Canon 1057, §1: "The consent of the parties, legitimately manifested between persons qualified by law, makes marriage; no human power is able to supply this consent." The exchange of consent (the vows) that is a part of the marriage ceremony brings a marriage into existence. The consent of the couple is the contract that causes the marriage to begin.

Canon 1055, §1: "The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life and which is ordered by its nature to the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring, has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament between the baptized." Canon 1056: "The essential properties of marriage are unity and indissolubility. . . ." Unity includes physical and emotional exclusivity. Indissolubility means that the marriage is perpetual and ends only in death.

Marriage involves the total union of a man and a woman in all regards. The more a couple has in common, the easier it will be for them to be married. Because of this, the Church prefers that married couples share a common faith and, therefore, that Catholics only marry other Catholics. Canon law permits marriage between Catholics and non-Catholics only when certain conditions are met (canons 1086, 1124). The bishop can permit or dispense (make an exception) and allow a Catholic to marry a non-Catholic only under the following conditions (canon 1125):

Canonical Form:Fr Peter Wedding Canon law requires that Catholics get married according to what is called "canonical form" (canon 1108). These are the requirements:

Since the requirement of canonical form binds only Catholics, marriages between two non-Catholics (baptized or not) are presumed valid by the Church. This is true whether they are married in a civil or a religious ceremony. When a non-Catholic who was previously married marries a Catholic, the non-Catholic needs to receive a petitioner for a declaration of marital nullity (or present a certificate of death of the prior spouse).

Dispensations (exceptions) from canonical form granted by the bishop are only possible in the case of a Catholic marrying a non Catholic.

If a Catholic does not get married before a priest or deacon and two witnesses and no dispensation is granted by the bishop, the marriage is not accepted by the Catholic Church. It is basically a ceremony that does not count. Catholics living in such marriages are not permitted to receive Holy Communion (canon 915). This traditional discipline was reaffirmed by the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts on June 24, 2000.

Catholics living in marriages outside of the Catholic Church where neither party has been married before can easily have their marriage validated (i.e., made valid) by contacting their parish priest or deacon.

If one or both parties have been married before, declarations of marital nullity (or certificates of death) are required before a validation can take place.

To petition for a declaration of nullity based on a Defect of Consent, click here. This file has the preliminary investigation form, petition, and witness list for a formal cause seeking a declaration of marital nullity. You can fill in the form on the computer, print it out, and bring it to your parish priest or deacon in the Diocese of Honolulu whom you would like to serve as your procurator-advocate. The priest or deacon completes the last page. For more information on the steps of the process, click here. For information on the doctrine of marriage and why this process is necessary, click here.

Have you been asked to serve as a witness for a Honolulu diocese marriage nullity cause? for a witness form. You can type the form on the computer, print, sign, and mail to Tribunal. You can also scan and email the form to us, although it must include your signature.

To petition for a declaration that a marriage was not binding due to a Lack of Canonical of Form, click here. This petition is only for a marriage involving one or two Catholics, if not before a priest or deacon and two witnesses, and if no dispensation from canonical form is granted by the bishop. This applies only to Catholics. Also, it does not require the regular declaration of nullity procedure. Only documents proving that the marriage took place outside the Church without a dispensation and without ever being validated are necessary.