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Document Details : Title: Le droit canonique interroge l'indissolubilité du mariage Author(s): MIGNONAT, Christian Journal: Marriage, Families & Spirituality Volume: 30 Issue: 2 Date: 2024 Pages: 274-285 DOI: 10.2143/INT.30.2.3293780 Abstract : In this article, the author, a scholar of canon law, considers the statement 'the divorced and remarried have obviously gone against the indissolubility of marriage' and asks: What indissolubility are we talking about? What does the church mean by 'indissolubility'? Starting with the various canons of the Code of Canon Law (CIC 1983) applicable to the subject, the article successively asks whether indissolubility concerns natural marriage, a community of conjugal life, a valid marriage, a civil marriage, a canonical marriage, a sacramental marriage, or a 'matrimonial bond' and family ties, or even the spiritual couple. In each case, the analysis highlights the arguments that allow us to decide whether the notion of indissolubility is applicable or not, and whether its character is absolute or merely relative. The analysis examines the universal or partial scope of this notion of indissolubility, in particular its variability according to whether the persons concerned are baptized or not, and the relevance of giving it a normative character in marriage preparations or in the management of the consequences of break-up and divorce. Exploring the various avenues suggested by the article should enable readers to form their own opinions and judgments on the meaning the church gives to the indissolubility of marriage, whether as the promotion of a concept or as a pastoral practice to be adopted in accompanying spouses, bearing in mind that Popes John Paul II and Francis have described it as the 'fruit' or 'gift' of marriage. |
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