Before the Second Vatican Council, it was expected that the non-Catholic party in a mixed marriage would sign a promise to have the children of the union brought up as Catholics. However, in its decree Dignitatis humanae, §§ 2 & 4, the Council accepted the principle that, in matters of religion, all people should be able to act according to their conscience, free from all coercion from whichever source. This had repercussions also on the marriage laws of the Church.

In his Instruction Matrimonii sacramentum of 18.03.66, followed by the Apostolic Letter Matrimonia mixta of 07.01.1970, Pope Paul VI gave legislative form to the insights of Vatican II. He discouraged marriages between people of different faiths due to the fact that the couple would find it almost impossible to become wholly one in the spiritual sphere. Nevertheless, where such marriages were requested, he decreed that non-Catholic partners would no longer be required to promise to bring up the children as Catholics, in deference to their freedom of conscience. Instead, only Catholic spouses would henceforth be required to make a dual commitment: to preserve their Catholic faith and to do everything possible to bring up the children as Catholics. Their non-Catholic partners had to be aware of this commitment and pastors of souls were urged to give special spiritual assistance to couples in this situation.

The current Code of Canon Law, promulgated on 25.01.1983, embodies these decisions of both the Council and Pope Paul VI. In c 748 it repeats almost verbatim what the Council said regarding freedom of religion and in c 1125 it repeats the conditions for permission for a mixed marriage. In deference to the sensibilities of Christians of other persuasions, it would be better to call such marriages inter-faith or ecumenical marriages.

In South Africa barely 10% of the population is Catholic, and about 70% of all marriages celebrated in the Catholic Church are in fact inter-faith marria-ges. While we are grateful to know that no one can be coerced into embracing the faith, the Code has placed the responsibility four square on the pastor to broach this delicate matter on the very first day that couples come to ask for marriage. In our country it is almost an unwritten law that the wife should follow the husband in everything, including his religion. Therefore the priest should make couples aware that the Catholic Church does not want anyone to be forced either into or out of the Church and to encourage them to discuss all the implications of the fact that they will not be able to achieve full communion in spiritual matters. Only then will the measures enacted by the Council, Pope Paul VI and the Code be able to bear fruit.