(b) The Spouses.—The bride and groom are the ministers as well as the recipients of Matrimony, and hence, if one of the parties knows that the other is not in the state of grace, there is an administration of a Sacrament to an unworthy recipient. But only charity would bid one to deny the Sacrament to that other party, if one could not induce him to dispose himself, and charity does not oblige with great inconvenience. Hence the worthy party, if he or she has a suitable reason for marrying, does not sin by reason of the other party’s unworthiness.
(c) The Witnesses.—The cooperation of the witnesses is less than that of the priest and of the worthy party, and hence only in an extraordinary case do the witnesses sin by assisting at a marriage contracted before the Church. They may presume that all is well, if the pastor has agreed to the marriage; and even though they are certain that the bride or groom is in mortal sin, the fear of incurring displeasure or harm will ordinarily excuse the best man or bridesmaid from all sin, or at least from grave sin.
2829. Registration of Marriages.—The Code requires that marriages be recorded in the matrimonial and baptismal registers, and that notification be sent to the pastors of the parishes where the bride and the groom were baptized. This duty seems to be grave, since its end is to provide for stable conditions and secure proof of freedom to marry. The entries should be made without delay (i.e., within three days at least), lest they be overlooked or be made incorrectly (Canon 1103).
2830. When an Impediment Is Discovered after Marriage.—A diriment impediment or other invalidating defect is sometimes discovered after the celebration of marriage. There are various solutions of this difficulty.
(a) If the marriage can be validated (or made valid), this should be done. The manner of simple validation of marriages null on account of diriment impediment, defective consent or lack of form, is declared in Canons 1133-1137.
(b) If the marriage cannot be validated simply, it may be made valid in certain cases by the special validation known as a _sanatio in radice_. This supposes that a consent naturally sufficient, but juridically insufficient, was given, and that a renewal of consent cannot be obtained (see Canons 1138-1141).
(c) If marriage cannot be validated in any way (as in the case of an indispensable impediment), the parties should be separated, or permitted to live together as brother and sister, or left in good faith. Thus, if the nullity of the marriage is public, the parties should be separated after a declaration of nullity; if the nullity is secret and unprovable, the parties may be permitted to live together as brother and sister, if they know the marriage is null, but are not exposed to the danger of incontinence; if the parties are in good faith about their marriage and it is foreseen that serious evils would result were they told the truth (such as bad faith, or misfortunes for the children), they may be left as they are.
2831. The Lawfulness of Divorce and Separation.—(a) Complete divorce, or dissolution of the bond with the right to remarry during the lifetime of the other spouse, is never lawful, except in the cases mentioned in 2787 e. Moreover, the civil lawgiver has no right ever to dissolve the marriage tie, for the marriage bond of Christians is sacramental and not subject to the State, while the marriage bond of non-Christians is indissoluble by human authority. On the death of one spouse, however, the survivor is free to marry again, though chaste widowhood is more honorable.
(b) Incomplete divorce, or separation from bed and board, is allowed permanently to the innocent spouse in case of adultery, and temporarily when there are other good reasons. Thus, if one of the parties becomes an apostate, or gives non-Catholic education to the children, or leads a criminal or disgraceful life, or makes common life too hard by his cruelty, or endangers the other party in soul or body, the innocent spouse may separate after appealing to the Ordinary, or may depart on his or her own authority, if the facts are certain and there is danger in delay (Canons 1118 sqq.). With permission one may even seek a civil divorce, if it is a separation only, in order to be free as regards civil effects of marriage (1950).