Folia Canonica 12. (2009)
STUDIES - Piotr Kroczek: Does obligatory canonical from of marriage contribute to salus animarum?
30 PIOTR KROCZEK It seems that it would be enough to reassure a legislator25 if the faithful were duly taught that obedience to canon law, also in the realm of preparation for marriage, aids proper practice of faith and can lead to personal spiritual growth. Simultaneously more responsibility could be placed on the side of the faithful. They would realize more deeply that they should take care of their duties in the Church (cf. can. 210, can. 212). That would help them to experience more fruitfully their religious duties, and would level of the danger in question26. It seems that the requirement of the canonical form to marry cannot be justified in the face of the rule that orders to pursue the specific goal of law in the Church, namely, the salvation of souls. The outcome leads also to the demand that the canonical form of marriage be not ad validitatem of matrimony, but only ad liceitatem. 25 Cf. BARRY, The Tridentine Form (nt. 12), 176. 26 Cf. C. J. Hettinger, Collegiality and the Form of Marriage, in The Jurist 24 (1964) 345-346.
