Chapter LXIX: Part II: SPECIAL MORAL THEOLOGY (Continued) (32)

(d) The recipient of the Sacrament is a Catholic who after attaining the use of reason has come into the danger of death through sickness or old age. No one is capable of receiving this Sacrament unless he is baptized, for Baptism is the gateway of the Sacraments (2671); unless he has reached the use of reason, for the Sacrament is a remedy against personal sin and supposes that the recipient can or formerly could distinguish between right and wrong; unless he is in danger of death through the infirmity of disease or of decrepitude, for St. James teaches that the anointing is for those who are enfeebled by illness dangerous unto death. Hence Extreme Unction cannot be administered validly to the unbaptized, to young children who have not come to the use of reason, to the perpetually insane, to those who are sick but not in danger of death, to those who are in danger of death but not sick (e.g., a strong man going to the gallows or to battle). But the Sacrament may be administered to children who have not yet made their first confession, if they are capable of sin, and to the insane who once had the use of reason. The danger of death need not be immediate, and hence Extreme Unction may be given when the disease is mortal but the patient will last for several months or even a year, as in tuberculosis. Illness includes not only chronic sickness, but also fatal disorders caused by wounds, accidents, poison. The rule about the old is that those who have reached sixty years and show some signs of approaching death, such as great feebleness or fainting spells, even though they have no special malady, may be anointed; for their old age itself is a disease.

(e) The minister of Extreme Unction is the priest, since St. James directs that the presbyters (i.e., the priests) of the Church be called to anoint the sick. Extreme Unction, unlike Penance, is not exercised in the form of a judicial process, and hence the power of Orders suffices for its valid administration, and any priest, even one who lacks jurisdiction, gives it validly. But for lawful administration church law prescribes that the minister regularly be the ecclesiastical superior or spiritual director (i.e., the pastor for his parish, the head of a clerical religious institute for his house, the parish-priest or chaplain for a lay religious body, the confessor for nuns), and that the minister extraordinarily (i.e., in necessity) be any other priest who has permission, or reasonably presumed permission.

(f) The effects of Extreme Unction are _per se_ an increase of sanctifying grace, since this is a Sacrament of the Living; _per accidens_ (i.e., when the recipient is not in the state of grace, but is in good faith and has attrition) the forgiveness of sins and first grace. Extreme Unction produces first grace more surely than does absolution, if the penitent is unconscious, since it does not call for any external manifestation of contrition; hence the importance of anointing those who are dying but unconscious. The special benefit of Extreme Unction is immediate preparation of the soul for entrance to heaven, though restoration of the health of the body is sometimes vouchsafed when this is for the spiritual good of the sick person. Venial sins and the remains of past sins (i.e., the debility left by them) are removed and the soul is strengthened with confidence as to things past and future and with peace and resignation as to present suffering. Since the Sacrament is given for the period of danger of death, it cannot be repeated during the same danger; but should the patient recover and relapse into a distinct danger through the same or another sickness, there arises a new need and the Sacrament may then be repeated.

2775. Special Duties.--In addition to the duties that are common in all the Sacraments, the following duties should be noted in reference to Extreme Unction.

(a) The Recipient.--_Per se_, Extreme Unction is not necessary as a means to salvation, for sanctifying grace may be had or recovered without it; but _per accidens_ it would be necessary as a means, if a dying person were in mortal sin and could not recover grace except through it. He who omits Extreme Unction unwillingly or for a good reason (e.g., because he is well prepared for death and cannot get a priest without very grave inconvenience) does not sin. He who omits the Sacrament voluntarily and without good reason, is guilty of grave sin if he acts from contempt, or gives scandal, or exposes himself to eternal damnation; but if there is no contempt, scandal or danger to salvation, sin is indeed committed by the neglect at such a crisis of so important a spiritual aid, but only venial sin, since there is no grave precept to receive this Sacrament. The recipient of Extreme Unction should be in the state of grace; and hence, if he has mortal sin on his conscience, he must beforehand make an act of contrition or receive absolution with attrition, or, if neither is possible, he must make an act of attrition. The custom of the Church calls for confession before Extreme Unction, and divine law commands confession if one is in mortal sin and in danger of death.

