The Vatican's Meddling in Marriages
by Richard Bennett, Berean Beacon
Marriage is a creation ordinance, belonging to all mankind. As sovereign Lord
over His creation, God instituted that male and female should at aproper time
leave mother and father and be married, "therefore shall a man leave his father
and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh."
(Genesis 2:24) From the beginning both believers and non-believers married
because the ordinance of marriage is for all mankind. Mankind cannot put an end
to this creation command. God has used families, clans, tribes, and governments
as instruments to facilitate, enforce and watch over the bonds of marriage. But
because of fallen man's sinful nature, these institutions in varying degrees
have not followed the command of permanent monogamy as the divine law of
marriage. Even some of God's people have followed the corrupted norms of
societies rather than the law of God. When governments allow marriage to fall
into disrepute, God's judgment is on these institutions and their societies. The
Lord Jesus Christ reinforced the creation command and explained how it was God's
will for His people, "what therefore God hath joined together, let not man put
asunder." (Matthew 19:6) Those who are in Christ Jesus should, as a light to a
fallen world, reflect their union with their Lord in their marriages. The true
people of God should be the preeminent instrument that God uses to uphold
marriage because they have the revelation of Scripture and the power of the Holy
Spirit.
The Bible does not prescribe anything in respect to the mode of performing the
marriage ceremony. Ceremonies differ in various nations but should never be
regarded as anything more than a public recognition of a relationship entered
into by a man and woman before God their creator. Yet, as marriage is a matter
of important consequence involving public as well as private obligations, it is
appropriate and necessary that some ceremony should be performed, and that it
should be public so as to leave no doubt as to its reality.
Alleged absolute power over marriage
Defining marriage for its own purposes, breaking in pieces some vows of
marriage, while putting together stipulations never intended by the Creator is
all part and parcel of the Papacy's meddling in marriages. While the Catholic
Church gives lip service to marriage as fashioned by God in its basic meaning
and structure, in its law and practice it is totally different. The Catholic
Church claims to have absolute authority over marriage and therefore exercises
total legislation over marriage, even its validity and unmaking. For example,
Pope Leo XIII tried to vindicate the Catholic Church's usurped authority over
the institution of marriage when he declared, "When Christ, therefore, renewed
matrimony and raised it to such a great [i.e., sacramental] excellence, He gave
and confided to the Church, the entire legislation in the matter." (The
Christian Faith in the Doctrinal Documents of the Catholic Church, Para. 1821)
In Rome's Code of Canon Law # 1671, she states, "Marriage cases of the baptized
belong to the ecclesiastical judge by the proper right." She is quite definite
in giving the basis for her wholesale claim that marriage belongs to her.
The Roman Catholic laws on marriages are a shock to anyone who knows the nature
of marriage as coming from the Creator Himself. In Scripture it is declared to
be respectable in all its components, "Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed
undefiled." (Hebrews 13:4) This is God's ordinance and not that of any
church. It ought to be so esteemed by all and not denied to any of those for
whom God has made it. It is honorable because God instituted it for man from
the beginning and has called it so. He married and blessed the first couple,
the first parents of mankind, to direct all to look to God in this great
institution. This is so abundantly clear that one would think that all
humankind would be in agreement. But the Church of Rome does not agree. All of
the secular features of marriage expressed above are strongly opposed by the
Roman Catholic Church. This first happened in the twelfth century when Papal
Rome gained control over marriage and began legislating on the validity or
invalidity of all marriages, whether kings or peasants. This takeover of
marriage by Rome in her drive for power is one of the most influential tools
that she has in her control of Catholics worldwide. In her 1983 Code of Canon
Law, the Vatican moved to consolidate her power over marriage. For example, the
Vatican sets the age that a person may enter marriage when it legislates that "a
man before he has completed his sixteenth year of age and a woman before she has
completed her fourteenth year of age cannot enter into a valid marriage." (Canon
1083, §1) Further, according to Catholic law, the marriage of a Catholic with an
unbaptized person is legally invalid, "A marriage between two persons, one of
whom has been baptized in the Catholic Church or received into it and has not
defected from it by a formal act and the other of whom is not baptized, is
invalid." (Canon 1086 §1)
The same Vatican also legislates that sexual impotence on the part of a man and
wife make a marriage legally invalid. "Antecedent and perpetual impotence to
have intercourse, whether on the part of the man or the woman, whether absolute
or relative, nullifies marriage by its very nature." (Canon 1084 §1) The Pope
further reserves the right to dissolve a non-consummated marriage, even if a
person is unwilling. Thus the Vatican in Canon 1142 legislates, "For a just
cause, the Roman Pontiff can dissolve a non-consummated marriage between
baptized persons or between a baptized party and a non-baptized party at the
request of both parties or of one of them, even if the other party is
unwilling." While public recognition of a relationship is essential to
marriage, the Vatican in Canon 1130 legislates even for secret marriages, "For a
grave and urgent cause, the local ordinary [the bishop] can permit a marriage to
be celebrated secretly." This "secret marriage" is so covert and surreptitious
that the Vatican solemnly declares, "A marriage celebrated secretly is to be
noted only in a special register to be kept in the secret archive of the curia."
