Roman Catholics: Mixed Marriages Made Easier

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Pope Paul VI last week lifted the ban of excommunication against Catholics who marry outside the Roman Church, and in several other ways softened "the stiffness of present legislation" on mixed marriages. Paul issued his 1,500-word decree on The Sacrament of Matrimony just four days before the scheduled arrival in Rome of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who had planned to discuss the Catholic Church's refusal to accept the validity of mixed marriages performed outside the church and its insistence that children of such unions be raised as Catholics.

The Sacrament of Matrimony is one of those masterly documents that demonstrate the Vatican's genius for adjusting to the changing spirit of the times while upholding the integrity of its traditional teachings: it qualifies every categorical "must" with an implied "but." Mixed marriages, to be valid in the eyes of the church, must be performed by a Catholic priest. But henceforth, the clergyman of the other partner's faith may be present at the wedding ceremony, deliver a sermon, say prayers. The non-Catholic partner must be "clearly told of the obligation to raise the children of the union as Catholics" and of the "unity and indissolubility" of the marriage. But the pledge need not be made in writing-an oral promise suffices. Perhaps the best indication of the church's changed attitude toward mixed marriages is the ruling that they may be performed with the same ritualistic majesty as the wedding of two Catholics instead of being treated as lesser unions to be consecrated al most furtively outside the altar rail.

The bishops of pluralistic Germany and The Netherlands spearheaded the drive for easier mixed marriages. The more conservative U.S. bishops and those of Ireland feared that easing the rules might undermine the faith of the Catholic spouse. In November 1964, on the motion of Julius Cardinal Dopfner of Munich, the Vatican Council voted 1,562 to 427 to hand over the drafting of the decree to the Pope; last week's decree was the result. Protestants responded with reserved satisfaction; a Church of England spokesman called the rules "a hopeful beginning."