(b) The Minister.--The pastor is gravely bound in justice to give or have given the Sacrament of Extreme Unction to all his subjects who reasonably request it; other priests not charged with the spiritual care of the dying person are held in charity to anoint him, if he has not received the last rites and cannot otherwise be anointed. It is clear that sick calls should be attended to promptly, and it would be a serious matter to delay so long as to put the sick person in danger of dying without Extreme Unction or of receiving it when he had become unconscious and could not dispose himself properly. If the person has been pronounced dead before the priest’s arrival, he should nevertheless be absolved and anointed conditionally if the last breath was not long before; because physicians teach that death takes possession gradually, life lingering in the body for some time after its external signs have ceased, for about a half hour when the end has come after long illness, for one or two hours when death is sudden or accidental. The ceremonies are obligatory under pain of sin, and it is considered a serious matter to neglect the more notable parts, that is, without reason to omit all or nearly all the prayers, or to give the Sacrament without any sacred vestment.

(c) The Pastor.--The oil of the sick should be kept in a neat and properly decorated place, and should be contained in a vessel of silver or white metal. Only in exceptional cases is it lawful to keep it in the rectory (Canon 946). The Catechism of the Council of Trent (page 307) declares that Extreme Unction should form a subject of frequent instruction. It is important to exhort the people not to delay in sending for the priest till the sick person has become insensible, nor to omit to send for him in case of sudden death, since, as already said, life remains for some time in the body after apparent death.

(d) The People.--All those who are responsible for the good of the dying person, such as members of the family, physicians, nurses, relatives, friends, or neighbors, should beware of deceiving him about his condition and his need of preparation for death; on the contrary, they should see to it as far as they can, that he receives the last Sacraments in good time and while he has the full use of his senses, when the spiritual benefit and the comfort of mind will be of greater assistance and the bodily cure more likely.

Art. 4: HOLY ORDERS; MATRIMONY

(_Summa Theologica_, Supplement, qq. 34-68.)

2776. The first five Sacraments arc necessary for the spiritual welfare of individuals, the remaining two, which are the subject of this Article, are needful, not for each person, but for the Church as a body. A member of the Church may save his soul though he remains outside the priesthood and the married state, but the spiritual good of the Church itself requires both Orders and Matrimony. Without Orders the Church would be deprived of her rulers, teachers and ministers of divine things; without Matrimony the family would lack that sacramental protection which is so important for the Christian home and the right rearing of members of society.

2777. The Sacrament of Orders.--The spiritual office and power of a member of the clergy is called Orders on account of the order or rank of superiority which it gives in the Church. The rite or Sacrament by which an Order is conferred is strictly called Ordination, and hence it is more correct to speak of the Sacrament of Ordination than of the Sacrament of Orders. Ordination may be defined as “a Sacrament of the New Law in which a member of the clergy receives spiritual power in reference to the Eucharist and the grace to exercise properly the duties of his office.”

(a) Orders is conferred only on a member of the clergy. Just as Baptism is preceded by catechumenate and Matrimony by espousals or engagement, so is Ordination preceded by tonsure, a ceremony instituted by the Church whereby a man is separated from the laity and enrolled among clerics with a view to prepare him for Holy Orders. The candidate for tonsure must be a male who has received Baptism and Confirmation (_sub levi_), and who has begun his course of theology; he sins if he approaches without a divine vocation or with the purpose not to go on for the priesthood. The privileges of clerics are those of forum and canon, and they are capable of receiving Orders, jurisdiction and benefice (Canons 108 sqq). In the reception of tonsure the cleric is admonished to make his life agree with the garb which he then assumes, or, in other words, to cultivate the special virtues of his state (see 2596 sqq.).

(b) Ordination confers spiritual power in reference to the Eucharist, the Sacrament of Sacraments. Just as the sacred vessels of the altar receive a permanent consecration, so likewise the ministers of the altar are set apart by Ordination, which confers upon them an indelible character with the power to exercise higher or lower offices in reference to the supreme Sacrament and the sole Sacrifice of the New Law. Hence, an Order once conferred is eternal and the Ordination cannot be repeated.

(c) Ordination confers grace, which is _per se_ second grace, or an increase of holiness. The special feature of the grace of Orders is its suitability for the duties of the person ordained, for, where God imposes a special obligation, He confers also a special grace. It is clear that the duties of the ordained in reference to the real Body of Christ (i.e., duties as to the Eucharist and divine worship) and the mystical Body of Christ (i.e., duties to the faithful who receive the Eucharist and the other Sacraments) call for a high degree of virtue and a life edifying to all. Hence the need of a special grace in Ordination.

