So I pulled out my catechism \u2014 that is, the Catechism of the Catholic Church \u2014 for a definition. There isn\u2019t a single definition as in a glossary. But the key items are unity, that is, the two becoming \u201cone flesh\u201d with mutual self-giving; indissolubility; and openness to fertility. To contract a marriage also requires free consent. <\/p>\n
My understanding \u2014 though it\u2019s not spelled out \u2014 is that if one of the two never really was open to children or intended for the marriage to be indissoluble, then this is grounds for annulment.<\/p>\n
I wanted to look at other documents by mainstream Protestant churches, for instance, and may do that in the future, anyway \u2014 but here\u2019s what I\u2019m thinking: \u201cmarriage\u201d as it exists in 2013 America is not marriage in the Catholic Church\u2019s definition. \u201cMarriage\u201d just means \u201ca legal contract (dissolvable by a separate legal agreement) by which two individuals declare themselves to be each other\u2019s next-of-kin and take on a certain degree of financial responsibility for each other, typically motivated by romantic love.\u201d <\/p>\n
There\u2019s no expectation of indissolubility \u2014 just of a certain legal complexity in ending the relationship. There\u2019s no expecatation of openness to children. <\/p>\n
Why, given how much marriage is watered down, do we even require a justice of the piece or religious officiant? Why not just allow a notary to notarize a marriage contract, and, likewise, a \u201cdissolution of marriage\u201d contract? <\/p>\n
And here\u2019s what I\u2019m thinking: what we need is some replacement for marriage \u2014 either something that demands the indissolubility and connection-to-children of historical marriage, or, more simply, some other kind of structure oriented towards the goal of \u201cproviding a stable household for the raising of children.\u201d Some way of making the baby-mama\/baby-daddy pairing into legal relationship? Maybe call it a Parenting Union (using the \u201ccivil union\u201d terminology, though it\u2019s flawed by the fact that it shortens to \u201cP.U.\u201d), and, at least, as a start, for those young couples who feel they can\u2019t get married (because dad can\u2019t get his act together consistently and reliably), herd them into such a union and provide extra benefits\/support for young couples willing to take this step. At a minimum, if these people aren\u2019t going to get married, perhaps such a status could reinforce to them that, hey, multiple fathers (or multiple mothers) is a Very Bad Thing. Maybe Kim Khardashian and Kanye West could prominently enter into a Parenting Union? <\/p>\n
Maybe such a Union would even automatically expire when the youngest child reaches the age of 18. Heck, we could even reduce that age a bit \u2014 maybe 13? This would put the teen mom in her 30s, and ready to find her Soulmate for marriage and the next stage in her life. <\/p>\n
So that\u2019s all very speculative, and just another step in my trying to work out a way forward . . . <\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
So I pulled out my catechism \u2014 that is, the Catechism of the Catholic Church \u2014 for a definition. There isn\u2019t a single definition as in a glossary. But the key items are unity, that is, the two becoming \u201cone flesh\u201d with mutual self-giving; indissolubility; and openness to fertility. To contract a marriage also requires […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2209,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n