(Canon 1133) This is only a small portion of the more than one hundred ten laws
that the cardinals and bishops of the Church of Rome legislate for Catholic
people around the
world.
Mixed marriages
The Vatican's control over marriages and the marriage bed becomes especially
manipulative in what they call "mixed marriages". Mixed marriages have been and
continue to be one of the more successful ways of increasing the numbers of
those who submit to Catholic ways. All priests involved in pastoral work are
obliged to uphold these Catholic laws. No marriage between a baptized Bible
believer and a Catholic is permitted without written resolution that all
children born of the union will be brought up in the Catholic Church. This is
the Catholic law. Canon 1124 states, "Without express permission of the
competent authority, a marriage is prohibited between two baptized persons of
whom one is baptized in the Catholic Church or received into it after baptism."
The clinching law is Canon 1125, "The local ordinary, that is the bishop, can a
grant permission of this kind if there is a just and reasonable cause. He is
not to grant it unless the following conditions have been fulfilled. 1. The
Catholic party is to declare that he or she is prepared to remove dangers of
defecting from the faith and to make a sincere promise to do all in his or her
power so that all offspring are baptized and brought up in the Catholic Church.
2. The other party is to be informed at an appropriate time about the promises
which the Catholic party is to make in such a way that it is certain that he or
she is truly aware of the promise and obligation of the Catholic party." Thus a
"dispensation" (the removal of the impediment imposed by Canon 1124) is given by
a formal action of bishop according to the stipulations of Canon 1125. Rome
makes laws so that in removing them by her decrees of permission with
conditions, she gains control over lives and families.
When Rome first set about winning Protestants to Catholicism in United States of
America, one strategy of its documented plan was to entice them by mixed
marriages. In 1810, Roman Catholic Bishop Brute sent a report to be sent back
to Rome highlighting "mixed marriages" as one of the ways of bringing
Protestants into the Church of Rome. " (Documentary Reports on Early American
Catholicism (New York: Arno Press, 1978) p. 229) Regrettably these tactics are
still successful in the 21st century.
Divorce
Biblically, when it comes to divorce, there are four main statements by the Lord
Jesus Christ. Two of these reflect total opposition to divorce whereas two
others indicate acceptance of divorce on the grounds of sexual unfaithfulness,
and the right of remarriage for the innocent party. The fundamental divine law
of marriage is that a man shall leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his
wife. The nature of the marriage contract is that the two persons joined in
such a union become one flesh, "therefore they are no more twain, but one
flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder."
(Matthew 19:6) Husband and wife, being joined together by the ordinance of God,
are not to be put asunder by any decree of man. God says that He hates
divorce. God's perfect will is the safeguarding of societal order by the
preservation of marriages. There are only two grounds for divorce and
remarriage. When either sexual infidelity or desertion of a believer by an
unbelieving spouse has taken place, a divorce can be obtained. (Matthew 19:9 & I
Corinthians 7:12-15) In such cases, the marriage relationship has already been
severed and divorce is a formal acknowledgment of what has already taken place.
