MIXED MARRIAGES.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1202, 10 August 1911, Page 8

MIXED MARRIAGES.

THE PAPAL OECREE. PROTESTS BY THE PRESBYTERIANS. According to notice given at a previous meeting, Dr. Gibb moved at the meeting of the Presbytery on Tuesday the transmission of the following overture on the Roman Catholic Ne Tomere decree to the General Assembly :— "Whereas the. No Temere decree of thn Roman Catholic Church demands for the validation of a marriage between Roman Catholic and non-Roman Catholic subjects of this Dominion the presence of a Roman Catholic priest, and in the absence of a pric.it, declares this marriage null and void; and whereas, the decree unwarrantably interferes with the proper liberty of certain subjects of this Dominion, who arc declared incapable of contracting a valid marriage without the presence of a Roman Catholic priest; and whereas tho decree exalts tho variable regulations of a particular ecclesiastical discipline to a level with the unchangeable moral law of God in determining what manriagos aro valid; and whereas this decree is inimical to domestic peace and social welfare (a) in that it subjects non-Roman Catholic parties to marriage contracts sanctioned by civil law, and against which no Divine law is, or can be, alleged, along with their Roman Catholic partners in the marriages to the scandalous imputation of concubinage, so that their children aro not born in true wedlock; and (b) that it incites Roman Catholic partners in such marriages to repudiate the obligations resting on lawfully-married persons:

"It is hereby ovcrtured to the venerable the General Assembly, meeting in Duncdin in November next, to take the premises into due consideration, and to issue a manifesto setting forth the mind of this Cbtirch regarding this intolerable invasion of the civil and religious rights of tliG people; and to take such further steps, if possible in co-operation with other Churches,'as shall expose, (he machinations of the Papacy, and put the people on their guard against the' subtle encroachment* of the Roman Catholic Church on the liberties of the nation.''

Speech by Dr. Glbb, Dr. Gibb, in speaking to the overture, said he supposed the fact upon which the overture was based, namely, tho significance of tho Ne Temerc decree, would be disputed by none. Tho decree in paragraph 3 stated that "only those marriages are valid which are contracted before the. parish priest, or (he Ordinary of the place, or a priest delegated by either of these, and at least two witnesses." Certain effort's had beep made, to hide the true bearing of this prohibition. It was, e.g.. said that, according to Roman dectrine, the parties to a maniogo contract marry or give the sacrament of marriage to each other, the Church being merely witness of the transaction. But what this decTeo really meant was abundantly plain from the expositions of Roman divines themselves. Dr. Grimes-, Koman Catholic Bishop of Christchurc.h, in his J>nt.en Pastoral letter of 130S, said, ''From next Easter, (i.e., I90S) any marfiacre contracted by a Catholic either in' a registry office, or before a non-Catholic clergyman, will be null and void; in other words, tho parties will, in tho sight of Uod and His Church remain unmarried." That, then, was the position with which tho overture asked tho General Assembly to deal. That it called for a strenuous protest they would all agree. It was an unwarrantable interference with the liberty of tho subject. ITe might emphasise the arrogant contempt for Protestantism which breathed in every line of this Decree, but they knew what Rome was, and had ever been, and apart from more serious considerations they could afford to pass by this Romanist impertinence in silence. But the interests involved were too serious for silence. Tho Decree was an insult to tho hws of the country, and an invasion of tho Divine law.".'There, were, 'and could be, no just barriers to marriage save those which might be grounded in mental incapacity or in moral Jaw based on God's revealed word, which forbids bigamous marriages, or marriages within the prohibited degrees. A second ground of protest was. found in this: That (ho Decree was ?.n example of a variable ecclesiastical regulation lifted to the level of tho lav; of God. Prior to the Council of Trent, such marriages as tho No Tomere Decree contemplated were not declared to be invalid or null and void, though regarded as irregular and subjected to ecclesiastical censure. And tho variableness of this decree came home to them in a way that made their blood boil when they knew that it was hot enforced in Germany if tho pari ties concerned were of German birth. Kaiser Wilhelm, with his armed host bohind him, was not going to bow down to tho Pope. Thsro would be no more German going to Canosso. The Pope did not dare to enforce his edipt on the German people. Was it to be supposed that they, men of English birth and blocd, would submit to' an indignity which the Germans would not tolerate at the hands of this Italian priest. Ho trowed not. The Decree reduced the parties to the marriage it condemned to legalised concubinage, and the children of such a. marriage to bastardy. Let there be no mistake about this. Dr. Clcary, the Roman Bishop of Auckland, affirms in his pamphlet, "Catholic Marriages," that Catholics have a right to "regard marriages civillv valid, but invalid according lo canon law as merely legalised concubinage." Dr. Clcary knew what lie was talking about. He was probably the keenest theologian and ecclesiastic the Roman Church possessed in this country. And his word was "legalised concubinage," with, of course, the corollary of bastard children. The insult was intolerTh'o overture did not ask the Church (o lake solitary action. Already, in Australia, the non-Roman Catholic world was taking fire. The Anglican Bishops of Victoria had taken the matter up. The Council of the Victorian Churches and the General Assembly of tho Presbyterian Church had spoken out with great plainness, and further action might be anticipated.

