The
suspension of marriages during this current crisis is not a violation of the
rights of the faithful because canon law makes the provision that a couple can
get married validly without keeping the canonical form. The canonical form is an
ecclesiastical impediment to contracting valid marriages between baptized
Catholics, and it was mandated by the Council of Trent to deter clandestine
marriages. Simply, the impediment requires that the exchange of vows take place
in front of the local ordinary or someone delegated by him, in addition to two
witnesses. Canon 1116 states:
If a person competent to assist according to the norm of law
cannot be present or approached without grave inconvenience, those who intend
to enter into a true marriage can contract it validly and licitly before
witnesses only:
1) in danger of death; or
2) outside the danger of death provided that it is prudently
foreseen that the situation will continue for a month.
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