Divorce-Catholic annulment style
The Catholic Church declares that all marriages between baptized people are in
fact a sacrament. This is conditioned into the minds of Catholics from
childhood. It is reiterated in canon law, ".a valid matrimonial contract cannot
exist between the baptized without it being by that fact a Sacrament." (Canon
1055, §2) The Catholic Church teaches that sacraments are means of grace. (It
is inconsistent, therefore that, within Papal teaching, such a means of grace as
the sacrament of marriage would, by another Catholic law, be unavailable to
those in the priesthood.) In declaring marriage to be a sacrament, the Catholic
Church means that it is a sacrament by which God gives grace and over which she
has control. On this basis Rome sets up a hierarchy of marriages whereby the
Catholic marriage as a sacrament takes precedence over other marriages. Thus in
the law of papal Rome, marriages that are civilly valid before God can be
considered null and void from the point of view of Catholic law. A marriage of
a Catholic to a non-Catholic that did not take place before a Catholic priest is
considered null and void, and it is only a matter of time before the parties can
be released from their marriage vows. It is by making laws and then retaining
the power to remove them through her decrees that papal Rome gains domination
over lives and families.
The Catholic Church continually enunciates that there is no divorce for a
marriage that is lawfully performed between a consenting, baptized man and
woman. However, study of the Roman laws regarding an annulment shows that great
technical skill and ingenuity is used in dispensing papal annulments. An
annulment in actual fact amounts to exactly the same thing as a divorce in
practice. In law it goes beyond the concept of a divorce. The Catholic Church,
in granting an annulment, declares legally that a marriage never was. This
means that one can end up in the absurd situation of having been legitimately
married and having had children from that marriage, a tangible fact of the
marriage, and yet the marriage is declared to never have been!
Further, without an annulment, civil divorce is not recognized by the Catholic
Church as valid. This in turn keeps Catholics from taking the Eucharist, which,
after baptism, is the central means of obtaining ongoing grace that purportedly
flows through the sacrament. This in turn has extreme consequences when
Catholics think of dying without the necessary sacramental grace in which they
have been taught to believe.
Dispensing Annulments
One of the chief implements used in gaining an annulment is what is called a
"diriment impediment". A "diriment impediment" is an obstacle that is so
detrimental as to nullify a marriage automatically. An example would be a lack
of consent of either party or a deficiency in the actual procedure of the
ceremony, which is called "the form of marriage". The required "form of
marriage" according to Rome is that a marriage is performed before a priest and
two witnesses. This is another example of making laws and then removing them so
as to maintain control over lives and families. Many marriages are declared
null because of the laws of the Catholic Church regarding "diriment
impediments". An example of this is a "radical sanation." A "radical sanation"
is a decree that is retroactive and that can stabilize and validate a marriage,
which began as an invalid marriage. Thus present day canon law states,"The
radical sanation of an invalid marriage is its convalidation without the renewal
of consent, which is granted by the competent authority and entails the
dispensation from an impediment, if there is one, and from canonical form, if it
was not observed, and the retroactivity of canonical effects." (Canon 1161)
This "radical sanation" sounds very much like the "open sesame" of Ali Baba and
the Forty Thieves. At the command of Ali Baba the cave was opened by the
magical words. So also the intricate command structure of the Vatican is
purportedly able to retroactively validate a marriage that had been null and
void. The same canon continues, "Convalidation occurs at the moment of the
granting of the favor. Retroactivity, however, is understood to extend to the
moment of the celebration of the marriage unless other provision is expressly
made." (Canon 1161 Para 2) Such making and unmaking of marriages contravenes
Divine law of marriage in Scripture. Marriage is an ordinance for the
preservation of mankind. It was God Himself who said, "therefore shall a man
leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall
be one flesh," laying down the law for all Adam's posterity. God's law cannot be
manipulated and stage-managed by the decrees of any system. Nonetheless to do
so is attempted with amazing shrewdness by the same papal Rome that outlaws
marriage for her priests.
