Genetics Guide

Pre-Cana is a course or consultation Catholic couples must undergo before they can be married in a Catholic church. The name is derived from John 2:1-12, the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee, where Jesus performed the miracle of turning water into wine.

Approaches to Pre-Cana vary among Catholic dioceses and parishes. Often six weekly sessions will be led by a priest or deacon with support from a married Catholic couple. Common topic include: compatibility of the couple, basic principles of Catholic marriage and family life (namely theological meaning of marriage), conflict resolution within marriage, rules the couple is accepting to follow (including, but not limited to, natural family planning).

In the Canon Law of the Catholic Church, a canonical impediment is a legal obstacle that prevents a sacrament from being performed validly and/or licitly. The term is used most frequently in relationship to the sacraments of Marriage and Holy Orders. Some canonical impediments can be dispensed by the competent authority (usually the local ordinary) as defined in Canon Law.

Henry VIII of England had three[1][2][3][4] of his six marriages annulled. These marriages were to Catherine of Aragon (on the grounds that she had already been married to his brother); Anne Boleyn[4] (on the grounds that she had allegedly seduced him with witchcraft and was unfaithful—not wishing to execute his legal wife, he offered her an easy death if she would agree to an annulment); and Anne of Cleves[5] (on the grounds of non-consummation of the marriage and the fact that she had previously been engaged to someone else). Catherine Howard never had her marriage annulled. She had committed adultery with Thomas Culpeper during the marriage, and she had flirted with members of his court. Because of this, on November 22, 1541, it was proclaimed at Hampton Court that she had “forfeited the honour and title of Queen,” and was from then on to be known only as the Lady Catherine Howard. Under this title she was executed for high treason three months later, although both she and the onlookers believed she died as queen.[6]

In Paul’s epistle it states:“ To the married I give charge, not I but the Lord, that the wife should not separate from her husband … and that the husband should not divorce his wife. To the rest I say, not the Lord, … But if the unbelieving partner desires to separate, let it be so; in such a case the brother or sister is not bound. For God has called us to peace. (1 Corinthians 7:10-15, RSV) ”

The first section, “not I but the Lord”, matches Jesus’ teaching on divorce, found in the Expounding of the Law, Matthew 19:9, Luke 16:18, and Mark 10:11. The second section, “I say, not the Lord”, gives Paul’s own teaching on divorce.

In the Catholic Church and in some Protestant denominations (though most Protestants allow divorce in all serious circumstances), this is interpreted as allowing the dissolution of a marriage contracted between non-believers in the case that one (but not both) of the partners converts to Christianity and the other partner leaves the marriage.

It is said that the Pauline Privilege differs from divorce in that it leaves the Christian partner free to remarry, despite the fact that Paul does not himself comment on the lawfulness of such a remarriage. It differs from annulment because it dissolves a valid actual marriage, in favor of the faith of the Christian partner, where annulments declare that a marriage was invalid from the beginning.

According to the Catholic Church’s canon law, the Pauline Privilege does not apply when either of the partners was a Christian at the time of marriage. Under Catholicism, the Petrine Privilege may be invoked if only one of the partners was baptized at the time of marriage.

The Pauline Privilege (Privilegium Paulinum) is a Christian concept drawn from the apostle Paul’s instructions in the First Epistle to the Corinthians.

Christian denominations generally regard marriage as an institution ordained by God for the lifelong relationship between one man and one woman. Civil laws recognize marriage as having social and political status. Christian theology affirms the secular status of marriage, but additionally views it from a moral and religious perspective that transcends all social interests.[1]

Divorce is generally seen from a Christian perspective as less than the ideal, with specific opinions ranging from it being universally wrong to the notion that it sometimes is inevitable.

Except for a brief time during the Middle Ages, the traditional Christian view has held that sex is reserved for marriage and that sex outside of marriage is a sin.[1] More liberal societal trends have moved some Christian denominations to reaffirm historical conservative views and others to relax some of their standards in this area.

Roles and responsibilities of husband and wives now vary considerably on a continuum between the long-held male dominant/female submission view and a growing shift toward equality (without sameness) of the woman and the man.

Within the period known as Early Christianity, i.e. before the First Council of Nicaea (325), the Council of Elvira prohibited marriage for bishops, priests and deacons. Roman Catholic scholars hold that a tradition of clerical continence existed, whereby married men who became priests were expected to abstain from sexual relations with their wives.[3][4] In this view, the early Church did not consider legitimate marriage by those who were already priests.

In Western Christianity, not only the prohibition of clerical marriage, which was in force in the East as well as the West, but also clerical celibacy became a rule that was further strengthened when the Second Lateran Council declared that marriage by deacons and priests was to be considered not only illicit and sinful, as previously, but also invalid.

The practice of clerical marriage was initiated or, according to Protestants[citation needed], reinitiated in the West by the followers of Martin Luther, who himself, though a priest and monk, married Katharina von Bora, a nun, in 1525. It has not been introduced in the East.

Protestant Churches practise clerical marriage.The Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church and Oriental Orthodoxy do not allow it: with certain limitations, they permit married men to become clergymen, but they do not permit clergy to marry after becoming such through ordination.

The Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church follows the discipline of clerical celibacy: as a rule, only celibate men are allowed to be ordained, though from time to time married clergymen of other denominations are ordained after being received into the Roman Catholic Church. For example, some married Anglican priests left the Church of England after it admitted women to the priesthood, and were admitted to the Roman Catholic priesthood.[1] Sometimes priests are granted dispensation from the obligation of celibacy, but only if they leave the priesthood.[2] Their subsequent marriage is thus seen as the marriage of a layman, not clerical marriage.

The Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches and Eastern Catholic Churches do not practice clerical marriage. Married men may become deacons and priests, but may not marry once they become clergy by ordination. These churches have from ancient times both celibate and married clergy: “Black Clergy”, who are celibate (i.e., monastic), and “White Clergy”, who are married.

Eastern parish clergy are usually married, but as stated above, their marriage must have occurred when they were still laymen, before ordination as a deacon (or, in some churches, even before subdeacon). If the wife of a deacon or priest dies, he may not remarry, but must remain celibate. Generally, if a deacon or priest divorces his wife, he may not continue in the ministry. Bishops are elected from among those clergy who have chosen, usually by taking monastic vows, to remain celibate, or from widowed clergy. Among the Orthodox, bishops must always be monks, not simply celibate. If a widowered priest is elected bishop, he must take monastic vows before he can be consecrated. Eastern Catholic Churches, in full communion with the Pope, follow much the same tradition as the Orthodox from whom they came.

In Protestant denominations, there is generally no requirement that a pastor be already married, nor prohibition against marrying after “answering the call”. Being married is commonly welcomed, however, in which case the pastor’s marriage is expected to serve as a model of a functioning Christian marriage, and the pastor’s spouse often serves an unofficial leadership role in the congregation. For this reason, some Protestant churches will not accept a divorced person for this position. In denominations which ordain both men and women, a married couple might serve as co-pastors.

Since they permit an unmarried ordained pastor to marry, these denominations do admit clerical marriage, not merely the appointment of already married persons as pastors. But in view of 1 Timothy 3:2, 3:12, Titus 1:16, some do not admit a second marriage by a widowed pastor.

Certain groups (notably some of the Brethren fellowships) actually require a prospective pastor to be married before he can be ordained, based on the view (drawn from 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1) that a man must demonstrate the ability to run a household before he can be entrusted with the church. Even in these strictest groups, a widower may still serve. This again concerns marriage before appointment as pastor, not clerical marriage.

Clerical marriage is the practice of allowing clergy to marry. Clerical marriage is found in Protestantism, Judaism, Anglicanism, Independent Catholic Churches, and some sects of Buddhism.

Catholic theology teaches that a validly contracted marriage is accompanied by divine ratification, creating a virtually indissoluble union until the couple consummate, after which the marriage is completely indissoluble. An unconsummated marriage can be dissolved by the Pope, as Vicar of Christ.[2] Once the marriage is consummated, only a separation is possible; the marriage bond cannot be dissolved. Therefore, the term “divorce” has no meaning in the context of Catholic marriage.

An annulment is a declaration that the marriage was invalid at the time the vows were exchanged. In cases of two baptized people, this also means that no sacrament ever took place. Thus, an annulment is declared only when an ecclesial tribunal finds a lack of validity in the marriage at the time of the marital contract. Behavior subsequent to the contract is not directly relevant, except as post facto evidence of the validity or invalidity of the contract. That is, behavior subsequent to the contract cannot actually change the validity of the contract. For example, a marriage would be invalid if one of the parties, at the time of marriage, did not intend to honor the vow of fidelity. If the spouse did intend to be faithful at the time of the marriage but later committed adultery this does not invalidate the marriage.

Annulment and divorce, therefore, differ in both in rationale and effect; an annulment is a finding that sacramental marriage never existed, whereas a divorce is a dissolution of marriage.