MARRIAGE LAW
ANGLICAN VIEWPOINT STATEMENT BY BISHOP OF NELSON By Telegraph—Press Association. Nelson, September 28. Ia the course of Iris remarks when opening the Diocesan Synod this afternoon, the Bishop of Nelson made the following references to tho Marriacie Amendment Bill "You are no doubt aware that a committee of the Legislature sat recently in Wellington to take evidence regarding the marriage laws, Inasmuch as certain statements regarding tho attitude of the Church of this province towards certain questions were made at the meetings of this committee, does it not 6eem incredible tb you that no authoritative representative was called to give evidence on what the Church of this province holds on a matter so deeply concerned with the moral life of our people? Yet such is tho case. ■ On tho ex-parto evidence taken, it appears that the commitreo made its report and tho Legislative Council passed certain amendments,. while attempting to provide aaainst the impugning of certain marriages, go very much further than this, and, in my opinion, so infringe upon religious liberty, that. 1 must enter my strongest protest now. Whenever a proposal is made _ to amend any Act of Parliament it is important to ascertain what it is that the proposal sc«ks.,to amend or what defect. it seeks to remedy. We have to ask three questions regarding, any such proposal: (1) Is there finytuing "vvlncli ought to bo remedied? (2) Will posed amendment remedy the ''.elect. (3) Can the remedy be effected without unnecessary irritation and without infringing our dearly-bought liberties. "I want you to keep these questions before you while I state the case. It seems that the Roman Catholic Cluircn discountenances mixed marriage, that is, marriages between Roman Catholics anu non-Roman Catholics. law Bure 'hat all agree that such marriages are harmful to religion, are most dangerous to the felicity of married life, and aro not infrequently destructive of home. J. strongly urge the clorgy and nuty to tnako every reasonable and legitimate oft'ort to dissuade our Church pooplo from entering into such alliances, but it appears from published evidence that the Church of Koine goes very much further than this in the application of the Ne Temere Decree. Certain catechisms published by what the ordinary man would reeard as the authority of the Church seem to declare that unless the parties to a mixed marriage are married under conditions prescribed by the Koman Catholic Church there is no marria»o at alii further, if a Roman Catholic soes through the marriage ceremony in a registry office or in a non-Roman church the Roman Catholic party to such marriago is guilty of adultery. >ow, I am sure that no one vrantß to interfere with the liberty of the Church of Rome to teach its religion and apply its discipline to its own people, but I c ° utcl | d that it is offensive to our moral consciousness, and particularly : of justice, that the odium of adultery and bastardy of children should be cast upon a non-Roman party who previously had led a blameless moral life, and following a natural instinct and m all good faith, committed his or her person to the Roman Catholic party. Ijj no law of Christ or any law dictated by the highest moral ideals wlrtch .such a party has infringed, and I contend that such persons should liave all the protection the law of tho laud can give them. Learned Canonist Quoted. ...
"I suppose there is no more learned canonist in the Church, of Eonio than Br. W. H. Frere, Superior of the Community of the Resurrection of Mirheld, and joint author of the important wotfc, "The Book of Common Prayer. Wow, Dr Frere, in writing on this subject, savs: 'The essence of matrimony is a natural compact, not a religions ceremony. The blessing pronounced upon marriage is eulwidinate to the contract made by the parties, and ihere ore though religious • ntes lmve bubituaUy accompanied marriage corewomes, thjy are always only secondary and not essential to the marriage -oond. , But on the other band, a contract can hardlj tos called holy matrimony or ' Christian riage which is not sealed by tho Churchs blessing.' This gives in succinct form the position which. I want to maintain. The Church blessing pronouneed. upon marriage ia subordinate tc. thej c ™ tra °t bv the parties. While it is true that the Church has excluded matrimony from the Sacraments m the t> oS Pelconfines the use of the woi'd in the Book of Common Prayer to the two rites i stituled by Christ, many of our divines have always regarded as being of a. sacramental character. But oven granting that marriage ife asacrament, which I am far from assert ing, til© ministers in such a sacrament are the bride and bridegroom, who minister to each other, and the minister of religion is simply- the. authoritative witZ of the Church, .piW to give to th? ceremony Christian, sanction and blessing. The Real Point at Issue.
