Sacramental Law: Selected Developments in Twenty-Five Years of Praxis

* Assistant Professor of Canon Law. School of Canon Law, Catholic University of America 1 See http://lateshow.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/top_ten/archive; accessed, March 18, 2009. 2 For the purpose of this article, the term “sacramental law” refers to issues regulated by canons 834–1253 of the Codex Iuris Canonici auctoritate Ioannis Pauli PP. II promulgatus (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1983); hereafter cited as 1983 code. 3 See James J. Conn, S.J., “Developments in Sacramental Law in the 25 Years Since the Code’s Promulgation,” CLSA Proceedings 70 (2008) 85–101. 4 A listing of developments in Book IV can be found in the Appendix to this article. 472 The Jurist 69 (2009) 472–515 SACRAMENTAL LAW:SELECTED DEVELOPMENTS IN TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF PRAXIS John J. M. Foster On August 31, 1993, David Letterman, host of Late Night with David Letterman on CBS, inaugurated what has become a staple of his show: the Top Ten list.1 Over the past fifteen-and-a-half years, the comedian has aired over three thousand such lists. More modestly, there have been at least thirty developments in sacramental law since the Code of Canon Law took effect on November 27, 1983.2 Realizing that there would be little value in merely reciting these developments in the time available,3 I asked one-hundred canonists to rank twenty-nine developments in sacramental law over the past quarter century in order to determine which they considered most significant. 4 The group included canonists in parish work, tribunal and chancery ministry, and academia. From the over forty percent who responded to my request, a top ten list of developments in sacramental law emerged. Unfortunately, devoting time to even the top ten developments is not possible. Therefore, instead of a Top Ten list a la David Letterman, I have chosen a Top Three list, aptly named “Top Three Developments in Sacramental Law since 1983.” Before beginning, let it be said that, even with this Top Three list, the nature of this review makes any in-depth examination of any one development difficult. Rather, I will attempt to put each development in its proper context and then raise issues for pastoral application. Number 3: Apostolic Signatura Clarification Concerning Issues Related to Defective Convalidation (c. 1160) On December 19, 2007 the Apostolic Signatura issued a clarification concerning matters related to defective convalidation as a ground for the 5 See Supremo Tribunale della Signatura Apostolica, Letter Defective Convalidation , Prot. N. 1014/07 SAT, 185/07 ES, December 19, 2007, in Roman Replies and CLSA Advisory Opinions 2008, ed. Joseph J. Koury and Siobhan M. Verbeek (Washington, DC: Canon Law Society of America, 2008) 54–56. Hereafter this source will be cited as 2007 Apostolic Signatura letter. 6 Pietro Gasparri, Tractatus Canonicus de Matrimonio, vol. 2 (Rome: Polyglot Press, 1938) 252: “Scilicet convalidatio matrimonii est actus quo matrimonium invalidum redditur validum.” 7 1983 code, c. 1161 §1. English translation from Code of Canon Law, Latin-English Edition: New English Translation (Washington, DC: Canon Law Society of America, 1998). Unless otherwise noted, English translations of the 1983 code will be taken from this source. selected developments in twenty-five years of praxis 473 invalidity of marriage in cases of Catholics married civilly first and later according to canonical form (c. 1160).5 After reviewing the ecclesiastical discipline pertinent to the convalidation of marriage, we will examine the two developments found in the Signatura’s 2007 letter. A. Convalidation in the Law and in Practice 1. Convalidation in the Code Marriage can be invalid for any of three reasons: the presence of an impediment (cc. 1083–1094), a defect of consent (cc. 1095–1099 and 1101–1103), or a defect of canonical form (c. 1108). This last cause of invalidity applies only to Catholics (see c. 1117). Cardinal Pietro Gasparri has provided the classic definition of a convalidation: “The convalidation of marriage is an act by which an invalid marriage is rendered valid.”6 Convalidation occurs in one of two ways: simple convalidation (cc. 1156–1160) or sanatio in radice (cc. 1161–1165). The distinguishing mark between the two methods is the fact that the renewal of consent by...