Why does the Catholic Church prescribe laws to govern the covenant of Marriage?
The Catholic Church has the right to set laws regarding the validity of marriages since marriage for the baptized is both a sacred covenant and a Sacrament. Even if only one party is Catholic, the marriage of Catholics is regulated not only by Divine Law but also by canon law, with regard for the competence of civil authority concerning the merely civil effects of such a marriage. D. What are the essential properties of the Sacrament of Marriage? The essential properties of marriage are unity and indissolubility. The unity of marriage signifies that the marriage covenant established is between one man and one woman: the husband cannot marry another woman during the lifetime of his wife, nor can the wife marry another man during the lifetime of her husband. The indissolubility of the marital union means that the bond of sacramental marriage cannot be broken except by death of either husband or wife. By virtue of the covenant of married life, the man and woman are “no longer two, but one
