Msg Base:  AREA 5  - ASK FATHER            CIN ECHO   AMDG
  Msg No: 125.  Mon  8-26-91  6:34
    From: Father Mateo
      To: Jeff Stevens
 Subject: Marriage

³ Father, a simple question, but one I've struggled with for a while.
³ .
³ Simply, what is the Church's definition of marriage.  What is the Church's
³ stand on what EXACTLY constitutes marriage in God's eyes?  Friends of
³ mine were born to parents unmarried in and church,,,later they all came to
³ know our Savior, but what is the condition of their parents in God's eyes,
³ as they have never been married in a church?
 
Dear Jeff,
 
"The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish
between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its
nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and
education of children; this covenant between baptized persons has
been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament." (Code
of Canon Law, canon 1055, sec. 1.)
 
"The essential properties of marriage are unity (one man - one woman)
and indissolubility (until the death of one of the spouses)." (Canon
1056.)
 
"Marriage is brought about through the consent of the parties,
legitimately manifested between persons who are capable according to
law of giving consent; no human power can replace this consent.
Matrimonial consent is an act of the will by which a man and a woman,
through an irrevocable covenant, mutually give and accept each other
in order to establish marriage." (Canon 1057.)
 
The above is the Catholic definition of marriage. You also propose a
"marriage case."  The answer will depend on several factors which can
only become known through investigation. Privately, I propose two
"rules of thumb" which may (or may not) guide interested parties to
an answer:  1) marriages among non-Catholics are valid if the parties
intend a permanent, monogamous union open to having children and if
they are both capable of marriage and free to marry; 2) civil divorce
does not dissolve the marriage bond in any valid marriage--the state
does not have such power since marriage is of divine institution
(Genesis 2:24).
 
If your friends' parents were either unbaptized or not members of any
Christian group or community, and if they intended a permanent,
monogamous union open to having children, they were not bound to a
religious ceremony in order to marry.  Their consent suffices to
marry them, provided that they were capable and free to marry.  Such
marriage is valid but is not a sacrament, since baptism is a
prerequisite for sacramental marriage.
 
Marriage cases are complicated, and if your friends really "need to
know," they should talk to their parents and their pastor.
 
                                      Sincerely in Christ,
                                      Father Mateo