2778. Distinction of the Orders.--The following distinctions of the orders or ranks of the clergy should be noted:

(a) an Order is either sacramental or non-sacramental, according as it was instituted by Christ Himself or by the Church. It is the teaching of St. Thomas that all of the Orders are sacramental in character, but there is not the same degree of certainty in each case. As to the priesthood, there is the certainty of defined dogma; as to the diaconate (and also episcopal consecration according to many) there is theological certainty, but no definition of faith; as to the subdiaconate, and the lower Orders, there is probability;

(b) an Order is Major (sacred) or Minor (non-sacred) according as its functions are concerned with consecrated or non-consecrated matter in the celebration of the Eucharist. The Major Orders, therefore, are the priesthood (whose office is to consecrate the Body and Blood of Christ), diaconate (whose office is to dispense Communion to the faithful), and sub-diaconate (whose office is to prepare the bread and wine of the sacrifice in the consecrated vessels, that is, the chalice and paten). The Minor Orders are those that prepare the matter of the Eucharist in non-consecrated vessels (acolythate), or that dispose the people for the Eucharist by freeing them from the impediments of demonic influence (exorcistate) or of ignorance (lectorate), or that exclude unbelievers from participation in the sacred rites (portership). To the Sacred Orders, on account of their closer approach to the Eucharist, are annexed the duties of celibacy and of the Divine Office.

2779. The Hierarchy of Orders and Jurisdiction.--The Orders of the clergy may be considered, not only in reference to power over the real Body of Christ (i.e., the Eucharist), but also in reference to power over the mystical Body of Christ (i.e., the Church). Those who have power over the members of the Church belong to the hierarchy, and this is understood in two senses:

(a) the hierarchy of Orders is composed of those who receive in Ordination a permanent superiority over others in reference to the worship of God and the sanctification of souls by the ministry of the Sacraments. From divine institution this hierarchy is composed of the three ranks of bishops, priests, and deacons; and from ecclesiastical institution of the lower clergy in Orders. Thus, the deacon is able to baptize and administer Communion as extraordinary minister; the priest is the ordinary minister of Baptism and the Eucharist, and only a priest can act as minister of Penance and Extreme Unction; the bishop is the minister, not only of the Sacraments mentioned, but also of Confirmation and Orders;

(b) the hierarchy of jurisdiction is composed of those members of the Church who receive in their accepted election or canonical commission a power over the faithful which can be lost or resigned, and which relates to the instruction and government of subjects in matters of faith and morals. From divine law this hierarchy is composed of the Supreme Pontificate and the subordinate Episcopate; from ecclesiastical law there are other ranks of authority, such as those of parish-priest, prelate, abbot, archbishop, primate, patriarch and cardinal.

2780. The Matter and Form of the Various Orders in the Latin Church.--(a) In the Minor Orders the matter consists in the bestowal of the symbols of office, and the form in the words of ordination that accompany this bestowal. The porter is ordained when he touches with his right hand the keys of the church which the bishop presents to him with the words: “Conduct yourself as one who must give an accounting for the things that are under those keys”, the reader, when he touches the lectionary (i.e., Missal, Breviary, Bible) offered him by the bishop with the form: “Receive this book and announce well the Word of God, knowing that, if you perform your office faithfully and usefully, you shall receive a portion with those who from the beginning have been good ministers of God’s word”; the exorcist, when he touches the book of exorcisms (e.g., the Ritual, Pontifical or Missal) presented to him with the words: “Receive and commit to memory and have power to impose hands on the possessed, whether baptized or catechumens”, the acolyte, when he touches the symbols of his office (i.e., first the candle and candlestick, next the empty cruet), while the words are said: “Receive this candlestick and candle and know that you are deputed to light the lamps of the church, in the name of the Lord”; “Receive this cruet to furnish the wine and water for the Eucharist of the blood of Christ, in the name of the Lord.” “Amen” should be added by the acolyte after each form.

(b) In the subdiaconate, ordination is given when the candidate touches the empty chalice and the paten (the Bishop saying: “See what a ministry is committed to you; I admonish you, therefore, so to conduct yourselves that you may be pleasing to God”) and the Book of Epistles, such as Missal or Bible (the Bishop saying: “Receive the Book of Epistles and have power to read them in the holy Church of God, both for the living and for the dead. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”).

(c) Pope Pius XII in an official decree, an Apostolic Constitution of Nov. 30, 1947 (see AAS, 40-5), determined the essential elements of ordination to diaconate, priesthood and episcopate. Formerly this had been a matter of discussion among theologians. In the diaconate ordination is given by the single imposition of the hands of the Bishop that occurs in the rite with the words of the “Preface,” of which these are the essential: “Send into him, We ask, O Lord, the Holy Spirit, by which he shall be strengthened by the gift of Thy sevenfold grace for the faithful performance of the work of the ministry.”

