CANONICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN PASTORAL CARE OF PERSONS IN MARRIAGES BETWEEN ROMAN CATHOLICS AND BUDDHISTS IN THAILAND Prajak Boonphao Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Canon Law, Saint Paul University, Ottawa, Canada, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Canon Law Faculty of Canon Law Saint Paul University, Ottawa © Prajak Boonphao, Ottawa, Canada, 2020 ii ABSTRACT Marriage is an institution based on natural law. Every person has the natural right to marriage which is, however, affected by cultural and social conditions. The pastors of the Church, therefore, have to make every effort to understand the particularity of situations within which marriage and family are lived today and respond accordingly through their pastoral action. Thailand is considered a Buddhist country due to the fact that the vast majority of its population is Buddhist. Most marriages celebrated in the Catholic Church are non- sacramental because a Buddhist is the spouse of the Catholic party. Canon 1086 of the 1983 Code states that due to the impediment of disparity of worship, a marriage between a person who was baptized in the Catholic Church or received into it and a non-baptized person is invalid. A dispensation from this impediment must be granted by the competent authority in order for the union to be valid. The conditions stated in cc. 1125–1126 must be taken into account for a dispensation to be granted. The thesis identifies the actual pastoral problems faced by persons in marriages with the disparity of worship and canonical questions faced by Church authorities; it also proposes canonical-pastoral responses to such cases. The first chapter explains in a systematic way the magisterial teaching of the Catholic Church on marriage in the modern world and the pertinent norms of the Code of Canon Law. Chapter Two is devoted to a brief study of the Buddhist teaching on marriage and of the Thai civil marriage laws. A comparison between the Catholic and the Buddhist understanding of marriage is presented in its conclusion. Chapter Three analyzes the principles governing iii marriage according to the 1983 Code of Canon Law, with comparison to the 1917 Code as needed. This chapter focuses especially on interreligious marriage. Chapter Four deals with the pastoral care of those Catholics who enter marriage with Buddhists in Thailand. Marriage preparation programs, the pre-marital investigation, the obligations of the Catholic party in a mixed marriage along with concrete pastoral solutions are given attention in this chapter. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS viii ABBREVIATIONS x GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER ONE: THE TEACHING OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON MARRIAGE IN THE MODERN WORLD 7 Introduction 7 1.1 – Conciliar and Post-Conciliar Documents on Marriage 8 1.1.1 – The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et spes: Marriage Covenant and Marriage Contract 9 1.1.2 – Encyclical Letter on the Regulation of Birth Humanae vitae 15 1.1.3 – Apostolic Exhortation on the Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World Familiaris consortio 20 1.1.4 – Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on Love in Family Amoris laetitia 27 1.2 – Marriage according to the Code of Canon Law (cc. 1055–1062) 35 1.2.1 – The Constitutive Elements of Marriage (c. 1055) 35 1.2.2 – The Properties of Marriage (c. 1056) 39 1.2.3 – Matrimonial Consent (c. 1057) 43 1.2.4 – The Natural Right to Marriage (c. 1058) 47 1.2.5 – The Exclusive Jurisdiction of the Church over Canonical Marriage (c. 1059) 49 1.2.6 – The Juridical Status of a Celebrated Marriage (cc. 1060–1061) 55 1.2.7 – The Promise of Marriage (c. 1062) 65 Conclusion 69 CHAPTER TWO: THE CONCEPT OF MARRIAGE IN BUDDHISM WITHIN THAI SOCIETY 71 Introduction 71 2.1 – Understanding of Marriage in Buddhism 72 2.1.1 – The Religious and Cultural Milieu of Thailand 72 2.1.2 – The Meaning and Purpose of Marriage 76 2.1.2.1 – Dharma for Married People: Happiness and Social Morality 77 2.1.2.2 – Mutual Duties of the Couple 84 2.1.2.3 – Unity and Indissolubility 88 2.1.2.4 – Marital Morality 91 2.1.2.5 – Marriage as a Secular Contract of Partnership 94 2.2 – Marriage in Thai Society 97 2.2.1 – Thai Civil Marriage 98 2.2.2 – Traditional Thai Wedding Ceremony 103 v 2.3 – The Comparison of the Buddhist Concept of Marriage with the Catholic Teaching 107 2.3.1 – The Nature and Purpose of Marriage 107 2.3.2 – Particular Challenges for Catholics Entering into Marriages with Buddhists in Thailand 113 Conclusion 118 CHAPTER THREE: THE MARRIAGE IMPEDIMENT OF DISPARITY OF WORSHIP IN THE CONTEXT OF CATHOLIC-BUDDHIST MARRIAGES 120 Introduction 120 3.1 – Diriment Impediments to Marriage in the Thai Social Context 121 3.1.1 – Marriage Impediments in Ecclesiastical Law and Their Equivalent in Thai Civil Law 121 3.1.1.1 – Diriment Impediments 122 3.1.1.2 – Dispensation from Diriment Impediments 128 3.1.2 – Impediments in Particular 134 3.1.2.1 – Impediment of Age 135 3.1.2.2 – Impotence 138 3.1.2.3 – Prior Bond 141 3.1.2.4 – Disparity of Worship 144 3.1.2.5 – Sacred Orders 146 3.1.2.6 – Perpetual Vows of Chastity 149 3.1.2.7 – Abduction 150 3.1.2.8 – Crime 151 3.1.2.9 – Consanguinity 153 3.1.2.10 – Affinity 155 3.1.2.11 – Public Propriety 156 3.1.2.12 – Adoption 157 3.2 – The Church’s Teaching on Disparity of Worship in a Marriage and Its Assimilation in Thailand 159 3.2.1 – Instruction on Mixed Marriages Matrimonii sacramentum 160 3.2.2 – Apostolic Letter Motu Proprio on Mixed Marriages Matrimonia mixta 165 3.3 – Marriage between a Catholic and a Non-Baptized (Buddhist) Person 171 3.3.1 – Dispensation Needed to Marry a Non-Baptized Person 171 3.3.2 – Conditions for Granting Dispensation 173 3.3.2.1 – Declaration and Promise of Catholic Party 175 3.3.2.2 – Information Provided to and Required from the Non-baptized Party 181 3.3.2.3 – Marriage Instruction for Both Parties 185 3.3.3.4 – Right and Obligation of Education for Children 187 3.4 – The Celebration of a Marriage with the Dispensation from the Impediment of Disparity of Worship 189 3.4.1 – Celebration in accordance with the Canonical Form 189 3.4.1.1 – The Canonical Form of Marriage 190 3.4.1.2 – Those Bound to the Form of Marriage 191 vi 3.4.2 – Dispensation from the Canonical Form to Celebrate a Marriage in the Thai Wedding Ceremony 193 3.4.2.1 – Canonical and Liturgical Form 193 3.4.2.2 – Duplicate Marriage Ceremonies 195 3.4.2.3 – The Place of Celebration of the Wedding 197 3.4.2.4 – Application of the Canonical and Liturgical form to Disparity of Worship Marriages 198 Conclusion 199 CHAPTER FOUR: THE PASTORAL CARE OF THE MARRIAGES OF CATHOLICS WITH BUDDHISTS IN THAILAND 202 Introduction 202 4.1 – Preparation for Marriage 203 4.2 – Jurisdiction over Marriages between a Catholic and a Buddhist Party 208 4.3 – Catechetical and Spiritual Preparation 209 4.3.1 – Duties of Pastors and Catechists 209 4.3.2 – Reception of Confirmation, Penance and Eucharist 221 4.4 – Suggestions for a Revision of Pre-Marital Investigation Procedure in Thailand 224 4.4.1 – General Principles of Pre-Marital Investigation 224 4.4.2 – Revision of the Pre-Marital Investigation Form 227 4.5 – Guidelines for the Celebration of a Disparity of Worship Marriage and the Thai Wedding Ceremony 229 4.5.1 – Matrimony between a Catholic and a Buddhist 230 4.5.2 – Thai Wedding Ceremony 233 4.6 – Effective Marriage Preparation Programs 236 4.7 – Guidelines for Pastoral Care after the Wedding 239 4.7.1 – Organization of Pastoral Care of the Married Couples 239 4.7.2 – Guidelines on the Rights and Duties of Parents towards Their Children 242 4.7.2.1 – Implementation of the Promise to Have Children Baptized in the Catholic Church 243 4.7.2.2 – Implementation of the Promise to Education in the Faith 246 4.8 – Review of the Particular Norms and Guidelines from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Thailand on Marriages between Catholics and Buddhists 249 4.8.1 – Particular Challenges for the Church in Thailand regarding the Pastoral Care of Families 249 4.8.2 – Revision of the Particular Norms 252 4.8.3 – Pastoral Guidelines as a Tool of Constant Renewal of Pastoral Care of Families 254 Conclusion 258 GENERAL CONCLUSION 260 APPENDICES 265 Appendix 1: Decree on Preparation and Investigation before Marriage 265 vii Appendix 2: Decree on Minimum Age for Marriage 266 Appendix 3: Decree on Declaration and Promises in case of Mixed Marriage 267 Appendix 4: Pre-Marital Investigation Form 268 Appendix 5: A Proposed Revised Pre-Martial Investigation 273 Appendix 6: A Vow of a Catholic who marries a non-Catholic 276 Appendix 7: A Certification of the Status of the non-Catholic 277 Appendix 8: Decree on Norm Concerning the Arrangement of the Catechumenate 278 Appendix 9: Letter Requesting Clarification of Liturgical Law Concerning the Celebration of a Marriage within the Mass when One of the Couple is not Baptized 279 Appendix 10: Letter Requesting Information on the “Order of Celebrating Matrimony between a Catholic and a Catechumen or a Non-Christian” 281 Appendix 11: A Seminar of Reactivity for Family Life 283 Appendix 12: Decree on Catholic Religious Education in Schools 284 Appendix 13: Letter to the Prefect Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples; Request for Approval the Decree of 2015 285 Appendix 14: Letter to the President of the CBCT Granting the recognito of the Decree of the First Plenary Council of Catholic Church in Thailand 287 Appendix 15: Promulgation of Decree of the First Plenary Council of the Catholic Church in Thailand 288 Appendix 16: