Hello all and god bless. I have a quick question if anyone at all can answer it would be of help and lot off my mind.My question is once the tribunal gets the paper work all to the judge how long does it take for them to give a answer on a pauline privilege? Thanks in advance and may god bless all of you.

-- MISTY (POLLOCKSPRAYGUN@AOL.COM), February 04, 2003

Answers

Being that it's a bureaucracy, better be prepared to be patient, Misty. I'll pray for you that it goes fast though. :-)

BTW, for those who are wondering, "The Pauline Privilege applies only when both parties were unbaptized at the time of the marriage. It is not the same as an annulment. The Pauline Privilege dissolves a real but natural marriage. An annulment is a declaration that no valid marriage ever existed."

-- Christine L. :-) (christine_lehman@hotmail.com), February 05, 2003.

Misty- I am also going through a Pauline Privelege case. I am currently waiting for all the testamonials to be returned and sent to the local diocese. This is one advantage to the Pauline Privelege. That is is going through the local diocese and not to a full marriage tribunal. God bless you in your time of waiting! Jamie

-- Jamie (jmecook@hotmail.com), March 02, 2003.

I was interested that you said that the pauline privilege only applies to those that where not baptised at the time of the marriage. What Bible evidence is there to support this?

-- erica betts (ericabetts@hotmail.com), May 28, 2003.

If the pauline priveledge dissolves a real but natural maariage (between two unbaptised persons) then this must be different from a sacramental marriage which cannot be dissolved.

What actually is a natural marraige? and what is meant by 'real'? (I thought the only real marraige was a sacramental one). Is it a non sacramental sexual and committed relationship between two unbaptised persons? (eg- "married" in the registrar offfice by a civil celebrant)

How is a natural marraige in essence different from a DeFacto relationship? Is the only difference that the couple intended to get married (whatever that meant to them) but being unbaptised and not even christians whereas the defacto couple have no intention of being married but live together?

-- Anthony (cdiiscipulus@catholic.org), June 30, 2003.

Jmj

Hello, Erica and Anthony.

Sorry, Erica, that nobody answered you. I was traveling, almost 100% away from computers, at the time you posted your message.

The retired bishop of Corpus Christi, Texas, Bishop Rene Gracida, in an article called "Pastoral Ministry to the Divorced and Remarried," wrote:
"In some cases, ... couples appear to get married and embark upon what seems to be a married life but, for some reason, are not really married: their 'marriage' is invalid. Such cases can be examined by the Church and, if invalidity is established, the marriage is declared null. In other cases, a marriage, though valid, 'has not been fully constituted as a marriage' because it has not been consummated by marital intercourse, by which the two actually 'become one flesh.' In such cases, the Church understands Christ's teaching as permitting, under certain conditions, the dissolution of a non-consummated marriage. Moreover, exercising the power conferred on her by the Lord, the Church sometimes applies the Pauline privilege (see 1 Cor 7:15) to dissolve a non-sacramental marriage —- that is, a marriage involving at least one unbaptized person —- in order to free a Catholic to live his or her Christian life in peace."

Here are the relevant words from 1 Cor 7:13-15 ...
"13: If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. 14: For the unbelieving husband is consecrated through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is consecrated through her husband. Otherwise, your children would be unclean, but as it is they are holy. 15: 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."

Catholic apologist Martin Barrack mentions these "conditions" for the application of the Pauline Privilege:
"The Catholic Church can dissolve a marriage bond, allowing the Catholic party to re-marry, if:
"----- Both persons were not baptized at the time of their wedding. Marriage originally not sacramental.
"----- One party has been baptized, but the other remains unbaptized. Marriage remains not sacramental.
"----- The unbaptized person departs physically by divorce or desertion, or morally by making married life unbearable for the baptized person. Just cause for the dissolution.
"----- The unbaptized person refuses to be baptized or to live peacefully with the baptized person. Unbaptized person is asked.
"----- Civil divorce has been granted by the state. Church cannot be responsible for the separation."

If you wish to read the actual language of the complex marriage law on the subject of Pauline Privilege, you can refer to canons 1143 through 1150 in the 1983 Code of Canon Law (for the Western/Latin Church.)

God bless you.
John

-- J. F. Gecik (jfgecik@Hotmail.com), June 30, 2003.