(d) The matter of the priesthood is the first imposition of hands of the Bishop which is made in silence. The form consists in the words of the “Preface” of which these are the essential and required for validity: “Give, we ask Thee, omnipotent Father, to this Thy servant the dignity of the priesthood ...”

(e) In episcopal consecration the matter is the imposition of the hands of the consecrating Bishop; the form is the “Preface,” the essential words being: “Fill out in Thy priest the fullness of the ministry....”

It is a disputed matter whether the episcopacy is a distinct Order from the priesthood or simply an extension of it. The common opinion favors the negative side and consequently maintains that the consecration of a Bishop is not sacramental. Accordingly, the supreme Order of Priesthood includes the simple priests or presbyters and the high priests or bishops. The episcopacy confers no new power in reference to the Eucharist, but it extends the character of the priesthood to new powers in reference to Christ’s Mystical Body, the Church.

2781. The Minister of Ordination.--(a) For validity it is necessary that the minister be a consecrated bishop; but the Orders of ecclesiastical institution (i.e., subdiaconate and Minor Orders) may be given by a priest authorized by law, or by special indult of the Apostolic See. Thus, Cardinals, Vicars and Prefects Apostolic, and Abbots have the power of conferring tonsure and Minor Orders from Canon 239.

(b) For lawfulness it is necessary that the consecrator of a bishop be the Pope or a bishop designated by him; that the ordainer to other ranks of the clergy be the proper bishop of the candidate (i.e., the bishop of his place of origin and residence or of his place of domicile), or a delegated bishop (i.e., the bishop who has received dimissorial letters from the proper bishop or religious superior). See Canons 951-967.

2782. The Special Duties of the Minister.-(a) As to the ordinandus, the ordaining prelate must be morally certain from positive arguments that the candidate is suitable according to the Canons; otherwise he would be guilty of a very grievous sin and would expose himself to the danger of sharing in the sins of others (I Tim., v. 22; Canon 973, n. 3).

(b) As to the ordination, the minister is bound to observe the law on time and place, and to follow carefully and exactly the ceremonies of his own Rite. If anything essential is omitted, it has to be supplied, absolutely or conditionally, according as there is certain or only doubtful lack. The omission of an accidental but notable ceremony (e.g., the anointing of hands) would be seriously culpable (Canons 1002-1009).

2783. The Recipient of Orders.--(a) For validity it is necessary that the recipient be of the male sex, for the divine law has reserved sacerdotal and ministerial functions to men, and the church law has properly followed this example in regard to the Orders that are of church institution; the recipient must be baptized, for without Baptism one has no capacity for other Sacraments; if he is an adult, he must have at least an habitual intention freely formed of receiving the Order to which he is raised.

(b) For lawfulness it is not sufficient that the recipient be in the state of grace, since Ordination is not merely a personal matter, but also a matter of great consequence to the whole Church. The recipient of Orders takes his place among the representatives and ministers of the Church, and therefore he should have the special qualities that fit him for his dignity and office. Intellectually, the ordinandus must be competent in theological and profane knowledge, and must have made a satisfactory course of studies (Canons 972, 1364 sqq., 589-591). According to the Code, first tonsure should not be given before the study of theology has begun, Minor Orders may be given during the first and second years of theology, subdeaconship only towards the end of the third year, deaconship only after the beginning of the fourth year, and priesthood only after the first half of the fourth year (Canon 976). Morally, the ordinandus should be of commendable life and have the internal and external excellence which is supposed by the Order he is to receive. Virtues to which the Pontifical especially exhorts clerics at their ordination are love and labor given to the Church and the things of God’s house (porter), devotion to the Scriptures and sacred study (lector), conquest of passion (exorcist), the light of good example and the self-sacrifice of good works (acolyte), temperance, vigilance, prayerfulness (subdeacon), liberality to the poor, chastity, fortitude, zeal for preaching the word of God (deacon), elderliness in dignity, leadership in virtue, and justice in stewardship (priesthood). No one should be admitted to a Sacred Order who is unable to overcome a serious habit of sin (especially _in materia turpi_), even though secret; and if there is doubt about amendment, a test during a suitable period of time should be made.

