Br_Carlo wrote: God's peace. I am a bit confused about the particulars of "Pauline Privelege" and would appreciate a straightforward explanation of how it works in practice for Catholics. Blessings, ~Br_Carlo~
This is one area that I have never encountered. The following is taken from the Q&A section on EWTN:
A natural marriage can be dissolved, but not by the parties themselves, and only under limited circumstances. A natural marriage is one where both parties are not baptized or only one of the parties is baptized. Until Christ, Moses allowed such dissolutions because of the "hardness of the hearts" of the Israelite people. Today, the two circumstances where a natural marriage can be dissolved are Pauline priviledge and Petrine priviledge.
Pauline priviledge can only apply apply to marriages where the two parties are not baptized. Pauline priviledge is based in 1 Corinthians 7, where St. Paul permits a married person to remarry when that person's first spouse refused to remain married to him or her after he or she received baptism. (The Church has extended this to also include marriages where the spouses have previously separated prior to the baptism.) Although there are certain procedural steps that must be taken for Pauline priviledge, it is actually the new marriage that dissolves the first one.
Petrine priviledge is a dissolution of a natural marriage between a baptized person and an unbaptized person. It is called Petrine priviledge because it is the authority of the pope, the successor of St. Peter, that is involved in dissolving the natural marriage bond. This priviledge too is used in favor of the faith -- that is, some benefit to the person's faith must be involved in order for the dissolution to be granted.
As with all other Declarations of Nullity, the first step is to contact a priest or qualified lay advocate. They will make the initial determination whether the criteria for either priviledge applies, and begin the application process.
Last edited on Mon Jan 15th, 2007 07:50 pm by CajunRick
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Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand. - Augustine
Rick Luquette
Luquette Lane
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