

love, and these do not submit to dictation, even from parents; next,

because in things that pertain to nature, such as self-preservation and

procreation, children are not subject to their parents; finally,

because the authority of parents does not extend to the whole lifetime

of their children and marriage is a lifelong union. Hence, parents may

not compel their children to marry or to remain single; they may not

make the match for their children against the latters’ will, they may

not force a child to marry a person whom he or she detests, they may

not veto a marriage that does not appeal to them if the son or daughter

has good reasons for it. Those parents sin, then, who refuse their

blessing to a marriage out of selfishness, and those parents sin

gravely who force their children into loveless unions and so make them

unhappy in this world and endanger their salvation for the world to

come. _Per accidens_, there is a duty of obeying parents in reference

to marriage when one is obliged even apart from their command to do

what they prescribe, when the marriage which they forbid is also

forbidden by law (e.g., if the child is needed at home to support his

indigent parents, if the mate selected will bring disgrace upon the

family and the match can easily be broken off), or when the marriage

which they require is also demanded by duty (e.g., if a son will surely

enter upon a wild and reckless life unless he marries). See above,

2228, 2627, 2633, 2636, 2347, 2348, 2361 sqq.

2800. Duties of Parents in Reference to Marriage.--(a) If there is

question of the marriage of a child, parents should guide themselves by

the rule of St. Paul: “Let her marry whom she will, only in the Lord”

(I Cor., vii. 39). Undue pressure should be avoided, but bad marriages

should be opposed, and parents should assist their children to marry

well. (b) If there is question of a parent’s second marriage, the

children’s interests should be considered in making the choice of the

step-father or step-mother, and, if the children are grown up, they

should be consulted, or at least they should not be unreasonably

saddened or harmed by the new marriage.

2801. Obstacles to Marriage.--Since marriage is a most important

contract and a Sacrament, it is necessary to ascertain beforehand with

moral certainty that there is no obstacle to its valid and lawful

celebration. This imposes duties on the pastor, the couple themselves,

and the faithful who know them.

(a) The pastor in virtue of his office is gravely obliged to make

inquiries about the competency and fitness of the prospective husband

and wife, and even in a death-bed marriage the obligation does not

cease. Church law prescribes the method of inquiry, which should

include an examination and instruction of the couple and a publication

of the marriage. Of course, there is an obligation of confidential

secrecy.

(b) The couple are bound to present themselves to the pastor within a

reasonable time before the marriage in order to make these

arrangements, and should bring with them the necessary papers (for

example, their baptismal certificates, license to marry, testimonials).

They are gravely obliged to make known either to the pastor or to the

confessor any impediment, even though it be of a secret and culpable

nature, in order that their marriage may be valid and lawful, unless

they wish to give up the marriage or seek a dispensation in some other

way.

pain of mortal sin to make it known in time to the pastor or Ordinary;

for the natural and divine laws, as well as the law of the Church, hold

one to speak when this will prevent irreverence to the Sacrament of

Matrimony, sin and other serious evils to the neighbor. The obligation

ceases, however, when the revelation is either impossible or useless.

Cases of impossibility are those in which revelation will cause great

spiritual harm (e.g., public scandal), or great temporal harm of a

public kind (e.g., violation of professional secret), or a great

temporal harm of a private kind (e.g., persecution), unless a more

serious evil will result from concealment. Revelation is useless when

the marriage can be stopped or made legal in some other way (e.g., by

persuading the couple to break their engagement or get a dispensation),

or when one foresees that the revelation will have no effect.

2802. Duties of the Pastor in the Examination of Engaged Persons.--(a)

He should question both the man and the woman separately and prudently

about their freedom to marry, even though he is certain that there are

no impediments. He should inquire especially whether there has been a

previous marriage, and should also ask specifically about any

impediment that seems likely. About impediments of a defamatory kind he

should not interrogate before others, leaving that matter if necessary

to his doctrinal instruction or to the confessor. (b) He should ask

both of them, and especially the woman, whether they have decided on

marriage freely, without force or pressure from any person. But

children who live with their parents should be asked whether or not

they have obtained their parents’ consent to the proposed marriage.

2803. Special Proofs of Freedom to Marry.--(a) Proof of Baptism.--A

baptismal certificate should be presented by the parties (if baptized

in another parish), even by one who is a baptized non-Catholic. If a

certificate cannot be had, other proofs are necessary. In danger of

death, the sworn testimony of the parties suffices; outside danger of

death, the testimony of a reliable witness, or of the person himself,

if he can remember his Baptism, or, it seems, a certificate of

Confirmation or First Communion will do. If Baptism cannot be proved

and there is a prudent doubt, it should be administered conditionally.

(b) Proof of Single State.--If it is manifest that a previous civil

marriage was null and was dissolved by divorce, the proof of the facts

suffices. If the husband or wife of a previous marriage has died, but

the pastor has no personal knowledge of this, positive proof of the

decease in the form of a public document or of sworn testimony of two

or at least one reliable witness is necessary, and if the pastor cannot

obtain these he must have recourse to the Ordinary.

2804. Matrimonial Impediments.--(a) Definition.--An impediment is a

circumstance directly affecting the contract of marriage and rendering

it illicit or invalid. Thus, an impediment differs from an unfitness

that refers immediately to marriage as a sacred rite or Sacrament (such

as lack of proper intention or a state of mortal sin), or that does not

directly affect the parties (such as forbidden time).

(b) Division.--In reference to effects, an impediment is either

impedient (i.e., one that forbids marriage under pain of grave sin but

does not render it null and void) or diriment (i.e., one that not only

forbids marriage, but also makes it null and void).