"I want you, therefore, to be quite clear as to the real point at 1B ? ue > there is very grave danger of the., real point at issue being « te P r^ A \f ß e dan: ous. controversial methods, and this dan uer is not lessened by • the proposea amendments to the Marriage Act Hten is the real point at issue? it ia this-' A non-Roman Catholic who has hitherto lived a blameless, ''P' ri»ht life, marries a Koman Catholic in a "registry office or m a non-Roman church, and finds his or her par nero the marriage charged with tiie am « adulter? and all its consequences. Now, I claim that the law of tke landl should crotect' the non-Boman party from the odium which follows from * his <* tt!r £ e ' Here then. is. the matter tha call fo remedy, and it is necessary P ■- mod "emphatically the natare of the amendment retired. It is not raenfl went of the Divorce and Mat"" 1011 ™ f'-uicM *Yct that is needed, but to tne Ma Act. It is not an amendment S" with the dissolution but with the formation of the natural compact of mnrrinj?e itself. It is no an amendment which deals with persons who have been guilty of offences against moral laws, but with .? el *°^ on^r °;ue far as we know, have lived h™ o ™' unriirht, moral lives. It i«( not an amendment dealing with persons who are liK-Lnpr in violation of the 'aw of Christ and of the primitive institution of mai rinse but with innocent PC l,s<)l }f wh^? a& sole crime is that they have not beeu married by a, Roman Cathol P riest Usues.
Contused laauoa. "Now, I contend that guilty .conduct and innocent life lmvo been the controversy, and that the amen ments passed by the Legislative Counc hopelessly confuse the issue I have stato(l the find of amendment needed, and for which there is a reasonable demand, but I have no hesitation in saying that the proposals now before Parliament will not effect the amendment *hich °« moral consciousness and our sense ot ) tic requires. Uut this, is a very <hff iont thing from proposing that jariia ment should amend the marriage lav such a way as to its members that th°-c be an attempt to confuse the two issues. T'hev must, however, be . kept We must protest against the doctrine that Parliament can dictate °«r No Parliament can make mora j wna Christ has declared to bo immoral. The Bishop, after having stated the constitutional position, dealt J lth the proposed amondment, and concluded y savin? • "The revision of, the Book Common Prayer '« imm , me frrome the it is issued bv tho Church at Home the General Synod of New Zealand *■! sider it. Are we to be prevented b> an Act of Parliament from revising the marriage service or from , it even moro explicitly the law of CTirwt. Surely the Parliament of New, Zealand is not going to revise ttio marriage se - vico bv enacting what I am not to sa) or allego therein, and at tho same tune pass an Act for tho prevention of the revision of tho Book of Common Prayer. I contend that Sf the Parliament of the country deems it necessary to amend the law iii order to protect those who are married according to the law of tno land,
it should do it in some other way than by using equivocal terms, and by making provisions which will infringe tho most sacred relfgious liberty."
A PRESBYTERIAN RESOLUTION.
Tly Telecriirl , --I , resi< A«noofatlon. Oamaru, September 98. The Oamaru Presbytery, as the Committoe on Protestant Principles foi the Presbyterian General Assembly, today passed the following motion and ordered it to be sent to the Prime Minister: "While recognising tho right of every branch of the Christian Church to formulate its own terms of Communion and to exercise ecclesiastical discipline upon its members in accordance therewith, yet. inasmuch as the aDnlication of the "Ne Teniere" decree in every case of mixed marriage affects a party who is not under the jurisdiction of the Church of Inme, and traverses the law of the land and the law of all non-Ro man Catholic churches by declaring invalid a marriage duly solemnised accord, ing to tfyose laws, and inasmuch as this decree has been so applied as to disturb the peace of families and to break up homes, and so seriously affect the social standing of members of homes, and inasmuch as there is generally conceded to the Government the right to legislate prohibiting polygamy and free marriage, the Presbytery of Oamaru, acting m its capacity as the Protestant Principles Committee of the General Assembly of tho Presbyterian Church of New Zealand, calls upon the Government to devise'means for the protection of the social interests and civil rights of all par ties affected by this decroe, either by somo amendment to the Marriage Act or by the inclusion, of a new clause in the Crimes Act (if necessary), similar to clause 174, of the new penal code of Italy." — .11l ni.il.,'
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Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 3, 29 September 1920, Page 8
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1,673MARRIAGE LAW Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 3, 29 September 1920, Page 8
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