The Eastern rite Syro-Malabar Church in India has conditionally allowed Catholic couples to have civil marriage before solemnizing it in the Church.
“This is not for everyone. It is meant for those who live abroad or who want to move abroad with their prospective life partner,” said Father Abraham Kavilpurayidathil, the Church’s chancellor told on Oct. 20.
Catholics, “who for serious reasons such as obtaining a family visa to foreign countries find it necessary to register their marriages under relevant civil law” before sacramental marriage can apply seeking permission for such registration, said a decree issued by Cardinal Geroge Alencherry, the major archbishop and head of the Church.
Indian laws allow a couple to move abroad as husband and wife only if their marriage is registered with the civil authorities. Couples who get married in the Church later register with civil authorities to start the process of moving abroad.
Justice Bhuyan Calls for Protection of Dissent and Personal Liberty
Supreme Court Justice Ujjal Bhuyan has expressed concern over the growing trend of treating peaceful dissent and ordinary actions as criminal offences. Speaking at a
