Conditions and Impediments

14 Q. What is necessary to contract Christian marriage validly?

A. To contract Christian marriage validly it is necessary to be free from every diriment impediment to marriage; and to give consent freely to the marriage contract in the presence of the parish priest (or a priest delegated by him) and of two witnesses.

15 Q. What is necessary to contract marriage lawfully?

A. To contract marriage lawfully it is necessary to be free from every impeding impediment to marriage; to be instructed in the principal truths of religion; and, finally, to be in a state of grace; otherwise a sacrilege would be committed

16 Q. What are impediments to marriage?

A. Impediments to marriage are certain circumstances which render marriage either invalid or unlawful. The former are called diriment impediments and the latter impeding impediments.

17 Q. Give examples of diriment impediments.

A. Diriment impediments are, for example, relationship to the fourth degree, spiritual relationship, a solemn vow of chastity, or difference in religion, that is, when one party is baptised and the other is not. [This has been altered by the 1983 code of canon law]

18 Q. Give examples of impeding impediments.

A. Impeding impediments are, for example, the forbidden times, a simple vow of chastity, and the like.

19 Q. Are the faithful obliged to make known to ecclesiastical authority impediments of which they have a knowledge?

A. The faithful are obliged to make known to ecclesiastical authority impediments of which they have knowledge; and for this reason the names of those who intend to get married are published in the Church.

20 Q. Who has the power to regulate impediments to marriage, to dispense from them, and to judge of the validity of Christian marriage?

A. The Church alone has power to regulate impediments to marriage, to judge of the validity of marriage among Christians and to dispense from the impediments which she has placed.

21 Q. Why has the Church alone power to place impediments and to judge of the validity of marriage?

A. The Church alone has power to place impediments, to judge of the validity of marriage, and to dispense from the impediments which she has placed, because the contract, being inseparable from the sacrament in a Christian marriage, also comes under the power of the Church, to which alone Jesus Christ gave the right to make laws and give decisions in sacred things.

22 Q. Can the civil authority dissolve the bonds of Christian marriage by divorce?

A. No, the bond of Christian marriage cannot be dissolved by the civil authority, because the civil authority cannot interfere with the matter of the sacrament nor can it put asunder what God has joined together.

23 Q. What is a civil marriage?

A. It is nothing but a mere formality prescribed by the [civil] law to give and insure the civil effects of the marriage to the spouses and their children.

24 Q. Is it sufficient for a Christian to get only the civil marriage or contract?

A. For a Christian, it is not sufficient to get only the civil contract, because it is not a sacrament, and therefore not a true marriage.

25 Q. In what condition would the spouses be who would live together united only by a civil marriage?

A. Spouses who would live together united by only a civil marriage would be in an habitual state of mortal sin, and their union would always be illegitimate in the sight of God and of the Church.

26 Q. Should we also get the civil marriage?

A. We should perform the civil marriage, because, though it is not a sacrament, it provides the spouses and their children with the civil effects of conjugal society; for this reason, the ecclesiastical authority as a general rule allows the religious marriage only after the formalities prescribed by the civil authorities have been accomplished. [In many countries, especially English speaking countries, the civil authority

Acknowledges the religious marriage and gives it the civil effects, thus there is no need of a separate ceremony. However the states often add certain requirements and formalities which should be observed.]

On the Commandments of God and of the Church

The Commandments of God

In General

1 Q. What is treated of in the third part of Christian Doctrine?

A. The Commandments of God and of the Church are treated of in the third part of Christian Doctrine.

2 Q. How many Commandments of God's Law are there?

A. There are Ten Commandments of God's Law: I am the Lord thy God: 1. Thou shalt not have strange gods before Me; 2. Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain; 3. Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath Day; 4. Honour thy Father and thy Mother, 5. Thou shalt not kill; 6. Thou shalt not commit adultery; 7. Thou shalt not steal; 8. Thou shalt not bear false witness; 9. Thou shalt not covet another's wife; 10. Thou shalt not covet another's goods.

3 Q. Why are the Commandments of God so named?

A. The Commandments of God are so named because God Himself has stamped them on the soul of every man; promulgated them, engraved on two tables of stone, on Mount Sinai, in the Old Law; and Jesus Christ has confirmed them in the New Law.

4 Q. Which are the Commandments of the first table?

A. The Commandments of the first table are the first three, which directly regard God and our duties towards Him.

5 Q. Which are the Commandments of the second table?

A. The Commandments of the second table are the last seven, which regard our neighbour, and our duties towards him.

6 Q. Are we bound to observe the Commandments?

A. Yes, we are bound to observe the Commandments, because we are all bound to live according to the will of God who created us, and because a serious transgression against even one of them is enough to merit hell.

7 Q. Are we able to observe the Commandments?

A. Yes, without doubt we are able to observe God's Commandments, because God never commands anything that is impossible, and because He gives grace to observe them to those who ask it as they should.

8 Q. What, in a general way, should we consider in each of the Commandments?

A. In each of the Commandments we should consider its positive part and its negative part, that is, what it commands and what it forbids.