Ed

Maybe canon 130 has a part in this matter:

Can. 130 "Of itself, the power of governance is exercised for the external forum; sometimes, however, it is exercised for the internal forum alone, so that the effects which its exercise is meant to have for the external forum are not recognized there, except insofar as the law establishes it in determined cases."


Perhaps on your marriage case, the priest is being influenced by that canon 130 wherein both the woman and priest would seem to be using epikeia in the internal forum which does not seek to void justice itself but seeks to void the use of positive law when positive law is leading to an injustice...since positive law and justice are not identical. Even tribunals in two different states could arrive at opposite answers in nuanced cases. Imagine for example if within a couple, one person was constantly and neurotically abusive in private and seemingly nice in public from the very beginning of the marriage and yet the agrieved could never prove that to a group of people like a tribunal. Is the rest of her or his life held hostage to the external forum of the tribunal? You yourself were amazed some months ago at the long delay (despite John Paul's open exhortation to the Rota) that the Rome tribunal subjected the Kennedy Rausch? case to and Rome should be the exemplar for lower tribunals not the subject of a Pope having to warn them of their slowness
thus if Rome itself was open to correction on their performance, it is obvious that all tribunals are composed of human beings who can err in the particular situation.
bill bannon | 01.11.08 - 2:23 pm | #

Nope. You're at a disadvantage in not having the facts of the case, including procedural ones, in front of you, but in any event, 130 doesn't get one close on this case, at all. it's just talking about something completely different...:)
Ed Peters | Homepage | 01.11.08 - 2:53 pm | #

Ed
You can actually email the priest in question here

coriden@wtu.edu

and find out why you two differ.
bill bannon | 01.11.08 - 3:50 pm | #

Bill, I know how to contact canon lawyers in America.
Ed Peters | Homepage | 01.11.08 - 3:53 pm | #

Dear Dr. Peters,

I am not surprised at all by this canonist's comments. I believe his comment is a "tip of the iceberg" regarding the laxity in nullity decisions and the culturally inbred attitude towards disrespect for valid marriages that is not educated out of our priests or laity who become canon lawyers, in spite of what they say.

But, thank you for what you did say here.


A former Catholic who has experienced what I comment about
Karl | 01.11.08 - 4:10 pm | #