Vatican making and unmaking of marriage
The making and the unmaking of marriage is claimed to be all within the
apostolic power of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church exercises such
power even if both parties know nothing of what is being done. Thus Rome
proclaims in her law, "A sanation can be granted validly even when one or both
of the parties are unaware of it; but it is not to be granted except for serious
reason." (Canon 1164) This mysterious power to command a healing to a marriage
that never existed is purportedly held in the heart of Rome herself, "The
Apostolic See can grant a radical sanation." (Canon 1165) Marriage is not made
valid at the command of Rome; in Scripture marriage is regulated according to
the will and counsel of God. The Lord Christ Jesus said "a man leave father and
mother, and shall cleave to his wife." (Matthew 19:5) This alone is how a
marriage becomes valid before God. To decree that celibate prelates in Rome,
even though the parties themselves do not know of it, can make a marriage is
pharisaic totalitarianism gone wild! This bizarre power is claimed because Rome
claims that marriage is a sacrament. It is therefore within her power to make or
break marriages according to her own will and purposes.
The unmaking of marriages is sometimes done by what is called "interior
consent", the consent that either the man or woman had or did not have from the
beginning. On different ecclesiastical investigations, this can come out in an
ecclesiastical court, either to make or to break a marriage. Catholic annulments
are a big business inside the Catholic Church, and in the United States it is
known for the down-to-earth facility that is given for the procuring of
annulments.
"The statistics are interesting. In 1968 there were in the US a total of 338
annulments. In 1992 there were no less than 59,030, that is one hundred and
seventy-five times as many. Another interesting figure is that the total number
of annulments in the Catholic Church world wide in 1992 was 76,286, which means
that no less than 75% of all annulments were from the US, that is from a little
over 5% of the world's Catholic population. Moreover, not only do one in two
Catholic marriages here in the States end up with a divorce, but one in five is
officially annulled, 90% of the demands for annulment being successful." (http://www.sspx.org/Canonical_Commission/august_1995_ltr.htm
5/30/05)
"During 1984 and 1986-1994, U.S. Second Instance tribunals ratified 342,218
ordinary process decrees of nullity, retried and ruled for nullity in 13,303,
and decided against nullity in 1,412. Second Instance tribunals in the rest of
the world, despite adjudicating 250,000 fewer cases, ruled against nullity in
5,890 cases. Putting this another way, an American ordinary process annulment
had four chances in a thousand of being overturned at Second Instance, as
opposed to 56 chances in a thousand for ordinary process annulments granted
elsewhere."
(http://www.familylifecenter.net/txt/annulments-in-america.html
5/30/05)
The casual and arrogant manner of dealing with marriage and the dissolution of
marriage is not surprising, given the bishops and priests who make papal
judgments on marriages. In contrast a pastor in Scripture is to be "one that
ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity.
For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the
church of God?" Even these qualifications exclude the celibate judges who grant
annulments. Like Indulgences, the whole annulment industry of the Roman
Catholic Church, from the propounding of the laws to the sale of the contraband
article, is in total violation of Scripture.
Marriage and the Catholic travesty against it
The Lord Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Son of God, clearly spoke of the dignity
and sanctity of marriage. When questioned about marriage, He went back to the
narrative in Genesis, "Have you not read that he who made them from the
beginning made them male and female and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave
his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one
flesh.'?" (Matthew 19:4-5) Christ Jesus' endorsement of the sanctity of
marriage was simply a re-endorsement of the original revelation given by God.
Marriage is a creation ordinance. It is not like baptism and the Lord's Supper,
which are ordinances of the New Testament directly from Christ Himself and for
believers only. Marriage is from the beginning and it comes under the
jurisdiction of the civil state as nstituted by God. For Christians, the laws
regarding marriage are clearly laid out in the Bible, both in the Old and New
Testaments. A Christian pastor can counsel a couple regarding their marriage
according to these biblical norms. He is never to take jurisdiction over their
marriage to make or break it. The Lord Jesus Christ is abundantly clear when He
states that what God has joined together, no man should put asunder. The only
biblical grounds for divorce are what the Lord Himself allows in the case of
sexual unfaithfulness and what the Apostle Paul allows in the case of desertion
of a believer by an unbelieving spouse.