2805. Sinfulness of Marrying with an Impediment.--(a) If the impediment

is certain, grave sin is committed; for deception and disobedience are

committed in a grave and sacred matter, and, if the impediment is

diriment, the marriage contract is made null. Great necessity, however,

would sometimes excuse.

(b) If the impediment is uncertain, no sin is committed when the

impediment is one of ecclesiastical law and the doubt is one of law,

for in such a case the legislator removes the obligation (Canon 15);

nor when the impediment is impotency (Canon 1068), in view of the fact

that the general law of propagation of the race leaves a natural

presumption against impotency, which can be overcome only by a certain

impediment. It would be an intolerable hardship if marriage were made

impossible by a doubt where proof is so difficult. There is a serious

sin, however, in other cases, because one is either exposing the

Sacrament to nullity or is refusing, contrary to a serious command of

the Church, to seek a dispensation.

2806. The Impedient or Prohibitive Impediments (Canons 1058-1066).--(a)

Vow.--The following simple vows make marriage illicit: the vow of

virginity, that of perfect chastity, the vow not to marry, the vow to

receive Sacred Orders, the vow to enter religious life, the simple vows

of religion. A vow to abstain from the use of marriage is not against

the substance of marriage, but it is difficult to keep in the married

state; the vows to enter religion, or take Sacred Orders, or not to

wed, are incompatible with marriage. Hence, the Church forbids one who

has these vows to marry, unless the vow be first dispensed. Those who

marry while bound by one of these vows sin gravely, and are held to

keep the vow if this is possible or the other party’s rights do not

prevent.

(b) Legal Relationship.--In those countries where relationship from

adoption makes marriage illicit, there is also an impedient impediment

of Canon Law. The Church wishes, in so far as possible, to preserve

harmony between her own law and that of the State. Hence, she includes

in her Code the civil law regulations that forbid marriage to certain

persons on account of the intimate relation that exists between them

through civil law adoption. The law of some European (e.g., France,

Germany, Switzerland) and South American countries have a prohibitive

impediment of adoption, but in the United States, the British Empire,

and many other countries adoption is no such hindrance to marriage.

Catholic and the other a member of an heretical or schismatical sect,

is severely forbidden by the Church. Mixed marriages in themselves are

opposed to divine and natural law, inasmuch as they offer an occasion

for communication in false worship and a danger of perversion; and

hence they have been disapproved from the very beginning of the Church

(II John, X. 11; I Cor., v. 10; Tit., iii. 10). But the divine

prohibition ceases if appropriate measures are used to safeguard the

faith of the Catholic and the children, and the Church will grant a

dispensation, though reluctantly and only for just and grave causes.

2807. Duties in Reference to Mixed Marriages.--(a) The Pastor.--A

dispensation should not be sought unless there is first a sufficient

reason, all things considered, and generally the reason should be the

public good (such as the relative fewness of Catholics in a district,

hope of conversion of the non-Catholic, avoidance of scandal).

Secondly, there must be guarantees given by the non-Catholic that the

faith of the Catholic will not be interfered with, and both parties

must promise that all the children will receive Catholic and no other

baptism and education. Finally, these promises must be such as to

produce moral certainty of fulfillment, and as a rule it should be

required that they be given in writing. After the marriage has been

celebrated the pastor is held both in charity and in justice to do what

he can to have the promises faithfully lived up to.

(b) The Parties.--Neither before nor after the marriage in the Catholic

Church is it lawful to have any non-Catholic religious ceremony (see

956 sqq.); and if the pastor knows that this has been done or will be

done, he may not assist at the marriage without permission from the

Ordinary, which is granted for a most grave reason (scandal being

avoided). After the marriage the parties are bound in justice to keep

the promises made, and the Catholic is held in charity to seek

prudently, by good example and advice, to convert the non-Catholic.

2808. Marriages with Bad Catholics.--(a) If the bad Catholic is

unworthy in the matter of faith, because he has notoriously given up

the Church (even though he has not joined any other religion), or

because he is a member of a forbidden society, there is a danger of

perversion. In such a case the pastor may not assist at the marriage

unless the Ordinary decides that there is a sufficient reason, that the

danger of perversion is made remote, and that the Catholic education of

the children is provided for.

(b) If the bad Catholic is unworthy in the matter of morals, because he

is a public sinner (e.g., one who neglects the Easter duty), or

notoriously under censure and therefore a person to whom the Sacraments

must be denied, the pastor is confronted with the law that one may not

cooperate formally, even by assistance, in the profanation of a

Sacrament. As the guilt of the unworthy person is public in these

cases, there must be public reparation before the marriage can be

sanctioned by the presence of the Church’s representative. The

reparation is to be made either by the sinner going to confession or by

the censured person obtaining absolution. But since the priest’s

presence can be only a material cooperation, it may be permitted by the

Ordinary for a grave reason when the unworthy person refuses to comply

with the conditions.

2809. Other Obstacles to Marriage.--Other obstacles which forbid

marriage, though they are not strictly canonical impediments, are the

following:

(a) valid engagement gravely forbids marriage with a third party. This

is a natural obstacle which results from the very nature of a binding

promise;

(b) special prohibition of the Church at times gravely forbids a

particular marriage, as when the Holy See in granting a dispensation

for a present marriage forbids a future marriage. If an irritant clause

is added, the prohibition has the force of a diriment impediment. The

Ordinary also may forbid a particular marriage for a time, as when

there is suspicion of a secret impediment, or when great damage will

likely ensue from a marriage. This prohibition is for a special case or

time or person, and thus it differs from the impediments of the law;

the penitential and mournful character of the liturgy then in use, the

solemn blessing of marriage is not regularly permitted. This is not

really an impediment, since marriage itself may be contracted at any

time of the year, according to the general law.