2784. Canonical Requirements for Ordination.--(a) Positive requirements are: proper age (that is, the twenty-first, twenty-second, and twenty-fourth years completed are necessary for subdeaconship, deaconship, priesthood, respectively); Confirmation should have been received before Ordination, for it is suitable that those who are to strengthen others in the faith should have the character of soldier of Christ; promotion from Order to Order should be from lower to higher in proper succession, that fitness may be shown in lesser offices before the greater are received; an interval must elapse between certain Orders, which will give to clerics the opportunity to exercise the powers they have received (e.g., between acolythate and subdiaconate a year, between subdiaconate and diaconate three months); the candidate for sacred ordination must have a title or some canonical means of support (i.e., for secular clergy the title of benefice, or patrimony or ministerial service; for religious the title of profession, common life, etc.). The law allows certain dispensations from some of these requirements (Canons 974 sqq.).

(b) Negative requirements are freedom from certain disabilities introduced by the Church for the sake of the honor and dignity of the sacred ministry. Some of these disqualifications are of their nature permanent, and they are removed only by dispensation or by disposition of the law (e.g., in certain cases by cessation of the cause, or by baptism, or by religious profession), and these are known as irregularities; other disqualifications, which are of their nature temporary and cease with lapse of time or changes in circumstances, are known as simple impediments. The effect of disqualification is to make it unlawful to receive an Order, or to exercise an Order already received. Irregularities are produced either by deficiency or by delinquency, but the cause in either case must be certain; and, in case of delinquency, it must be a personal sin committed after Baptism, which is mortal, external, and consummated in act. The irregularities from defect are: illegitimate birth; mental imperfection (such as epilepsy, insanity, possession); bodily imperfection that makes one unsuited for the service of the altar, on account of mutilation (e.g., those who have lost hand or foot, or thumb or index finger), or of unsoundness (e.g., the blind, the deaf, the dumb, cripples, paralytics), or of very noticeable deformity that excites ridicule or horror (e.g., dwarfs, giants, noseless persons, those who are hunchbacked); successive bigamy, that is, the fact that one has been twice validly married, for St. Paul ruled that a cleric should be a man of not more than one wife (I Tim., iii. 2, 12; Tit., i. 5, 6); infamy of law, that is, the commission of certain crimes which the law declares infamous _ipso facto_ or after sentence (such as profanation of the Eucharist or of graves, violence done to the Pope or a Cardinal, duelling, simultaneous bigamy, and certain sexual sins); participation in capital punishment by pronouncing (i.e., as judge or juryman) or executing the sentence of death. The irregularities from delinquency are: apostasy, heresy, schism; reception of Baptism from a non-Catholic; attempt at adulterous or sacrilegious marriage; voluntary homicide, cooperation in an abortion, mutilation of self or of another, attempt to commit suicide; unlawful exercise of medicine or surgery by a cleric with fatal results; unlawful exercise of the powers of Major Orders by a cleric or layman. The simple impediments are found in the following: in those who may be weak in faith, namely, persons whose parents are non-Catholics, or who are themselves converts (I Tim., iii. 6); in those who are prevented by other occupations, namely, persons held by marriage, business forbidden to clerics, slavery, military service (II Tim., ii. 4); in those who are actually in bad repute before the community on account of misconduct (I Tim., iii. 7). See Canons 983-991.

2785. Duties of Ordinandi According to Canon Law.--(a) Before Ordination.--Application to the bishop must be made beforehand at an opportune time, and testimonials of Baptism, Confirmation, Orders already received, certificates of good character and studies, and letters from superiors testifying to freedom from impediments and general fitness must be presented. The candidate must undergo a special examination and make a spiritual retreat before the day of his ordination. The profession of faith is made before subdeaconship.

(b) During Ordination.--All the ceremonies should be observed, and especially the physical touching of the instruments (chalice and paten, etc.), which seems to be essential in Minor Orders and the Subdiaconate. In the imposition of the hands in the other Major Orders, the head of the subject should be touched physically, although even moral touch is sufficient for validity of the Sacrament (Pius XII, Apostolic Constitution already cited). The law requires that the recipients of Major Orders receive Communion, and the obligations seems to be grave for the new priests, since they celebrate with the bishop.

(c) After Ordination.--The nocturn (three Psalms and their antiphons) which the ordaining prelate imposes on the newly ordained subdeacons and deacons should be taken from the first nocturn of the day, whether it be feria, feast or Sunday, unless the bishop appoints otherwise. The three Masses of the Holy Ghost, Blessed Virgin, and for the dead, imposed on the newly ordained priests, need not be applied for the bishop’s intention, and a stipend may be taken when they are said; but it is fitting that they be applied in thanksgiving and for the benefit of the bishop as well as of the whole Church on earth and in Purgatory. These prayers and Masses do not seem to oblige under sin, though some hold them to bind _sub gravi_. On the life duties of the clergy, see above (2596 sqq.).

