Art 40. The absolute nullity of a previous marriage may be invoked for purposes of remarriage on the basis solely of a final judgment declaring such previous marriage void)

If possible, what is the procedure?

Thanks!

hi im khai, and im already 18 y/o me and my boyfriend are planning to get married through civil. we want to know what are the requirements in having a civil wedding? does it need a original or xerox birth certificate? thank you.

The Canons:

Can.1130 For a grave and urgent reason, the local Ordinary may permit that a marriage be celebrated in secret.

Can. 1131 Permission to celebrate a marriage in secret involves:

1. that the investigations to be made before the marriage are carried out in secret;
2. that the secret in regard to the marriage which has been celebrated is observed by the local Ordinary, by whoever assists, by the witnesses and by the spouses.

Questions:

1. What is secret marriage?
2. What is the purpose of the law on secret marriage?
3. Who has the authority to permit a secret celebration?
4. What does the permission imply?
5. What are the conditions required by the law?

Details:

Notes:
1. That Canon law and Civil law is not always in agreement in some principles. e.i. canon law does not recognize civil marriage while civil law recognizes church marriage. Marriage by proxy is allowed in canon law but not in civil law.
2. Couples who intend to have secret marriage are not prohibited provided that the provisions and requirements of the law are accomplished. (no impediments)

Secret marriage
In the code of 1917, this used to be called the “marriage of conscience” because the reason it was permitted is to provide for the conscience of two individuals who are unable to contract marriage publicly. Since by nature of the celebration is secret, “instead of the “marriage of conscience,” the term by which it was known in the Code of 1917, the present title (secret marriage) is juridically more accurate for the characteristic note of this canonical institution is that the celebration of the marriage, and therefore its existence, are secret but the marriage is celebrated according to the canonical form required by law and it exists not only in the forum of conscience but also in the external forum; and while it is secret [it is not publicly known as a matter of fact], it is public in the canonical sense.” “The major differences between secret marriage and other marriages are simply that the banns are not announced, the ceremony takes place in secret, and all involved must keep the fact of the marriage a secret.”

Purpose of the law
In such a case, “the value the law intends to protect is the right of the faithful to marry (Can. 1058).” Canon law should provide for the good of souls, and there are circumstances when a marriage must be celebrated although it cannot be recognized by civil law and cannot be contracted in accordance with it, such as those that are contemplated by Can. 1071 n.1.2. In this canon, marriages which cannot be recognized by civil law or celebrated in accordance with it are to be celebrated.

The Competent Authority
According to Can.1130, the local ordinary is competent to grant the permission for the secret celebration of a marriage. Can.134 enumerates the local ordinaries: the Roman Pontiff, the diocesan bishops, the equivalents in law of a diocesan bishop, those who even if only for a time preside over a particular church or community equivalent to it [diocesan administrator of both Cans. 419 and 421]

The Implication of Permission
“It dispenses the couple from a customary publicity before marriage and protects them from unwarranted publicity afterwards; for this purpose it imposes the duty of observing the secret on all who are officially involved in the celebration.”

The Conditions Required
1. There must be a grave and urgent reason for permitting such marriages (Can.1130). “The seriousness of the situation should be such that the good achieved by a public celebration is sufficiently offset by the good to be achieved by a secret celebration. In addition, there must be an element of urgency, i.e., there will be possible harm to the parties if there is delay.”

Some examples:
• Marriages of those living in concubinage.
• Marriages contrary to civil law if the prohibition is contrary to natural or ecclesiastical law such as interracial marriages.
• Marriages in countries where church is persecuted and religious marriages are forbidden,

2. The secrecy must be observed. Can.1131 specified the secrecy to be observed. The permission to celebrate a marriage in secret involves:

1. The investigations to be made before the marriage should be carried out in secret.
 the fact that the marriage is to be celebrated in secret does not exempt the minister from the usual investigations before marriage; the freedom of the parties to marry, that there are no impediments and other obstacles to a licit and valid celebration of the marriage and the other points of the customary canonical investigation. “All canonical norms must be followed with the exception of the banns, if they are in force in the area. If one or both of the parties is a minor, the parents should be consulted unless there is a most serious reason for not doing so. If the parental objections to the marriage are clearly unjust and serious harm would come to the minor if the parents discovered the proposed marriage, then consultation with them could be omitted but only after discussing the matter with the local ordinary” (Can.1071, n.1 & 6)
2. The secret in regard to the marriage which has been celebrated is observed by the local ordinary, whoever assists, by the witnesses, and by the spouses.
 “the people involve are mentioned by name but obviously others too are bound to keep the secret: the sacristan who prepares the church, the notaries who keep the records in the secret archives, etc.”
 Since, however, the secrecy is observed in favor of the spouses themselves, should they decide together to make known the fact of their marriage, all others are released from the obligation to keep the secret (Can.1132)

@Marites : That’s true, they can’t keep on staying away from their parents all their lives.

when i read arnold’s letter the first thing that i would like to know is their age because a marriage cannot be “hidden” from their parents if anyone of them is 25 years old or younger. if you are above 25 years old, you can have a civil wedding. all you need is a couple of witness and a judge (or a mayor) to solemnize your marriage. of course, you need to have a marriage licence first from your local civil registrar.

but then again, law aside, i agree with basti that marriage is a celebration of family life that it is better shared with your families and friends.