MARRIAGE PUBLICATIONS. — These are the means by which the Church wishes the intention of two faithful persons to contract the marriage bond with each other to be made publicly known, so that any possible impediments may be discovered (can. 1022 ff.).
The sacrament of Matrimony is of social interest, and its publicity appears as obvious as the guarantee of its validity. In order that an invalid marriage may not be contracted, to the detriment of its dignity and with its profanation, any possible impediments to the contract must first be removed, both according to the natural-divine order and according to the ecclesiastical order. Hence the preliminary investigation carried out from the earliest times of the Church, of which the dissemination of the information is one part and the publications one form.
At first, the manner of making the m. p. was not uniform throughout the Church, but was left to the judgment of the bishops of the various regions. The present practice originated in the diocese of Paris in the thirteenth century. It was prescribed that the marriage to be celebrated be published in the church and that all the faithful be invited to report to the Curia any impediments of which they might have knowledge. Gradually this system spread to other dioceses, until Pope Innocent III, at the Fourth Lateran Council (can. 51; Hefele-Leclercq, V, 1373–74), prescribed it for the entire Church. The Council of Trent sanctioned it anew and defined it more precisely (sess. XXIV, c. 1 de ref. matr.).
According to the CIC, the general rule is that the publications are to be made by the parish priest of the engaged couple, that is, the one who prepares the preliminary file or premarital inquiry (can. 1023 § 1). If the engaged couple belong to the same parish, it is sufficient for them to be made there alone; otherwise they must be made in both parishes. But if one of the engaged couple had, after puberty, resided elsewhere for six months, or even for a shorter period sufficient for an impediment to have arisen, it is prescribed that the publications also be made in that place (can. 1023 §§ 2–3).
The parish priest may not omit the m. p. even if he is certain that no impediments exist in the case; nor, on the other hand, are the civil publications sufficient. Nevertheless, they are prohibited by the CIC in the case of a marriage of conscience, in view of the secrecy involved, and in marriages celebrated with a dispensation from the impediment of mixed religion or disparity of worship (can. 1026). They may be omitted in the marriages of reigning monarchs or royal princes, because of the notoriety of the persons involved, and when the marriage cannot be postponed without serious inconvenience and there is no time to request a dispensation from the Ordinary (who ordinarily has the power to dispense, can. 1028). This may occur in cases of danger of death, in which the sick person must regularize some anomalous situation, or even in other cases, although these are extremely rare.
The publications must be made on three consecutive feast days or Sundays, inside the church, during the festive Mass or another service attended by the people (can. 1024). In place of the traditional oral publication, the Ordinary may substitute the posting of the names of the engaged couple on the doors of the church for at least eight days, provided that this period includes two holy days of obligation (can. 1025). Moreover, in his prudence, for just reasons and provided that he is certain by another means that no impediments exist, he may dispense from one, two, or even all three publications, according to the urgency and circumstances.
All the faithful who know of the existence of a matrimonial impediment are bound in conscience to report it as soon as possible and before the marriage to the parish priest or the Ordinary (can. 1027). This obligation exists even when the publications have been dispensed with, and neither kinship nor natural secrecy, even if sworn, excuses one from II. Nevertheless, the obligation ceases not only when a grave harm would result from an occult impediment to the person making the disclosure (the professional secrecy of priests, doctors, lawyers, etc.) or to relatives (dishonor, serious mistreatment, etc.), but also when the report would be useless because someone else has already made it or a dispensation from the impediment has already been obtained. In the case of doubtful impediments, the report serves to prompt a more careful investigation. It is evident that the sacramental seal dispenses one from reporting. The manner of reporting impediments is left to the discretion of the faithful person making the report, who, if unwilling to do so orally, may use a written statement or even another person; he may request that his name be kept secret. The juridical effectiveness of the publications lasts only six months; once this period has elapsed without the marriage being celebrated, they must be repeated (can. 1030 § 2).
By analogy with ecclesiastical m. p., civil publications are also made; these serve for so-called civil marriages and, in Italy, for concordat marriages. In the latter case they are an essential condition for the transcription of these marriages for civil purposes. They ordinarily take place before the ecclesiastical celebration, and in certain cases afterward as well; moreover, upon request, they may be dispensed with by the public prosecutor. Civil publications are made only by posting them on the doors of the municipal building for at least eight days, including two consecutive Sundays, and remain valid for the following 180 days.