Firstly, the article provides basic information on the biblical teaching on marriage. While the Old Testament sees marriages with numerous offspring as a high value, the New Testament shows a tendency towards celibacy, be it on account of imitating Christ or for the expectation of imminent parousia. The most important author amongst the Fathers of the Church, St. Augustine, made a significant contribution towards forming the Catholic doctrine on marriage upon which drew even the medieval scholastics. In the modern age, the Church complained about the countries which forced their concept of marriage on the Catholic faithful. Even today, the Catholic Church is against the breakdown of marriage by means of divorce. Since the Second Vatican Council, however, there has been a development, for example, as regards contracting marriages between Christians of Catholic and non-Catholic confessions. Prior to the publication of the 1983
Code of Canon Law, this was expressed in the motu proprio of Paul VI Matrimonia mixta, whose regulation did not have to be changed substantially in the Code.

The marriage, one of the ancient institutions of mankind, was initially regulated by divine law (both natural and positive), hence its religious character, that also can be found in the Roman marriage known as the confarreatio marriage. According to the provisions of the ius civile, a man and a woman enter into a marriage through a contract. But, by an imperial constitution promulgated by the Emperor Justinian, only the civil marriage contracted by a written contract in a Church is a iustas nuptias (‘legal marriage’) (cf. Novel 74).
The marriage as institution — provided by ius civile — has evolved into the sacramental act of marriage when it was raised to the rank of a Holy Sacrament of the Church by our Savior, Jesus Christ, at Cana of Galilee (cf. John 2:1—11). And, from apostolic age, the Holy Sacrament (Mistyrion) of Marriage has been accompanied by the administration and reception of the Holy Eucharist by the groom and the bride, that is, by the man and the woman. And, this sacramental act of marriage was regulated by church law, that is the canon law of the Eastern and Western Churches (cf. can. 3 Trullan Council). From the year 893 the subjects of the Byzantine emperor had to receive the Sacrament of Marriage after they were contracted the civil marriage (cf. Novel 89 of Emperor Leo the Wise). Only in this way a marriage could be bearer of legal effects.

The concern for the upbringing of children in the marriages of Christians with followers of other religions or pagans, and then Catholics with non-Catholics, was from the very beginning a concern of the church community. This issue is discussed in the present article, in which the author focuses his attention on foundations of the regulations rather than on their legal aspect. The conducted analyses indicate that there has been a significant shift from the objective protection of faith to the subjective expression  of the personal character of the marriage relationship and the related rights and obligations resulting from the free-given grace of belonging to Christ.

This article presents the modalities of legal regulation regarding mixed marriages in the Catholic Church in selected countries of Central Europe: Poland, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Germany, and Austria. In the comparative part, it presents a comparison of the solutions in the following areas: announcement before marriage, declaration before requesting permission for a mixed marriage, mandate for permission for marriage, dispensation from the canonical form and possibilities of access to the sacrament of the Eucharist in mixed marriages. In the synthesizing part, it presents not only an evaluation of the solutions described and suggestions for their improvement, but also the way in which the relevant regulations and forms are issued and published from the point of view of pastoral care and the openness of the Church. In the appendix, it discusses the legal solution to similar situations (marriage of a Catholic party with an unbaptized person and with a Catholic party distant from Christian faith and practice) and presents in a framework the draft directive of the Bishops’ Conference for mixed and similar marriages in the Czech Republic.

The issue of intermarriage among believers is very topical nowadays because we have seen a lot of migration recently. The reasons are various, but the main ones are the opening of borders and migration for work. A frequent outcome of these processes is the celebration of mixed marriages. In the past, the Catholic Church has been negative about mixed marriages because it feared that in the future the Catholic side might lose its faith and the Catholic upbringing of children might be threatened. Even today, the Catholic Church is not very supportive of such marriages, but is tolerant of them in view of the progress of ecumenism. This welcoming does not mean, however, that the Church is indifferent to the fate of those who celebrate mixed marriages, since the celebration of such marriages is governed by the prescriptions of canon law, which have the task, from the very beginning, when such marriages are instituted, of being of help to those who celebrate them, so that they may live in them in peace and without offending the Creator, and so form a happy marriage despite their differences. The attitude of the Orthodox Church towards mixed marriages has been negative in the past and remains unchanged at the present time, and if a marriage is not celebrated in the Orthodox Church, it is not recognized as valid.

The fact that spouses profess different faiths is a major challenge for their life and for building a stable family. A closer examination of the reality of mixed marriages may be helpful in developing the pastoral care they need. The article shows what mixed marriages deal with in their spirituality, in the context of the existing doctrine, law and pastoral practice. It also discusses the shared values and expressions of Christian spirituality as well as areas where tensions or even crises may appear. The article is not only a recapitulation of the applicable laws and existing pastoral practice, but proposes some solutions, both pastoral and canonical.

Jakub Kříž: Nepatřičné právo Příspěvky ke studiu nespravedlivých zákonů [Inappropriate Law: Contributions to the Study of Unjust Laws] Prague: Leges, 2022

Review of an extensive expert commentary on the Act on Churches and Religious Societies in the Slovak Republic.

Review