Time for Definite Action. Finally, the overture referred to the, machinations of Rome from a wider point of view, and asked the General Assembly, in co-operation with other Churches, to take steps to guard their people against these. It was time definite, action was taken. There were some who held that while Rome, was quiet they had best be tiuiet too, and lie confessed that though mistakenly, perhaps, he held to that opinion. But when Kome came out into the open as she had lately been doing, and heaped insult upon insult on the Reformation, the Reformers, and all things j'rotc>tant, to keep silent were sheer cowardice. Uc supposed there might bo soiv.o who even, >u the face of all that Romemight «'.'» *a.v, would advocate a policy nf silence. It was time they were speaking out, and he hoped both that the overture would bo unanimously adopted by Ihe Presbytery, and that the General Assembly would take steps in such ways as might srem most expedient tn vindicate the truths o.f Protestautism against Roniish error, and to defend the rights and liberties of the people against the encroachments of the Roman papacy.

The liev. W. Shirer, in a. sentence, seemiik'd the motion, of which, he said, ha heartily approved. TTo hod. observed that mixed marriages had. during recent years, very dfteu ended in the non-Catholic partner becoming a Catholic.

The liov. Gibson Smith ssid he thought if desirable to do nioro than overture tho General Assembly. The Fresbytery ought to send out n manifesto to their own people at once. lie had given ,1 good deal of thought to Hip matter, ami h.id propared o resolution, which he read to the Presbytery, lie took exception l<> V- expression "pubiic policy" in the «\"i;uvp, which lie thought a (!angerou> uic.::... 1 . for tliem to occupy. They had to iniilco clear to their own people that while Ihev regarded the No Tenero dc-creo as objectionable, there might conic ;i pass when the I'resbylorbn. as well as the other Churches, might have to say 'the marriage the State deems lawful we deem ullorly unlav/fnl.' Suppose tho State were lo h'p'fl-e inan'i-igo.s clearly v;itliin the proliiiut.fd degree, would not the pes''ion he hod indicated be forced on tho Church? They must in any pronouncement they nude carefully safeguard their own rights with their own people.

It Ira-: agreed to lake Air. Smith's motion lifter the overture had been disposed of. Th" adoption of the overture was sup. ported bv Kevs. ,T. Jl'Caw and Kcuucuy Elliott, It wm tiwu carried unanimously

that the Presbytery transmit the overture with (he approval of the. Pro.sbyIcry." Motion by the Rev. Gibson Smith. The Rev; .1. Gibson Smiib then moved: "The Presbytery of Wellington, having had its alren'liuii'directed to the No Tomere decree of the Roman Catholic Church, whereby the presence of a Roman Catholic prie-l is aliirmed to lie 0.-.-ciiti:il to the viiidily of a marriage between a Roman Catholic and a minRninan Catholic, declares a- follows: " That, while recognising the right and duly of every (.'liri.-tiaii Church to refuse to lend ils sanction to marriages which are forbidden by the law of (iad—even though such marriages should be legal-i.-ed by the Slate—the Presbytery dec-lares its conviction that the type-of marriage pronounced as being null and void in this decree, is nol in realily forbidden hv anv divine law, a,-,id maintains that ali condemnation of the validity of such marriages- is an oll'ence agaiiisl God.' "The Presbytery nbo calls attention to the fact I bat. the very same mnrria»ps which the Papal See declares to be null and void in the British Empire are bv the Papal See held (o be valid in lh c Empire of Germany, and declares that as long as this stacc of affairs continues, it is impossible to credit the Papal authorities with sincerity in regard to this matter.

"The Presbytery further points out that no declaration of nullity hv the Papal nul.horil.if-s has the slightest offer* upon fiiß validity of such marriages in the sight of the law of New Zealand; that since recognition of the Ne Tomere decree b -V I , l J.°Y! sl ? nts wnt-cmplntini? marriago with Catholics would involve for the Protestants a haw and ignoble surrender ol their religious right.':, therefore the only honourable- course loft open for such Protestants is cither to abstain from marriago with Catholics, nr else to beat the m, n,or ? clecrcc is non-existent." The motion was unanimously agreed to.