2810. Diriment Impediments to Marriage.--The diriment or nullifying

impediments to marriage are personal incapacities in a person which

render him or her incapable, from divine or ecclesiastical law, of

contracting marriage with anyone (absolute impediments), or of

contracting marriage with a certain individual (relative impediments).

2811. The absolute diriment impediments are the following: (a) those

that are due to a personal defect making one unable to promise with

sufficient discretion (impediment of age) or to perform what is

promised (impediment of impotency); (b) those that are due to a

voluntary act which consecrates one to God with the obligation of

perpetual celibacy (the impediments of Orders and vows).

2812. The relative impediments are the following: (a) that one which is

due to an obligation to one’s present husband or wife (the impediment

of bond); (b) that one which is due to too great a difference between

two parties (impediment of disparity of cult); those that are due to

too close a kinship between two parties, whether natural (impediments

of consanguinity and affinity) or like to the natural (impediments of

public decency, spiritual kinship, legal kinship); (d) those that are

due to a relationship caused by a crime that makes it unsuitable for

two parties to marry. If one party is perpetrator and the other the

victim, there is the impediment of abduction; if the two parties are

accomplices, there is the impediment of crime.

2813. The Impediment of Age.--(a) Nature.--This impediment exists in

males who have not completed their sixteenth year, and in females who

have not completed their fourteenth year. These ages are set by the

general law, because all parts of the world have to be considered and

sufficient discretion may be presumed at those ages everywhere. But

substantial ignorance even after those years invalidates consent, and

moreover, in colder countries where development is slower, marriage is

generally inadvisable before the parties are 18 and 16 respectively.

The marriageable ages according to the statute law in most of our

States are 18 and 16 with parental consent, and 21 and 18 without it.

(b) Effect.--This impediment is of ecclesiastical law in so far as the

precise determination of age is concerned, but of natural law in so far

as the use of reason is demanded. Hence, the Church may dispense, and

hence also the impediment as ecclesiastical does not bind the

unbaptized, even when being underaged they marry Christians.

2814. The Impediment of Impotency.--(a) Nature.--Impotency is the

inability to exercise the sexual act in a way suitable for procreation.

The requisites for this act are _immissio membri virilis in vaginam

mulieris cum seminis effusione_, and hence those are impotent who lack

sexual organs (such as the emasculated or spayed), or who on account of

psychical or physical abnormalities are unable to have complete

intercourse (e.g., anaphrodisiacs, some hermaphrodites, those who

suffer from hypospadias, vaginism, etc.). Sterility, or the mere

inability to procreate from sexual intercourse (as in old persons), is

not the same thing as impotency, and is not an impediment to marriage.

Authorities are not agreed whether or not the operations of male

vasectomy and evariotomy produce impotency or sterility. But many

regard the former operation as unlawful except for a most grave cause

(such as the saving of life), since it takes away a power given by

nature for the benefit of society, exposes the individual to very

serious temptations, and opens the way to terrible abuses.

(b) Effect.--Impotency anterior to marriage and perpetual, whether in

the man or in the woman, whether known to the other party or not, voids

marriage from the law of nature itself, and hence is not dispensable.

But impotency that arises after marriage or that is only temporary does

not invalidate, and impotency that is relative (i.e., in reference to

one person only) does not nullify marriage except in reference to a

determinate person. In justice to the other spouse, married persons who

have an easily curable impotency should have this defect removed.

2815. The Impediments of Orders and Vows.--(a) Orders.--Those who are

in Sacred Orders (priesthood, deaconship and, in the Latin Church,

subdeaconship) cannot marry validly. The impediment is decreed by

ecclesiastical law alone, and hence the Church has the power to

dispense. One who was ordained through compulsion or in ignorance of

the duty of celibacy, is permitted to marry, if he does not wish to

ratify his ordination; but he then loses all right to exercise his

Order (2235).

(b) Vows.--Professed religious with solemn vows or simple vows that

annul marriage cannot marry validly. It is more probable that this

impediment, in so far as solemn vows are concerned, is of divine right;

but the Pope, as the Vicar of Christ, is able to dispense (see 2194,

2234, 2235, 1787 e).

2816. The Impediment of Bond.--(a) A person who is already validly

married cannot marry again until the bond of the existing marriage is

removed by the death of the other spouse or by dissolution. An

exception is the case of the Pauline Privilege; but even then the bond

of the first marriage remains till the second is contracted (see 2787

e).

(b) This impediment is of natural and divine law, and it binds all men,

the unbaptized as well as the baptized. No dispensation can be granted

from the impediment as long as it continues; and moreover those who

would contract a second marriage must offer proof that the bond of the

first marriage was non-existent, or that it has ceased. Nullity of a

previous marriage must be established by canonical process (Canons 1986

sqq.); dissolution of an unconsummated marriage through vow or Papal

dispensation is proved sufficiently by an authentic document; cessation

of bond through death of consort must be demonstrated with moral

certainty, if it is not manifest (see 2803). The procedure to be

observed in cases of the Pauline Privilege is explained by commentaries

on Canons 1120 sqq. of the Code.

2817. The Impediment of Disparity of Cult.--(a) A marriage of a

Catholic (i.e., of a person baptized in or converted to the Catholic

Church) with an unbaptized person is null and void. This impediment

bars the marriage of a professed ex-Catholic with an infidel, but not

the marriage of a non-Catholic with an infidel; and by infidel is

understood here not only a non-Christian (such as a Jew), but also a

Christian unbaptized or invalidly baptized. A person accidentally

baptized by a Catholic is not considered a Catholic if born of

heretical or schismatical parents and reared by them in their sect.

