The importance of the canonical and pastoral preparation for marriage focus of words addressed by Pope Benedict XVI to the Roman Rota. The bride and groom should be aware of and want this act that ultimately aims to holiness of life. This also to avoid future annulments.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Getting married in church is a right only if you believe in "true marriage” that is, an act for the realization of the “integral good, human and Christian, of the spouses and of their future children, ultimately projected towards the holiness of their lives". From here, follows the importance of preparation for Christian marriage, also to avoid annulments, which were at the heart of Benedict XVI address delivered today to members of the Tribunal of the Roman Rota, received at the beginning of the judicial year."The canonical dimension of marriage preparation – began the Pope - is perhaps not an immediately perceived element" both because the preparation phase holds "a very modest, if not insignificant, place ", and because "there is a widespread mentality that the examination of the spouses, the publication of banns and other appropriate means to carry out the necessary pre-marital investigations, of which marriage preparation courses are a part, are purely formal obligations. In fact, it is often assumed that, in admitting the couples for marriage, pastors should proceed with speed, as it regards the natural right of people to marry".
The fact, however, is that "there is no marriage of lives and another of law: there is only one marriage, which is constitutionally a real legal bond between a man and a woman, a bond based on the true dynamics of conjugal life and love. The marriage celebrated by the spouses, the marriage that is dealt with both pastorally and in canonical doctrine, are one single natural and salvific reality, the wealth of which certainly gives rise to a variety of approaches, however without ever losing its essential identity. The legal aspect is intrinsically linked to the essence of marriage. This is understandable in light of a non-positivistic concept of law, but considered from the perspective of relationality according to justice.
H/t: Pete F