2786. Registration of Ordinations.--As in the case of marriage, ordinations should be registered in a special book and notice of them (if subdiaconate was received) should be sent to the pastor of the parish of Baptism. A certificate of ordination is also to be given to the cleric ordained (Canons 1010, 1011).

2787. The Sacrament of Matrimony.--Marriage in general is defined as “the conjugal union of man and woman, contracted between two qualified persons, which obliges them to one another for life.”

(a) The word union may be taken actively for the passing act of internal and external consent, and then it refers to marriage in its state of becoming, as it is a contract and (among Christians) a Sacrament; or it may be taken, as it were passively, for the bond that results from the mutual consent pledged by the parties, and then it refers to marriage as a permanent state of life.

(b) The marriage union is conjugal; that is, its end is the procreation and rearing of children, or the making of a family, and it therefore gives the right to the natural acts of generation. A contract which has other ends (e.g., a business agreement of labor or of partnership), or which excludes procreation (e.g., an agreement of onanistic concubinage), is not a marriage.

(c) Marriage is between qualified persons, for certain individuals are excluded by natural, divine or human law from making a valid contract of marriage.

(d) Marriage is between two, one man and one woman. This unity of marriage is its first property, resulting from its nature as a relationship intended primarily for the propagation of the race and its proper upbringing, and secondarily for the peace and contentment of the married couple, their mutual assistance to one another, and their protection against carnal temptations (299). For polyandry is opposed to both these ends, and therefore to natural law, while polygamy does not accord well with the secondary ends of matrimony and is forbidden for all by the law of Christ (“They shall be two in one flesh,” Matt., xix. 3 sqq.). On the permission of polygamy in the later Old Testament ages, see 303, 311.

(e) Marriage obliges the parties to one another for life. This indissolubility of marriage is its second property, and also follows from the natural ends of marriage. For the right propagation of the human race is a matter that concerns not merely the married couple or human society, but also God Himself, who is matrimony’s immediate author and lawgiver, and God has decreed that marriage be unbreakable except in the few instances allowed by Himself: “What God hath joined together let no man put asunder” (Matt., xix. 6). Since the good of marriage is inferior to the good of faith, the divine law permits a dissolution of the bond in the case known as the Pauline Privilege (I Cor., vii. 12-15); similarly, in a very few instances where there is a serious good more important than the preservation of the bond (the faith of a convert from infidelity, the observance of the counsel of chastity, the public welfare), and where the bond itself has not the strength of sacramentality (i.e., in a non-Christian marriage), or has not been consummated in a Christian marriage, the divine law authorizes the Church, the representative of God, to decree a dissolution (see 363, 314). Not only are these cases few, but the conditions are strict (see Canons 1120-1127), and hence these exceptions are no menace to the ends of marriage. But once consummation has been added to consent in a Christian marriage, thereby perfecting the natural contract and extending the sacramental signification from the mystical and severable union of Christ with the soul by grace to the physical and perpetual union of Christ with the Church by the Incarnation, the indissolubility becomes complete and admits of no exception. The bill of divorce under the Mosaic Law seems to have been a true and complete dissolution of the marriage tie, but there is good reason to think that it was a toleration of the Jewish civil code, not a permission given by God. The valid marriages of infidels as such are not subject to the judgment of the Church; and the civil authority has no power to dissolve them (even when they are childless), otherwise individuals and the family and the State will suffer, as experience proves.

2788. Distinctions.--(a) In reference to validity, marriage may be true (i.e., validly contracted), or presumed (i.e., taken by the law to be validly contracted on account of some fact, as when the validity of a marriage was not attacked during the lifetime of the parties), putative (i.e., really invalid, but contracted in good faith by at least one of the spouses and not yet known by both to be certainly null), attempted (i.e., contracted invalidly in bad faith, at least one of the parties being aware of an invalidating impediment).

(b) In reference to perfection, marriage is legitimate (when it is validly contracted between non-baptized persons), ratified or sacramental (when it is celebrated between baptized persons), consummated (when the consent given in the contract is subsequently completed by the conjugal act). It seems that marriage lawfully contracted between a baptized and a non-baptized person is not ratified or sacramental, for, as the consent must be mutual, so should the Sacrament be mutual. But a marriage free from substantial defects is always a Sacrament, even though the contractants do not wish this, when it is contracted between Christians, whether they be Catholics or non-Catholics; and a marriage contracted between non-Christians becomes a Sacrament on the Baptism of the parties.