(b) This impediment as prohibitive is of divine ordinance, for the same

reasons as in the case of mixed marriages (see 2806 c): “Bear not the

yoke with unbelievers” (II Cor., vi. 14). But neither natural nor

divine law nullifies such a marriage with unbelievers; for the

substantial ends of marriage (i.e., procreation and education of

children) can be had even in such unions, and very holy personages have

contracted marriage even with pagans (e.g., Jacob with the daughters of

Laban, Joseph with the daughter of Putiphar, Moses with the daughter of

Jethro, Esther with Assuerus, St. Cecilia with Valerian, St. Monica

with Patricius, St. Clotilda with Clovis, etc.). The Church, however,

has made disparity of cult a diriment impediment on account of the

special danger, and it grants no dispensation unless the precautions

decreed for mixed marriages be observed (see 824, 2807).

2818. The Impediments of Kinship.--(a) Consanguinity.--Marriage is null

when contracted between blood relatives, that is, persons descended

from one another or from one common ancestor within certain limits. In

the direct line consanguinity invalidates marriage between all

ascendants and descendants, legitimate or natural, that is, between a

man and all his female ancestry (mother, grandmother, etc.) and

posterity (daughter, etc.), and between a woman and all her male

ancestors and posterity. In the collateral line it invalidates to the

third degree inclusively, that is, between a man and a woman whose

parents are related as first cousins or even more closely. The degree

of consanguinity between this man and woman is first, second or third,

according as one, two or three generations separate them (i.e., both or

the one farthest removed) from the nearest ancestor of both (see Canons

96 and 1076). Consanguinity is multiplied when two parties are

descended from several common stocks. This impediment is of the natural

law as regards the first, and probably all the other degrees of the

direct line; for reverence due to parents forbids one to marry them.

Marriage between brother and sister is not opposed to the absolute or

primary law of nature, but to the relative or secondary law (see 303);

for natural inclination teaches that it is unbecoming for members of

the same family to intermarry, and further the children of their unions

are very apt to be weakly or defective. In other degrees consanguinity

is an impediment of church law only, and may be dispensed for a good

reason, but a more serious reason is necessary for nearer relationship.

(b) Affinity.--Marriage is null when contracted between

relatives-in-law, or those who are kin by valid, even though

unconsummated, marriage. But the impediment exists only between the

husband and his wife’s blood relatives, and vice versa. In the direct

line it includes all degrees; in the collateral line it extends to the

second degree inclusive. Hence, a widower is impeded from marrying all

the lineal relatives of his deceased wife (her mother, grandmother,

daughter, granddaughter, etc.), and the following of her collateral

relatives: her sisters, her aunts, her nieces, her first cousins.

Affinity is multiplied by multiplication of the consanguinity on which

it is based (e.g., when a woman is doubly related to one’s deceased

wife), and by successive marriages (e.g., when a woman is the sister of

a man’s two deceased wives). The impediment of affinity is justified by

moral reasons--by the mutual reverence that should exist between those

who are closely related by marriage, by the dangers to which their

relationship would be exposed if they were able to marry, and by the

good of society, which is promoted when marriage is not confined within

to narrow a circle. But the impediment is entirely ecclesiastical, for

the Church can dispense in all degrees, and the relationship is only an

imperfect copy of consanguinity.

arises from an invalid, even though unconsummated, marriage, and from

public or notorious concubinage; and it annuls marriage in the first

and second degrees of the direct line between the man and the blood

relatives of the woman, and vice versa. The reason for the impediment

is the unbecomingness of marriage with the near relatives (i.e., the

mother, daughter, grandmother, granddaughter of the woman, and the

father, son, grandfather, grandson of the man) of a person with whom

one has lived in putative marriage or concubinage. The impediment is

less strict than that of affinity, and is of ecclesiastical law only.

(d) Spiritual Relationship.--This impediment nullifies marriage between

a baptized person and the person who baptized him or her or who stood

for him or her in Baptism. The minister and the sponsor contract a

relationship of spiritual parenthood to the baptized person, since

Baptism is a supernatural birth and the godparents are charged with the

religious welfare of the godchild. Reasons of respect and of intimate

relationship make marriage between such persons unbecoming, and hence

the Church from early times has ruled against it.

(e) Legal Relationship.--Persons who in civil law are unable to marry

one another on account of the relationship arising from legal adoption

are also barred from marriage in Canon Law. The relations between an

adopted person and the members of the family into which he is adopted

are so close that human lawmakers have often felt it necessary to

declare adoption an impediment to marriage.

2819. Matrimonial Impediments Produced through Misdeeds.--(a)

Abduction.--There can be no valid marriage between a man who holds a

woman under restraint in order to compel her to marry him, if she has

been abducted by him or is violently detained by him in her residence

or elsewhere. If the woman who has been carried away or who is held

against her will marries unwillingly, the marriage is invalid according

to natural law; if she marries willingly, the marriage is invalid from

church law. Hence the impediment of abduction is of positive law only

and does not oblige infidels (see Canon 1064).

(b) Crime.--There can be no valid marriage between the following: those

who during a legitimate marriage have consummated adultery together and

have mutually promised future marriage or have attempted marriage, even

though only civilly (Canon 1075); those who during the same lawful

marriage have consummated adultery together, and of whom one has

committed conjugicide; those who have cooperated physically or morally,

even though they are not adulterers, to murder the spouse of one of

them. The purpose of this impediment is to safeguard the fidelity and

rights of married persons, and to punish those who resort to adultery

or murder in the hope of a new marriage. The impediment is

ecclesiastical and does not affect infidels.

