The Civil Effects of Canonical Marriage in a Secularized Society

Abstract

The deconstruction of civil marriage in some Western countries through a process of formal and substantial secularization, should not be an excuse to deprive of civil effects canonical marriage and ecclesiastical decisions of nullity and of dissolution of a ratified but non consummated marriage. On the contrary, the most recent Concordat praxis shows the growing interest of States all over the world and of different cultures to provide civil recognition to these marriages. In the same way, the greater and better understanding of religious freedom and its relation with the right to marry leads to an increasing number of States recognizing civil effects of religious marriages.