By Jenna Marie Cooper
OSV News Question Corner
Q: I have heard some priests refer to "non-sacramental" marriages on the annulment question. I presume these are civil marriages. Is it so? Or do these marriages become "non-sacramental" due to the various other faults in the couple's status? (Midwest USA)
A: Terms like "sacramental marriage," "non-sacramental marriage," "civil marriage" and "valid marriage" all refer to slightly different things, even though they often involve overlapping concepts.
The Code of Canon Law gives us a basic definition of marriage itself in Canon 1055 when it describes the marriage covenant as that "by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of their whole life, and which of its own very nature is ordered to the well-being of the spouses and to the procreation and upbringing of children." The code goes on to note that marriage is a permanent union (see Canon 1056) which can only be contracted by the free consent of the parties involved (see Canon 1057).
A matrimonial union that includes all the necessary elements — i.e., the true freedom of the parties, a basic knowledge of what marriage involves, an openness to begetting new life and the intention of both parties to enter into a permanent and exclusive relationship — is called a valid marriage. Every marriage is presumed valid until proven otherwise.
Understood in this way, marriage is an ancient institution, as old as human society. Since marriage has existed since the dawn of history, it pre-dates the church and, therefore, also the sacraments. And even today, marriage is not uniquely Christian. God created marriage as part of his creation of humanity in general. Thus, men and women from all cultures and religions can and do enter into matrimony.
A natural marriage is not a sacramental marriage, but this does not mean that a natural marriage is somehow sinful or bad. It's good to recall that holy Old Testament figures like Abraham and Sarah had a merely natural marriage. If a Catholic marries someone in the Church who is not baptized, it is a valid marriage in the Church but is not a sacrament. To marry an unbaptized person in the Church requires a dispensation. To be a sacramental marriage, both the man and woman need to be baptized.
When we are considering Christian marriage, the Code of Canon Law tells us that "(marriage) has, between the baptized, been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament. Consequently, a valid marriage contract cannot exist between baptized persons without its being by that very fact a sacrament" (Canon 1055). So, for Christian spouses, their marriage has essentially been "upgraded" by Christ to include the graces of a sacrament in addition to the goodness found in a natural marriage.
Although it might sound surprising, the sacramentality of a marriage is not usually relevant to the work of a tribunal. Typically, tribunals investigate whether or not the marriage may be declared invalid. Since a non-sacramental marriage can be a valid marriage, and because the tribunal's concern is with whether the marriage in question was invalid, a tribunal generally would not investigate whether a marriage is sacramental. Sacramentality is a theological matter, not a legal question about invalidity. Again, Christ the Lord raised marriage between a man and woman who are both baptized to the dignity of a sacrament which is a factual point. Tribunals do not question or investigate the sacramentality of a marriage because it is a fact. Tribunals do investigate the legal issue of the possible invalidity of a marriage. In fact, if one of the parties in a prior marriage is unbaptized, the marriage may be dissolved in favor of the faith of the baptized party as noted in Scripture.
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Jenna Marie Cooper, who holds a licentiate in canon law, is a consecrated virgin and a canonist whose column appears weekly at OSV News. Send your questions to [email protected].