2820. Duties of the Pastor After the Inquiry about Impediments.--(a)

Dispensation.--If the pastor finds an impediment of natural or divine

law (e.g., the bond of an existing marriage), or an impediment which is

never dispensed (e.g., consanguinity in the first degree of the

collateral line, notorious conjugicide, when there is no danger of

death), he cannot proceed with the marriage. If he discovers another

impediment, he must inquire whether or not there is sufficient reason

for dispensation. For the impediments of occult crime, disparity of

cult outside of mission countries, age, Sacred Orders and religious

profession (also for neglecting the form of marriage), a grave reason

is necessary to permit marriage; but for the remaining impediments, a

less grave reason is required. The usual or grave reasons for

dispensation include the public good (e.g., peace between peoples,

prevention of serious litigations), a great private good (e.g., a

suitable marriage offered to a woman who on account of age or locality

can hardly find another such chance), great spiritual good (e.g.,

prevention of a mixed or civil marriage or great scandal, termination

of open concubinage), great temporal good (e.g., means to support the

family of a poor widow); but other and lesser reasons sometimes

suffice, as when the woman is illegitimate, an orphan, deflowered,

sickly, or homely, or the man needs someone to take care of him or of

his small children from a previous marriage, or when the marriage has

already been announced or will be of great advantage to the parents of

one of the parties. In case of urgent necessity or of danger of death,

the pastor and also the confessor or priest who assists at the marriage

are empowered to grant certain dispensations; in other cases

dispensation can be granted only by the local Ordinary or by the Holy

See. The petition for a dispensation must state the facts truthfully,

but must conceal the identity of the petitioner when the impediment is

occult. In executing a dispensation one must observe the conditions

laid down by the superior who granted it (see commentaries on Canons

1043 sqq.).

(b) Publication.--Even though it is morally certain that there is no

impediment, the banns of marriage should be proclaimed beforehand and

in the place where the parties have their domicile or quasi-domicile

(or residence, if they are _vagi_), and also, if necessary, in other

places where they have lived. This is a grave duty, since its purpose

is to ensure the validity and lawfulness of marriages. If it is morally

certain that there is no impediment, the Ordinary may dispense for a

good reason (see commentaries on Canons 1022 sqq.).

2821. After the Examination and Proclamation.--(a) If it is certain

that there is an impediment, the procedure will be that given in 2820

a; (b) if it is doubtful whether there is a diriment impediment, the

matter should be investigated more fully, but without defamation of the

parties, and if the doubt remains, the question should be submitted to

the Ordinary (see above, 2805 b); (c) if no impediment, certain or

doubtful, has been discovered, the pastor should approve the parties

for marriage.

2822. Duties of the Pastor as Regards the Religious Instruction of the

Engaged Couple.--(a) The pastor should require those who are not

confirmed to receive Confirmation before their marriage, if they can do

this without serious inconvenience.

(b) He should instruct the parties in the essentials of Christian

doctrine, if they are ignorant in these matters (see 920 sqq.), and he

should point out to them the nature of marriage as a contract and as a

Sacrament, its purposes and properties, the grace it confers and the

conjugal and parental duties it imposes, the necessity of preparing for

the Sacrament and of receiving it in the state of grace. He should also

speak about the impediments, so that the couple may understand the

disqualifications for a valid and lawful marriage; but this should be

done prudently, so as not to shock the innocent or to help others to

evade the law. But ignorance of the Catechism is not strictly an

impediment; and if the parties are unwilling to take instruction, they

should be married without it. In a mixed marriage it is often very

useful to give the non-Catholic a short course in Catholic teaching,

and all couples who are preparing for marriage would do well to read

some of the good works prepared especially for the use of engaged or

newly married people. The Code requires of pastors that in their

sermons they instruct the people on marriage and exhort them to avoid

mixed marriages and marriages with the unworthy (Canons 1018, 1064,

1065).

2823. The Pastor and the Duties of Engaged Couple.--The pastor should

also inquire about duties owed by the couple to others.

(a) Duties to Parents.--He should seriously admonish minors subject to

parental authority not to marry without the knowledge or against the

reasonable wishes of their parents. If the parents are opposed to the

marriage, the pastor should decide from the circumstances whether the

opposition is justified or not; if one parent only is unwilling, the

wishes of the father _per se_ have preference over those of the mother,

as he is the head of the family. If the engaged couple will not heed

the pastor, he is seriously bound to refuse to marry them until the

case has been presented to the Ordinary for decision (Canon 1034).

(b) Duties to Civil Law.--The State has no power over the Sacrament of

Matrimony, its bond, or its inseparable temporal effects (such as the

rights and duties of spouses, legitimacy of children and the like), but

it is competent in reference to merely civil effects and conditions,

which are temporal circumstances separable from the substance of

marriage. Hence, those who are getting married should comply with civil

formalities that do not trespass on church rights, such as registration

or marriage license.

2824. Opposition of Parents to Marriage.--In deciding whether the

parental opposition to a marriage is reasonable or not, the pastor

should take into consideration both the motives for the opposition and

the reasons in favor of the marriage.

(a) The motives for the opposition are reasonable, if the parents

object because of the undesirability of one of the couple, or their

incompatibility, or the evil consequences that will follow the

marriage. A person is undesirable on account of defects of soul (e.g.,

an atheist, a drunkard, a libertine, a man or woman of ill-fame, a

cruel man, an ill-tempered woman), or of body (e.g., a person who is

deformed, or malodorous, or afflicted with syphilis or other serious

disease), or of mind (e.g., a half-witted person), or of economical

ability (e.g., a man who is a gambler or spendthrift, or who is unable

to earn a living; a woman who is loaded with debts or who cannot take

care of a home). There is incompatibility when the ages of the couple

or their rank in life, their race, their education, their tastes, or

their dispositions are utterly different. There are evil consequences

when scandals, hatreds, disgrace, or loss of temporal goods will ensue.

