Ban on Weddings Held Outside Church Imposed in Manila
11 December 2009

Soon-to-wed couples who plan to have their wedding in a garden, hotel, or beach may put their wedding plans on hold as Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales has banned wedding rites from being held outside the churches.

In a circular released recently, Cardinal Rosales said “all Catholic marriages within the Archdiocese of Manila should be held only within the parish churches, except those in “articulo mortis” cases”. By articulo mortis means ‘at the time of death’ or ‘at the point of death’. The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines news site, www.cbcpnews.com, used the religious term in periculo mortis which means ‘in danger of death’.

The Cardinal said he was acting to prevent the sacrament of marriage being ridiculed and to press the observance of “all ecclesiastical laws.”

“I have to ensure that abuses do not creep into ecclesiastical discipline, especially concerning the celebration of the sacrament of marriage”, Cardinal Rosales said.

Title VII Chapter V Canon 1118 does state that wedding should be celebrated in a parish church. However, each bishop may particularize the policy in his diocese.

In an interview over Radio Veritas (DZRV 846kHz) last June 1, 2009, Cardinal Rosales reminded couples to focus on the solemnity of their marriage and avoid placing too much attention on their wedding details. He also reminded soon-to-wed couples of the value of the “mystery of the sacrament.”

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Kasal.com thanks the following sources for this article:

Archbishop of Manila. Circular No. 2004-65. Circular On Weddings In The Archdiocese Of Manila. Retrieved December 1, 2009 from
http://rcam.org/news/2009/circular_on_weddings_in_the_archdiocese_of_manila.html

Lagarde, Roy, CBCP News. Manila cardinal bans weddings outside churches. (Posted November 27, 2009) Retrieved December 1, 2009 from
http://www.cbcpnews.com/?q=node/11369

Franche, Doris and Mer Layson, Pilipino Star Ngayon. Beach, garden, hotel wedding bawal na. (Posted November 28, 2009) Retrieved December 1, 2009 from
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=527443&publicationSubCategoryId=92

Sun.Star Manila. Cardinal disallow wedding outside churches. Posted November 27, 2009) Retrieved December 1, 2009 from
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/cardinal-disallow-wedding-outside-churches

Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Code of Canon Law (English Translation) (Created 1983) Retrieved December 1, 2009 from
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P40.HTM