Formal Acts Of Defection

A reader writes:

I’m still confused about the post HERE. What constitutes a formal act of leaving the church? I have friends who do not consider themselves to be Catholic anymore and attend another type of Christian service or are not attending any type of service (but are honestly searching for truth). In either case, is their marriage valid?

This is a matter that hasn’t been fully clarified. The 1983 Code of Canon Law allowed an exemption from the requirement of observing the Catholic form of marriage for Catholics who had left the Church by a formal act of defection. This was a new provision in the law, but unfortunately the Code didn’t go on to define what is required for such an act. Thus there is some debate about particular acts of defection, but the following seem reasonable:

  • The act must involve true defection–that is, a person determining that he is no longer to be considered a member of the Catholic Church. (Joining another church under the belief that one could be a member of two churches at once would not count.)
  • The act must be formal. There must be a moment in time when the individual performs some kind of formal act, such as being baptized in another church or sending a bishop a letter of resignation from the Church. (Just starting to attend another church or falling out of the habit of attending the Catholic Church does not count.)
  • As a juridic act, it must be a fully human act (e.g., one not done due under duress or by a person not in command of his faculties).
  • Also as a juridic act, it must be done by one capable of placing a juridic act, which leaves out minors.

Unfortunately, the law isn’t clear on this point. At some stage, I suspect that we’ll have an authentic interpretation to clear it up (if the recently-released instruction Dignitas Connubii doesn’t clear it up [my copy is still in the mail]).

Author: Jimmy Akin

Jimmy was born in Texas, grew up nominally Protestant, but at age 20 experienced a profound conversion to Christ. Planning on becoming a Protestant seminary professor, he started an intensive study of the Bible. But the more he immersed himself in Scripture the more he found to support the Catholic faith, and in 1992 he entered the Catholic Church. His conversion story, "A Triumph and a Tragedy," is published in Surprised by Truth. Besides being an author, Jimmy is the Senior Apologist at Catholic Answers, a contributing editor to Catholic Answers Magazine, and a weekly guest on "Catholic Answers Live."

4 thoughts on “Formal Acts Of Defection”

  3. Quote: “My eyes are bugging out on me. I thought you wrote ‘Formal Acts of Defecation.'”
    That’s the way I saw it too, until I looked closer. 🙂

  4. Thank you for the only attempt at a clarification on this matter that I’ve been able to find (on the Internet)!
    So, with this “exemption,” if an immediate family member who has *formally defected* from the Church is marrying a non-Catholic (raised Baptist, currently unaffiliated) in a civil ceremony, are the concerns about attending an invalid marriage ceremony no longer in play?
    If both parties are effectively outside the Church, is the wedding ceremony like that of two non-Catholics or does the member’s original Catholic formation (baptism and confirmation) still hold him accountable?
    And would ANY of this make sense to my kids?! Using John Paul II’s terms, I feel I’m wrestling with the *ethics* but not deepening or living an *ethos*.
    Canon 1086@1: “A marriage is invalid when one of the two persons was baptized in the Catholic Church or received into it and has not by a formal act defected from it, and the other was not baptized.”

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