(b) The reason for the marriage, however, may suffice to prevail over

the parental objections. Thus, if the strong disapproval of relatives

is the only reason against a marriage and its abandonment will make the

couple unhappy for life, charity does not oblige to such a sacrifice.

And the temporal advantage of a family should not be preferred to the

spiritual benefit, if their son who is wild wishes to marry a poor girl

who has a good influence over him rather than a wealthy girl whom he

does not admire.

2825. Religious Duties before Marriage.--(a) Confession.--A public

sinner (e.g., one who has been living in concubinage) is obliged to go

to confession before marriage in order to repair his scandal. A sinner

whose guilt is not public must repent before receiving the Sacrament of

Matrimony, since it is a Sacrament of the Living and supposes the state

of grace; but an act of contrition strictly suffices. It is

recommended, however, that all persons go to confession as a

preparation and that they make a general confession. The confessor

should be told of any occult or incriminating impediment that was not

disclosed to the pastor, and it is therefore advisable that the

confession precede the ceremony by several days, so as to allow time

for possible dispensations.

(b) Communion.--It is better that Communion be received on the day of

one’s marriage, but, if this is not convenient, it may be received

several days before or several days after. There is no command as to

this, but the Church’s counsel is most earnest.

2826. The Celebration of Marriage.--(a) Requisites for Validity.--In

order to be valid, a Catholic’s marriage must be celebrated in the

presence of the parish-priest or Ordinary, or of a priest delegated by

either, and of at least two witnesses. There are two exceptions to this

law, namely, in danger of death when the priest cannot be had and in

the case of inability to appear before a priest within a month. This

law is most suitable, since marriage is not a mere profane contract,

but a Sacrament subject to the Church; the law is also necessary, since

secret or clandestine marriages would be impossible of proof, and

society and the family would be seriously harmed if they were permitted

except in very extraordinary cases.

(b) Requisites for Lawfulness.--The pastor assists lawfully at a

marriage if he has assured himself of the freedom of the parties to

marry and of his own right to assist officially at their marriage. The

pastor has the right to witness a marriage when the parties are his

subjects by reason of their location in his parish, or when he has

permission from their pastor or Ordinary to assist at the nuptials.

When the bride is from one parish and the groom from another, the rule

is that the marriage should be held before the bride’s pastor (Canons

1094 sqq.)

2827. The Rite of Marriage.--(a) The essential rite consists in the

words of consent spoken by the bride and groom. The assisting priest

asks for this consent, and then (except in a mixed marriage) blesses

the newly married pair and the ring. Marriage by sign language or

through an interpreter or proxy is not lawful without special

permission, and marriage by letter is not recognized (Canons 1088 sqq.).

(b) The accidental rite is the nuptial blessing bestowed during the

Nuptial Mass that follows on the marriage. This is omitted in mixed

marriages, and also as a rule during Advent and Lent. The place for

marriage is regularly in the parish church, if it is a Catholic

marriage, but outside the church if it is a mixed marriage (see Canons

1100 sqq.). The Ordinary may dispense from the requirements of place

(Canon 1109).

2828. Cooperation in an Unworthy Marriage.--(a) The Priest.--The

clergyman acts as the official representative of the Church, and hence

only a serious reason will permit his assistance when the unworthiness

of one of the parties is known to him in an extra-confessional way. A

serious reason would be a threat of bodily harm to the priest or great

spiritual detriment to the parties, such as their continuance in the

state of sin. A more serious reason is required if one of the parties

is an _excommunicatus vitandus_. Finally, at times only passive

assistance is permitted, as in certain mixed marriages in which the

non-Catholic refuses to give guarantees, but there is greater danger of

perversion without than with the assistance (see 2677 sqq.).

(b) The Spouses.--The bride and groom are the ministers as well as the

recipients of Matrimony, and hence, if one of the parties knows that

the other is not in the state of grace, there is an administration of a

Sacrament to an unworthy recipient. But only charity would bid one to

deny the Sacrament to that other party, if one could not induce him to

dispose himself, and charity does not oblige with great inconvenience.

Hence the worthy party, if he or she has a suitable reason for

marrying, does not sin by reason of the other party’s unworthiness.

of the priest and of the worthy party, and hence only in an

extraordinary case do the witnesses sin by assisting at a marriage

contracted before the Church. They may presume that all is well, if the

pastor has agreed to the marriage; and even though they are certain

that the bride or groom is in mortal sin, the fear of incurring

displeasure or harm will ordinarily excuse the best man or bridesmaid

from all sin, or at least from grave sin.

2829. Registration of Marriages.--The Code requires that marriages be

recorded in the matrimonial and baptismal registers, and that

notification be sent to the pastors of the parishes where the bride and

the groom were baptized. This duty seems to be grave, since its end is

to provide for stable conditions and secure proof of freedom to marry.

The entries should be made without delay (i.e., within three days at

least), lest they be overlooked or be made incorrectly (Canon 1103).

2830. When an Impediment Is Discovered after Marriage.--A diriment

impediment or other invalidating defect is sometimes discovered after

the celebration of marriage. There are various solutions of this

difficulty.

(a) If the marriage can be validated (or made valid), this should be

done. The manner of simple validation of marriages null on account of

diriment impediment, defective consent or lack of form, is declared in

Canons 1133-1137.

(b) If the marriage cannot be validated simply, it may be made valid in

certain cases by the special validation known as a _sanatio in radice_.

