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Simple English definitions for legal terms
Pauline privilege
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A quick definition of Pauline privilege:
Pauline privilege is a rule in the Catholic Church that allows a baptized person to end their marriage to an unbaptized person if the unbaptized person left them without a good reason. This rule can only be used if the baptized person wants to marry a Catholic and if both parties were not baptized at the time of their marriage. The Catholic Church must also agree that the rule can be used.
Overall, the Pauline privilege is a way for Catholics to end a marriage that was not originally blessed by the Church, but only under certain circumstances.
A more thorough explanation:
Pauline privilege is a rule in the Catholic Church that allows a baptized person to end their marriage to an unbaptized person under certain circumstances. This is done when it is beneficial to the church.
The privilege can be used when:
- The marriage was valid
- The baptized spouse wants to marry a Catholic
- Both parties were unbaptized at the time of the marriage
Before the privilege can be used, the following conditions must be met:
- The unbaptized spouse must have left the baptized spouse without a good reason
- The unbaptized spouse must still be unbaptized
- The baptized spouse must ask the church for permission to use the privilege
- The church must agree that the privilege can be used
There is some uncertainty about how far the privilege can be used. The Petrine Privilege is a similar rule that applies to marriages between two unbaptized people.
For example, if a Catholic woman marries a man who is not baptized, and he later leaves her without a good reason, she may be able to use the Pauline Privilege to end the marriage and marry a Catholic man instead.