Investigation

INVESTIGATION. - An inquiry to be carried out before the celebration of Marriage and before the conferral of Orders, in order to ascertain the existence of the requirements demanded by law and the absence of impediments or irregularities. Such an investigation has an administrative character, distinct from the judicial form; indeed, it is not followed by a sentence, but by a permission to proceed further, or by a prohibition.

I. INVESTIGATION PRELIMINARY TO MARRIAGE

More common and of daily practice is the i. that precedes Marriage, also called the "matrimonial processetto."

This investigation, prescribed by the CIC (cann. 1019 and 1020), is necessary so that the sacrament of Marriage is not exposed to nullity or profanation. From it there must result whether the two contracting parties are validly baptized and whether they enjoy freedom of state, more generally whether nothing stands in the way of the valid and licit celebration of Marriage; in the contrary case this cannot take place.

When the spouses belong to the same parish, it is their parish priest who has the competence to conduct the investigation; if, however, they belong to different parishes, the competence and the preferential burden belongs to the parish priest of the bride. This does not prevent the bridegroom's parish priest from making inquiries to ascertain the bridegroom's freedom of state and transmitting the result to the other parish priest.

The legal proof both of Baptism and of free state is obtained by means of documents, interrogations and banns.

The documents to be examined are the parish registers, the Baptismal certificates of the contracting parties, that of the Marriage of their parents, and also, when necessary, that of the death of a previous spouse if one of them were widowed, the sentence of nullity or the grant of dispensation if the previous Marriage of one of them had been declared null or dispensed because not consummated.

The first to be interrogated are the contracting parties, then the witnesses for each of them, relatives or acquaintances, of sure faith in the judgment of the parish priest, who can attest with certainty to the information asked of them. The witnesses must be at least two for each of the spouses, therefore four in all; but they may also be only two provided they answer for both. For this interrogation there is a special formulary, to which variations or additions may be made according to circumstances.

From these investigations (documents and interrogations) there should emerge, if really existing, some impediment, especially if public, for which, if there are just causes, dispensation must be requested beforehand.

For greater assurance of freedom of state, the banns of the planned Marriage are prescribed. These may be made either by means of a notice affixed to the door of the parish church, or orally, that is, read by the parish priest during a function of popular attendance. The affixings must last at least eight days and include at least two days of precept; oral banns must be made on three consecutive Sundays or holy days. But from this rule, in cases of urgency or in particular circumstances, partial or total dispensation may be obtained, provided that from other proofs the freedom of state emerges. The banns have legal value for six months. The faithful who know of the existence of an impediment to a particular Marriage have the duty, even independently of the banns, to denounce it to the parish priest or to the Ordinary, unless they are dispensed from such an obligation.

In order that the prematrimonial investigation obtain the effect intended by the law, it is necessary that it also bear upon the will of the contracting parties, since the validity of the Sacrament depends also on the free manifestation of consent. For this purpose, in the interrogation the spouses, as also the witnesses, must answer whether they freely give their consent or whether this consent is vitiated or conditioned. There are in fact intentions or conditions that render the Marriage null either because they remove the freedom of the act, or because they impair the so-called substantial goods of Marriage: the good of offspring, the good of fidelity (unity), the good of the Sacrament (indissolubility). When such cases occur, the parish priest, if he does not obtain the retraction of such intentions or conditions, must refuse to assist at the Marriage, which would be null or at least illicit.

Therefore, on the results of the investigation depends whether the parish priest may proceed to the celebration of the Marriage or must have recourse to the Ordinary for the necessary eventual dispensation or for the "nihil obstat." The cases in which it is necessary to have recourse to the Ordinary are those established by the CIC or by the special "instructions," and also when some prescribed document is lacking or there is some doubt about the Baptism or the freedom of state of any of the contracting parties. The doubt about Baptism can be remedied by the administration of the Sacrament sub conditione, or, in case of refusal, by dispensation from doubtful disparity of cult. To ascertain freedom of state, banns must be made also in other places where the party may have been able to contract another bond or, in the case of a previous Marriage, inquiries must be made into the death of the spouse. Often, for greater guarantee, it is customary to ask the spouses for the so-called supplementary oath, which is prescribed only when the proofs are not completely certain. At the point of death, for the celebration of Marriage it is enough that the parties swear that they are baptized and in a free state, provided nothing emerges to the contrary.

In places where religious Marriage has civil effects by concordat, other prescribed documents must be added to the matrimonial process. At the end, once the Marriage has been celebrated, the whole file containing the investigation is kept in the archive of the parish where it was drawn up or in another place established by diocesan provisions.

II. INVESTIGATION PRIOR TO THE CONFERRAL OF THE SACRAMENT OF ORDER

The nobility and the divine powers that the sacrament of Order confers upon man require that the subject be worthy, suitable, and capable of fulfilling his mission in the world in a decorous and fruitful manner. The Church is concerned about this and seeks to have a guarantee in advance.

From the very beginning, young men who certainly do not have a vocation are forbidden to be admitted to seminaries. Likewise, beforehand it must be known whether the subject is hindered by the so-called irregularities (v.), or held back by a simple impediment (v.).

Although candidates for the priesthood are definitively aggregated to the clergy only upon reception of the subdiaconate, the investigation with a view to the future priesthood is begun carefully from the first tonsure.

Its principal object is the subject's vocation to the priestly dignity, in the broadest sense of the word: therefore all the elements from which this vocation clearly emerges must be considered, which is not merely the call of the superior, even if he be the bishop. Hence the so-called scrutiny is prescribed, from which must emerge the candidate's will to assume the priestly burdens knowingly, his aptitudes, his felt piety, his zeal, his love of study, and the absence of defects that could prejudice the priestly ministry. These indications or signs must be found in the subject in a positive and certain manner, and they can already be observed during the course of studies.

When the time established for the reception of tonsure is near, the prescriptions of the scrutiny must be observed, unless from certain information or observations the person's unworthiness emerges, in which case he is dismissed without further ado. The candidate, at least two months in advance, must make a written application to the rector of the seminary, who sends it to the bishop of the petitioner, attaching the certificate of Baptism and Confirmation. The bishop sends the request back to the rector with the charge to investigate and report to him on the conduct, suitability, and qualities of the postulant, keeping in mind a formulary proposed by the Sacred Congregation of the Sacraments. He also requests information from the candidate's parish priest, as well as from other persons who may be informed about his conduct and piety, as well as about his free will to receive Orders, his morals and the other signs of vocation, the esteem in which he is held, his public reputation, etc. He must also hear the opinion of the disciplinary commission of the seminary. Furthermore, the bishop himself, or if he is prevented, a delegate of his, must personally question the petitioner to ascertain his freedom in receiving sacred Orders and his will to assume their burdens: for this purpose, what the Roman Pontifical says on the matter shall be read to him. Only in a favorable case will the bishop decide to admit him.

This investigation must also be kept in mind at the conferral of minor Orders. But it must be repeated, completed, updated, and compared when it comes to promotion to the subdiaconate. For this Order, in addition to the information required, as was done for the first tonsure, the proof given after it must be kept in mind, and the candidate must answer and sign his declaration of freedom and awareness in receiving the Order with its annexed burdens.

For the conferral of the diaconate, it suffices to refer to the previous investigations, except in the case that novelties have arisen or some doubt about the vocation or about the suitability for the observance of the burdens. The same applies to admission to the priesthood. If the doubts are dispelled following a thorough investigation and serious examination, one may proceed further; if not, the bishop must have recourse to the Holy See, setting out the case in detail. The Holy See, all things considered, will decide on the measure to be taken.

Giovanni Miceli