This supposes that a consent naturally sufficient, but juridically

insufficient, was given, and that a renewal of consent cannot be

obtained (see Canons 1138-1141).

indispensable impediment), the parties should be separated, or

permitted to live together as brother and sister, or left in good

faith. Thus, if the nullity of the marriage is public, the parties

should be separated after a declaration of nullity; if the nullity is

secret and unprovable, the parties may be permitted to live together as

brother and sister, if they know the marriage is null, but are not

exposed to the danger of incontinence; if the parties are in good faith

about their marriage and it is foreseen that serious evils would result

were they told the truth (such as bad faith, or misfortunes for the

children), they may be left as they are.

2831. The Lawfulness of Divorce and Separation.--(a) Complete divorce,

or dissolution of the bond with the right to remarry during the

lifetime of the other spouse, is never lawful, except in the cases

mentioned in 2787 e. Moreover, the civil lawgiver has no right ever to

dissolve the marriage tie, for the marriage bond of Christians is

sacramental and not subject to the State, while the marriage bond of

non-Christians is indissoluble by human authority. On the death of one

spouse, however, the survivor is free to marry again, though chaste

widowhood is more honorable.

(b) Incomplete divorce, or separation from bed and board, is allowed

permanently to the innocent spouse in case of adultery, and temporarily

when there are other good reasons. Thus, if one of the parties becomes

an apostate, or gives non-Catholic education to the children, or leads

a criminal or disgraceful life, or makes common life too hard by his

cruelty, or endangers the other party in soul or body, the innocent

spouse may separate after appealing to the Ordinary, or may depart on

his or her own authority, if the facts are certain and there is danger

in delay (Canons 1118 sqq.). With permission one may even seek a civil

divorce, if it is a separation only, in order to be free as regards

civil effects of marriage (1950).

APPENDIX I

SUMMARY OF COMMON LAW ON PROHIBITION OF BOOKS

(Holy Office, 17 Apr., 1943)

[placed at end of Volume I, after section 1625, in print edition]

Seeing that delays and omissions in denouncing the books frequently

occur, and that many of the faithful are in a state of deplorable

ignorance regarding the denunciation and prohibition of harmful books,

the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office deems it appropriate

to call to mind the principal provisions of the sacred canons on this

subject; for it is beyond doubt that bad or harmful writings expose

purity of faith, integrity of morals, and the very salvation of souls

to the greatest dangers.

Certainly the Holy See cannot by itself, with adequate care and in due

time, prohibit the numberless writings against faith and morals which,

especially in our time, are being published almost daily in various

languages all over the world. Hence it is necessary that the Ordinaries

of places, whose business it is to preserve sound and orthodox doctrine

and to protect good morals (C, 343, Sec.1), should, either personally

or through suitable priests, be watchful as to the books which are

published or sold in their territory (C. 1397, Sec.4), and forbid to

their subjects those which they judge should be condemned (C. 1395,

ASec.1). The right and duty to forbid books for just cause belongs also

to an Abbot of an independent monastery and to the Superior General of

a clerical exempt Institute acting with his Chapter or Council; nay,

in case of urgency, it belongs also to the other Major Superiors with

their proper Council, it being understood, however, that these must as

soon as possible report the matter to the Superior General (C. 1395,

Sec.3). Nevertheless, books which require a more expert scrutiny, or

in regard to which, for salutary results, the judgment of the supreme

authority seems to be required, should be referred by the Ordinaries to

the judgment of the Holy See (C. 1397, Sec.5).

It is, of course, the duty of all the faithful, and especially of

clerics, to denounce pernicious books to the proper authority; but this

duty is especially incumbent on clerics who have some ecclesiastical

dignity, such as the Legates of the Holy See and the Ordinaries of

places, and on those who are eminent in doctrine, as for example the

Rectors and Professors of Catholic Universities.

The denunciation is to be made either to this Congregation of the Holy

Office or to the Ordinary of the place, giving by all means the reason

why it is thought the book should be forbidden. The persons to whom

such a report is made have a strict duty to keep secret the names of

those who make it (C. 1397, Sec.1, 2, 3).

Finally, Ordinaries of places and others who have the care of souls

should duly inform the faithful of the following:

a) The prohibition of books has the effect that, unless due permission

is obtained, the forbidden book may not be published, nor republished

(without making the corrections and obtaining due approbation), nor

read, nor retained, nor sold, nor translated into another language, nor

in any way communicated to other persons (C. 1398, Sec.1, 2);

b) Books condemned by the Holy See are considered as forbidden

everywhere and in whatever language they may be translated (C. 1396);

c) The positive ecclesiastical law forbids not only those books which

are individually condemned by a special decree of the Holy See and

placed on the Index of Forbidden Books, or which are proscribed by

particular Councils or Ordinaries for their subjects, but also the

books which are forbidden by the common law itself, that is, in virtue

of the rules contained in Canon 1399, which forbids in a general manner

nearly all books which are bad and harmful in themselves;

d) The natural law forbids the reading of any book which occasions

proximate spiritual danger, since it forbids anyone to place himself in

danger of losing the true faith or good morals; accordingly, permission

to use forbidden books, from whomsoever it be obtained, in no way

exempts from this prohibition of the natural law (C. 1405, Sec.1).