Nevertheless, the Catholic Church has manufactured a whole set of rules and
regulations that requires a Roman Catholic canon lawyer to fully understand.
Since cases of the validity of marriage abound with many different technical
terms, Rome says she upholds the sanctity of marriage, but she allows marriages
to be declared null and void based upon a terminology of her own making. For
example, "nullity" (the decree that a marriage is null and void) when granted by
Rome's ecclesial courts is not just a simple statement. It allows for different
interpretations. Thus Canon 1684 states, "After the sentence which first
declared the nullity of the marriage has been confirmed at the appellate grade
either by a decree or by a second sentence, the persons whose marriage has been
declared null can contract a new marriage as soon as the decree or second
sentence has been communicated to them unless a prohibition attached to the
sentence or decree or established by the local ordinary [the bishop] has
forbidden this." Thus the very decree that a marriage is null and void is
muddied by Catholic
terminology that requires trained Catholic lawyers to lead one through the
labyrinth of canon law. Papal Rome has granted hundreds of thousands of
annulments and allowed remarriage. Many of such unions, called marriages, are
in fact, before the Lord and His Word, nothing more than officially blessed
whoredoms. Such sinful unions take away the hearts and souls of men and women.
These are living situations, blessed by the priest and the Church of Rome, but
they are like a deep ditch and a narrow pit, out of which it is almost
impossible to escape.
Conclusion
The extravagant demands of Roman Catholic law impinge on the freedom of any
nation. If Christian people are truly informed, they must become aware that
marriage, the very basis of society, is being controlled and manipulated for
millions of Catholics. It applies to not only the millions of Catholics in the
United States, in different Western nations, and across the world, but it also
applies to the millions of Christians and others who are also deeply ensnared by
canon law as they enter into marriage with Catholics. Vatican canon law on
marriage involves also millions of people across the globe in the nations where
the Vatican is accepted as a civil power, and especially in those nations the
Vatican has legally entered into a "concordat". If Catholicism is to be
addressed seriously, this violation of marriage must be dealt with scripturally,
as it stands at the very heart and structure of civil society as given by God.
There is no way to maintain a biblical and evangelical testimony for the Gospel
of salvation by faith alone in Christ alone while granting legitimacy to Roman
Catholic laws on marriage. It is impossible to hold that one is a
Bible-believing Evangelical Christian who accepts both the inspiration and
authority of the Bible and still give legality to Roman Catholicism, which
forthrightly rejects that principle, as their laws on marriage show. Such
behavior is an affront to Christ in His work of redemption and likewise to the
Holy Spirit in His ministry of convincing the world of sin, righteousness, and
judgment. Romans 1:18 clearly states that "the wrath of God is revealed from
heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in
unrighteousness." Who can bear the devouring fire of God's everlasting wrath?
The good news is that personal faith and salvation are also from His hand, "Him
hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give
repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins." (Acts 5:31) Christ Jesus has
power to pardon the greatest lawbreaker and the greatest religious fanatic, as
He is exalted for this very purpose. No sinner need fear Him who is 'a Prince
and a Savior' at the right hand of God. To Him we may come with confidence.
When pressed with the consciousness sin, and when we recognize that we deserve
eternal death, we may confidently look to His power and grace. The Scripture
proclaims, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." The
Lord Himself declared, "He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved; he
that believeth not shall be damned." The Lord will always be merciful to those
who turn to Him in faith for the remission of sins. "Come unto me, all ye that
labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Compare the oppressive
and expensive laws of the Vatican with the requirements of Christ Jesus the
Lord, and see how true it is that His yoke is easy and His burden is light.
Jesus Christ will give assured rest all weary souls that come to Him. Rest from
the terror of sin, rest from the power of sin, and most of all, rest in the Lord
God. This is that rest which remains for the people of God. It begins in
grace, and will one day be perfected in glory, thus the Scripture declares,
"Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb."
(Revelation 19:9) ?
Richard Bennett of "Berean Beacon" WebPage:
http://www.bereanbeacon.org
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