A Civil Marriage of Catholics – Its Canonical Significance and Possibilities of Validation

Abstract

A civil marriage of Catholics was rethought in the Church doctrine only in context of the plague of, so called, ”free unions”. The reason of this was the fact that a civil marriage brings some legally binding duties. Canon law considers such marriage not as invalid, but as not existing. The marriage has not matrimonium putativum status, because of the lack of the form of the celebration of marriage, which is compulsory.
The civil marriage cannot be validated in a simple way (sanatio simplex). The doctrine was confirmed recently by the Roman Rota. The marriage in question can be valid only in retroactive way (sanatio in radice), because the act of the competent authority includes required dispensation form canonical form of marriage.