APPENDIX II

The “Ecumenical Movement”

[placed at end of Volume I, after the preceding Appendix, in print

edition]

On December 20, 1949 the Holy Office issued an instruction on the

“Ecumenical Movement” addressed to all local Ordinaries. In its

prefatory remarks the Instruction insisted upon the Church’s intense

interest to attain to the full and perfect unity of the Church. It

noted as an occasion of joy the desire of many separated from the

Church to return to the unity of Christ’s fold, a good intention,

indeed, which, however, in being put into practice has not been

regulated by right principles. Accordingly the Holy Office prescribed

that local Ordinaries maintain due vigilance over the associations

seeking Church Unity, that they designate well-qualified priests to

pay close attention to everything which concerns the “Movement,” and

that they supervise publications on this matter by Catholics or by

non-Catholics, in as far as these are published, or read, or sold by

Catholics. The manner and method of proceeding in this work is to be

regulated by the Ordinaries, who are cautioned to prevent the growth of

indifference to Catholic truth and fallacious hopes of unity based upon

false or impossible foundations. With regard to mixed assemblies of

Catholics and non-Catholics, when there seems to be hope of spreading

knowledge of Catholic doctrine, the Ordinary is instructed to designate

well-qualified priests, to explain and defend the Church’s teaching.

Special permission, however, must be obtained from Ecclesiastical

Authority if Catholic laymen are to attend. Where no hope of good

results exists, the meetings are to be ended or gradually suppressed.

The following specific instructions are given for the conduct of

“Ecumenical meetings.”

All the aforesaid conferences and meetings, public and non-public,

large and small, which are called for the purpose of affording an

opportunity for the Catholic and the non-Catholic party, for the

sake of discussion, to treat of matters of faith and morals, each

presenting on even terms the doctrine of his own faith, are subject

to the prescriptions of the Church which were recalled to mind in the

_Monitum, “Cum compertum_” of this Congregation under date of 5 June,

1948. Hence, mixed congresses are not absolutely forbidden; but they

are not to be held without the previous permission of the competent

Ecclesiastical Authority. The _Monitum_, however, does not apply to

catechetical instructions, even when given to many together, nor to

conferences in which Catholic doctrine is explained to non-Catholics

who are prospective converts, even though the opportunity is afforded

for the non-Catholics to explain also the doctrine of their church so

that they may understand clearly and thoroughly in what respect it

agrees with the Catholic doctrine and in what it differs therefrom.

Neither does the said _Monitum_ apply to those mixed meetings of

Catholics and non-Catholics in which the discussion does not turn upon

faith and morals, but upon ways and means of defending the fundamental

principles of the natural law or of the Christian religion against the

enemies of God who are now leagued together, or where the question is

how to restore social order, or other topics of that nature. Even in

these meetings, as is evident, Catholics may not approve or concede

anything which is in conflict with divine revelation or with the

doctrine of the Church even on social questions.

As to local conferences and conventions which are within the scope of

the _Monitum_ as above explained, the Ordinaries of places are given,

for three years from the publication of this Instruction, the faculty

of granting the required previous permission of the Holy See on the

following conditions:

1. That _communicatio in sacris_ be entirely avoided;

2, That the presentations of the matter be duly inspected and directed;

3. That at the close of each year a report be made to this Supreme

Sacred Congregation, stating where such meetings were held and what

experience was gathered from them.

4. As regards the colloquies of theologians above mentioned, the same

faculty for the same length of time is granted to the Ordinary of the

place where such colloquies are held, or to the Ordinary delegated for

this work by the common consent of the other Ordinaries, under the same

conditions as above, but with the further requirement that the report

to this Sacred Congregation state also what questions were treated, who

were present, and who the speakers were for either side.

As for the interdiocesan conferences and congresses, either national

or international, the previous permission of the Holy See, special for

each case, is always required; and, in the petition asking for it,

must also be stated what are the questions to be treated and who the

speakers are to be. And it is not allowed, before this permission has

been obtained, to begin the external preparation of such meetings or to

collaborate with non-Catholics who begin such preparation.

5. Although in all these meetings and conferences any communication

whatsoever in worship must be avoided, yet the recitation in common of

the Lord’s Prayer or of some prayer approved by the Catholic Church, is

not forbidden for opening or closing the said meetings.

6. Although each Ordinary has the right and duty to conduct, promote,

and preside over this work in his own diocese, yet the cooperation of

several Bishops will be appropriate or even necessary in establishing

offices and works to observe, study, and control this work as a

whole. Accordingly it will rest with the Ordinaries themselves to

confer together and consider how a proper uniformity of action and

coordination can be obtained.

7. Religious Superiors are bound to watch and to see to it that their

subjects adhere strictly and faithfully to the prescriptions laid down

by the Holy See or by the local Ordinaries in this matter.

In order that so noble a work as the “union” of all Christians in one

true faith and Church may daily grow into a more conspicuous part of

the entire care of souls, and that the whole Catholic people may more

earnestly implore this “union” from Almighty God, it will certainly

be of assistance that in some appropriate way, for example through

Pastoral Letters, the faithful be instructed regarding these questions

and projects, the prescriptions of the Church in the matter, and the

reasons on which they are based. All, especially priests and religious,

should be exhorted and warmly encouraged to be zealous by their prayers

and sacrifices to ripen and promote this work, and all should be

reminded that nothing more effectively paves the way for the erring to

find the truth and to embrace the Church than the faith of Catholics,

when it is confirmed by the example of upright living.

INDEX TO VOLUMES I-II

The numbers refer to the sections in the text. Nos. 1-1625 are

contained in Volume I [of the print edition].

Abjectedness, definition, 2561.

Abnormal Mental States, as obstacles to voluntariness of acts, 40, 55;

effect on voluntariness of acts, 55.

Abortion, canonical penalties for, 1851 a.

Absolute Standard, in grave matter, 1899.

Abstemiousness, subjective part of temperance, 2465 a; definition,

2466; degrees of abstemiousness, 2467 a; austerity, 2468; excellence of

fasting and abstinence, 2469 a; sins opposed to abstemiousness, 2470 a.

2794. The Elements of Marriage as a Sacrament.--(a) The matter and form