(c) In reference to its manner, marriage may be clandestine (i.e., not celebrated before the pastor and two witnesses), or secret (i.e., celebrated before the pastor and two witnesses pledged to secrecy, and without the publicity the Church ordinarily requires), public (i.e., celebrated before pastor and witnesses and with publicity such as announcement to the people and registration in the usual marriage book). The secret marriage is also known as a marriage of conscience (Canons 1104-1107).

(d) In reference to the law under which it is performed, marriage is either canonical or civil. A purely civil marriage between Catholics is invalid, as far as the bond is concerned, since their contract, as being a Sacrament, is subject to the Church. But the civil marriage, as far as the purely civil consequences are concerned, is a lawful ceremony, and is obligatory if required by law. A morganatic marriage is made between two persons of unequal condition (e.g., between a king and a plebeian woman) on condition that the inferior spouse and progeny shall not share entirely in the titles and property of the superior spouse.

2789. The Elements of the Contract of Marriage.--(a) The subject-matter of the contract is the conjugal right or the lawful power of exercising with the other party acts suitable for generation.

(b) The ends of the contract are, primarily, the good of the race and of the children, and secondarily the good of the couple through mutual assistance and protection in spiritual and temporal matters. To these general ends may be added others which a particular person has in view, such as dignity, wealth, honor, lawful pleasure.

(c) The essence of the contract is the consent, for every pact consists in mutual agreement. But if marriage be regarded as a permanent state, its essence is the bond of union, and consent is the efficient cause productive of the bond. Marriage consent must have the qualities (internal, external, mutual, free) that are necessary in every contract, as explained in 1883.

2790. Requirements for Valid Marriage Consent.--(a) Internal Consent.--If both or one of the parties internally and positively wills to exclude marriage, or the right to the conjugal act, or an essential property of marriage, the contract is null, since there is no purpose to contract a real marriage. Similarly, if both or one of the parties negatively (or by lack of all intention) excludes consent, there is no marriage. It should be noted that he who intends to get a divorce later on does not intend a permanent union or marriage, whereas he who intends to be unfaithful or to practise onanism may nevertheless intend to oblige himself to the duties of fidelity and of the lawful use of marriage, and therefore to a true marriage. Fictitious consent, unless a serious reason excuses (e.g., when one is forced under grave fear to marry, when one becomes aware of a diriment impediment at the altar and cannot retire without great scandal), is a mortal sin, as being a lie in a very important matter and an injustice. If the other party was deceived, the party guilty of feigned consent is bound to make reparation for the damage done, and, unless the marriage has become impossible or inadvisable, the means of reparation should be a genuine consent revalidating the marriage. This is especially true when there is a conflict between the internal and the external forums on account of the inability to establish juridically the nullity of the invalid marriage.

(b) External Consent.--Both as contract and as Sacrament, matrimony requires some sensible manifestation of the internal consent. Since the contract of marriage between Christians falls under the jurisdiction of the Church, the manner of expressing the consent is regulated by Canon Law. The solemnities required for valid and lawful marriage will be treated below in 2826, 2827.

(c) Mutual Consent.--Both parties must agree to the marriage, since no one is obliged by a contract without his consent. But mutuality does not imply simultaneity, for, if the previous consent given by one party continues, the subsequent consent given by the other is joined to it and the consent becomes mutual.

(d) Free Consent.--If every contract must be deliberate and voluntary, this is especially true in the case of marriage, since it entails very heavy duties and its obligations are lifelong (cfr. 2195). In marriage there must be full and perfect consent, though it is not necessary that one think expressly on the essentials of the contract when assenting to it.

2791. Defects in Consent.--Consent supposes sufficient knowledge, and hence it may be vitiated by a defect as to knowledge.

(a) Mental Derangement.--Those who are not in possession of their mental faculties cannot marry, whether the derangement be habitual (e.g., idiots, the completely insane, monomaniacs on the subject of marriage) or actual (e.g., infants, those who are completely drunk or doped, the hypnotized or delirious, somnambulists). But defectives who are not unbalanced all the time or on all subjects, may be able now and then to realize the meaning of marriage and to give deliberate consent, though the presumption is against them. Those whose mentality is of a low grade, but who are able to judge and reason correctly (e.g., stupid persons, the deaf and dumb, or blind), and those who have some little fanaticism or eccentricity are not excluded; otherwise very few of either sex could marry.

