Folia Canonica 12. (2009)
STUDIES - Piotr Kroczek: Does obligatory canonical from of marriage contribute to salus animarum?
CANONICAL FORM OF MARRIAGE - SALUS ANIMARUM? 27 across the community can possibly damage the validity of marriage contracted according to canonical form because a person with divorce mentality has misrepresented views over the essential property of marriage (can. 1056)'6. It is hard to understand why the Church legislator’s position is that of keeping the obligatory form in use. The misuse of the form harms the principle of law. This is a strong argument for abolishing the form. 3. Preparation for Entering Marriage Preparation for entering marriage is in interest of legislator. The Code 1983 in can. 1063 10 and 20 orders that Pastors of souls are obliged to ensure that their own church community provides for Christ’s faithful the assistance by which the married state is preserved in its Christian character and develops in perfection16 17. The obligation of form of marriage helps to take steps in order to prepare for marriage, such as pre-marital instructions and canonical investigations for discovering the impediments. It must be noticed that all these actions are not to be treated as absolutely necessary for entering marriage. Lack of them is not a type of impediment. The pastoral care should find a balance between ius connubii (can. 1058) and legal requirements so that the sacrament of marriage may be fruitfully received (can. 1065, § 2)18. a) Pre-marriage Instructions Christ’s faithful have a right to the assistance by which they would be ready to enter into marriage. They are helped in preparing for marriage by preaching, catechetical instruction, and by personal preparation for entering marriage, so that the spouses are disposed to the holiness and the obligations of their new state (cf. can. 1063, 10 and 20). Apostolic exhortation Familiaris consortio (FQ19 states that the very preparation for Christian marriage is itself a special opportunity for the engaged to rediscover and deepen the faith received in baptism and nourished by their Christian upbringing (FC 51). The document fosters and presents a model of marriage preparation that includes three main stages: remote, proximate and immediate preparation (FC 66). Especially the last one, which should take place in the months and weeks preceding the wedding, is in the optics of the paper because the immediate preparation helps reach the goal, namely, that the 16 R. Sobanski, Wplyw mentalnosci wolnych zwiqzków na waznosc zgody tnalzenskiej, in Annates Canonici 4 (2008) 5. 17 Zob. E. A. Sweeny, The Obligations and Rights of the Pastor of a Parish According to Code of Canon Law, New York 2002, 125-135. 18 T. RincóN-PÉrez, Can. 1064, in Exegetical Commentary (nt. 9), 1119-1122. 15 John Paul II, ap. exh. Familiaris consortio, 22.11.1981, AAS 74 (1982) 81-191.
