Marriage and the Catholic Church, Part 3

We continue our series on Marriage in the Catholic Church, having touched on what the requirements and expectations are for Catholics and non-Catholics who approach the Church asking for marriage. In his April letter, Archbishop Sheehan mentioned “those who have a merely civil union; and those who have a civil union who were married before.” What is a civil union?

The term marriage generally refers to a state-sanctioned union. The phrase legally married can be used to emphasize this point. When a couple is legally married, they have entered into a civil union, which is a contract between the man and the woman. In order to be legally married, the couple begins by obtaining a marriage license from the county clerk’s office. Once the ceremony is over, the license is signed and sent back to the county to be recorded.

Since the 12th century, Marriage or Matrimony has been recognized as a sacrament in the Catholic Church, and has therefore required a Church presence. The Church, taking its view from Jesus Christ and Scripture, regards marriage not as a contract but as a covenant. What’s the difference? The Hebrew word for covenant, berit, means much more than a legal contract. Covenant signifies something that binds one to another forever, an unshakeable bond, like the one God has with us, His people. This stands in stark contrast to a contract, which, when violated, can be remedied through the legal system.

In many jurisdictions, the civil marriage ceremony takes place during the religious marriage ceremony, although they are two distinct entities. In the U.S., the marriage may be officiated by a priest, minister, or religious authority, with the religious authority acting as both a church witness and an agent of the state. So when a couple marries in the Catholic Church, they are joined both civilly and sacramentally.

In some countries, a couple is required to be married by the state before having a religious ceremony. An example of this is the 2007 wedding of basketball player Tony Parker and actress Eva Longoria, who married in Paris. Following the laws of France, Tony and Eva entered into a contract when they wed in a civil ceremony at City Hall, with the mayor officiating. The next day, they entered into a covenant when they married in the Catholic Church.

Once joined as husband and wife, the Marriage Rite of the Catholic Church says, “What God has joined, men must not divide.” So what if the marriage ends in divorce? What does that mean civilly and religiously? Next week, we continue our series by looking at divorce and annulment.