Rev José Mario O Mandía
jmom.honlam.org
Canons 1141-1150 of the Code of Canon Law (CCL) sets the guidelines for different cases.
RATIFIED AND CONSUMMATED
“A marriage which is ratified (ratum) and consummated (consummatum) cannot be dissolved by any human power or by any cause other than death” (Code of Canon Law – CCL, canon 1141).
A ratified marriage is a sacramental marriage where the spouses are baptized. If they are baptized after the marriage, the marriage becomes ratified from the moment they are baptized (cf E Caparros, M Thériault, J Thorn, Code of Canon Law Annotated – CCLA, 3rd ed, 2020).
A consummated marriage, strictly speaking, is a ratified marriage in which the spouses have done the conjugal act (cf CCLA).
RATIFIED BUT NOT CONSUMMATED
“A non-consummated marriage [a] between baptized persons or [b] between a baptized party and an unbaptized party can be dissolved by the Roman Pontiff for a just reason, at the request of both parties, or of either party, even if the other is unwilling” (CCL, canon 1142).
WHEN ONE OF THE SPOUSES IS BAPTIZED AFTER THE MARRIAGE – PAULINE PRIVILEGE
When two non-baptized persons are married, and after the marriage, one of the spouses receives baptism, and the non-baptized spouse [a] refuses to live with the baptized one; or [b] wishes to continue living with the baptized spouse but unwilling to do so “without offense to the Creator” (canon 1143, section 2), the marriage can be dissolved “in virtue of the Pauline privilege” (canon 1143, section 1).
What does “offense to the Creator” mean? It “refers to the danger of sin for the baptized party or for the offspring and situations or actions contrary to the sanctity of marriage: not allowing the baptized party freedom to practice his or her religion, unchaste married life, preventing the children from receiving a Christian education, polygamy, etc.” (CCLA).
The Scriptural basis for this is St Paul’s teaching in I Corinthians 7:12-15.
WHEN A CONVERT HAS SEVERAL SPOUSES
“When he receives baptism in the Catholic Church, a non-baptized man who has several non-baptized wives at the same time can retain one of them after the others have been dismissed, if it is hard for him to remain with the first one. The same is valid for a non-baptized woman who has several non-baptized husbands at the same time” (canon 1148, section 1).
WHEN ONE OF THE SPOUSES HAS BEEN BAPTIZED BEFORE THE MARRIAGE
The Pope can dissolve a valid natural marriage between a baptized and a non-baptized person for the sake of the salvation of the soul of the baptized spouse who is thus enabled to marry in the Church. The marriage, though valid, is not ratified (ratum) or sacramental, because one of the spouses is not Christian and therefore cannot receive the sacrament. A valid natural marriage can be dissolved for a higher good – the faith of the baptized spouse.
This provision is not found in CCL, but is related to canon 1150 which states: “In a doubtful matter the privilege of faith possesses the favor of the law.” This is why it is called the “privilege of the faith” (or “favor of the faith”). Some people also call it “Petrine privilege.”
Details of this privilege can be found in two documents available in the Vatican web page (www.vatican.va):
(1) Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Instruction on the dissolution of marriage in favor of the faith (1973); and
(2) Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Norms on the preparation of the process for the dissolution of the marriage bond in favor of the faith (2001).
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