Kochi: Church declares interfaith marriage invalid

IDUKKI: A three-member inquiry commission under Syro Malabar major archiepiscopal tribunal has declared the interfaith marriage between a Christian and a Muslim, solemnized by the Syro Malabar Church, invalid.
The marriage between an Irinjalakkuda-based Catholic woman and a Muslim man based in Kochi was held at St Joseph Church, Kadavanthara, on November 9. Mar Mathew Vaniyakizhakkel, former bishop of Satna, solemnized the marriage.The photograph of the couple with the bishop was published in a newspaper, and it drew criticism from the faithful who slammed church authorities for ‘encouraging’ mixed marriages. Subsequently, Syro Malabar Church major archbishop Mar George Alencherry ordered a probe by major archiepiscopal tribunal.
A senior priest belonging to Syro Malabar Church told TOI, “The three-member inquiry commission collected details from the priests and bishops of Irinjalakkuda and Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese and submitted a report to the major archbishop. The report stated that the marriage did not follow Canon law guidelines and found that it was invalid.”
The report further stated that there were serious lapses on the part of Fr Benny Maramparambil, vicar of St Joseph Church, Kadavanthara, where the marriage was solemnized, and Fr James Anthiyunthan, the priest of Kuzhikkattussery church, the bride’s parish. The report also stated that Ernakulam-Angamaly and Irinjalakkuda bishops were unaware of the marriage. The report also recommends censuring the two priests.
A senior priest connected with Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC) told TOI, “As per the enquiry report, we will censure the priests whose conduct had lapses. Fr Anthiyunthan had informed the Irinjalakkuda diocese bishop about the marriage. As per the diocese law, the bride and groom should appear before the bishop for marriage permission. But they failed to appear before the bishop and so he did not issue the permission letter for marriage.”
“Syro Malabar Church will issue detailed guidelines to priests on how to conduct ‘disparity of cult’ marriages. The recent mixed-marriage row largely affected the church and we will not allow repeat of such incidents. The diocese of the bride failed to adhere strictly to Canon laws,” said a Syro Malabar senior priest.
“To validate the marriage, the family members of the bride should submit an application before the Church and the bishop can approve it,” the priest added.
According to Canon law ‘disparity of cult’ is a diriment impediment in Roman Catholic Canon law: a reason why a marriage cannot be validly contracted without a dispensation, stemming from one person being certainly baptized, and the other certainly not baptized. Only the diocese bishop has the right to approve ‘disparity of cult’ marriages.