(b) Ignorance.--Substantial ignorance, or the absence of knowledge about the essentials of marriage (viz., that it is a permanent association of man and woman for the purpose of raising children of their own), makes the contract null, for one does not consent to what one does not know. Accidental ignorance, on the contrary, does not nullify, for he who understands the main facts about marriage can intend to contract it as others do, even though he does not know its details or secondary features. Ignorance invalidates marriage, therefore, if one of the parties does not know that marriage is meant for the procreation of children or that children are procreated by carnal intercourse; but it does not invalidate if the parties are ignorant about physiology or scientific explanations. Substantial ignorance in persons of marriageable age (especially young women) is not uncommon even in these days, but it is not presumed after puberty (Canon 1082, Sec.2).

(c) Error.--Error which excludes consent to the essential object of the contract nullifies, and hence a substantial error about the person with whom one is contracting makes marriage of no effect (e.g., if Titus thinks he is marrying Claudia, but is really marrying her twin sister, Sempronia; if Balbus intends to marry Caia only on condition that she is a virgin and she is not a virgin; if Julius intends to marry the woman who is present solely as differentiated by a personal or individual characteristic which he mistakenly believes her to have, such as seniority among her sisters). Error which does not prevent essential consent does not nullify the contract. Hence, a mere accidental error about the other party (e.g., Titus marries Claudia, thinking she is rich, whereas she is poor, and he would never have married her had he known her poverty) does not make marriage null, though the Church makes the marriage of no effect when a slave is married in the belief that he or she is free (Canon 1083, Sec.2, n, 2). A mere speculative error about the properties of marriage (e.g., if one believes that marriage may be lawfully dissolved for adultery) or about the validity of one’s own marriage (e.g., if the bride erroneously believes that the marriage she is contracting is null) does not deprive the contract of its force, if there is really a purpose to marry as best one may; for such an error does not act upon the will or take away consent.

2792. Forced Consent.--Consent also supposes self-determination, and hence in certain cases force or fear makes a marriage null and unlawful.

(a) Effect on Validity.--Coercion nullifies marriage from natural law, when overpowering physical might extorts an external assent, or when moral violence so terrifies as to unsettle the reason; from church law at least, when being grave, external and unjustly caused, it compels one to marry in order to escape the evil it inflicts or threatens. In other cases fear does not void marriage, even though it be the cause of the contract, as when the fear is slight, or when it is induced by shipwreck or by the fear of sin, or when a seducer marries only because he is threatened with prosecution unless he marries the girl whom he seduced.

(b) Effect on Lawfulness.--He who by intimidation impels another to marry, sins gravely if the fear is unjust and grave, or unjust and productive of serious evils; he sins venially if the fear, though unjust, is light and not productive of serious evils; he sins not at all; if the fear is justly caused, unless he offends charity by his manner of acting; revengeful spirit, etc. He who marries knowing that the other party is forced into the contract, is guilty of serious injustice; and he who marries unwillingly, but with the purpose to live as if he were validly married, sins gravely by his will to live in impurity.

2793. Conditional Consent.--Conditional consent is that in which the agreement to marriage is made dependent on some fact or event.

(a) A condition makes marriage invalid if it neutralizes consent (e.g., if the condition is _de praesenti_ but unfulfilled; if it is _de futuro_ and against the substance of marriage; if it is impossible but seriously added); it suspends marriage if it is _de futuro_, possible, and not against the substance of marriage; it neither nullifies nor suspends if it is _de praesenti_ or _de praeterito_ and fulfilled. In law the presumption is that _de futuro_ necessary or impossible conditions and shameful conditions are not serious, or are modes rather than conditions (see 1886), and of course in the external forum invalidity on account of a condition has to be proved. Conditions against the substance of marriage are such as deny essential conjugal rights or duties (i.e., the right to have conjugal intercourse, the duty of fidelity to the consort, of loyalty to the bond); but they should not be confused with the purpose to violate marriage engagements, or with a resolution, or a vow, or a pact in the form of a mode, not to make use of the right to conjugal intercourse.

(b) A condition added to marriage consent is gravely sinful, unless there is a very urgent reason for it; otherwise most serious evils would result. Moreover, there is responsibility in justice for culpable damages, as when one party gives consent conditionally without the knowledge or against the will of the other party. A suspensive condition (e.g., “if my parents will consent”) is regularly unlawful without the bishop’s permission, and marriage rights may not be used in a marriage dependent on a condition whose fulfillment is not known to the parties. It is unlawful to make a vow or promise of chastity in the married life unless there is moral certainty that it will be kept.

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

(c) The effects of Matrimony are _per se_ second grace, which increases 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.

(c) It is a promise of future marriage, that is, a contract to marry, 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.