TAMETSI

Tametsi (Lat. "although") is the first word of the opening sentence of a decree concerning the juridical form of marriage enacted by the 24th session of the Council of Trent on Nov. 11, 1563 (Concilium Tridentinum. Diariorum, actorum, epistularum, tractatuum nova collectio, ed. Görres-Gesellschaft [Freiburg 1901–38] sess. 24 de ref. matrim., c.1). In summary, the Tametsi decree stated:

Although it is not to be doubted that clandestine marriages made with the free consent of the contracting parties are valid and true marriages, so long as the Church has not rendered them invalid; and consequently that those persons are justly to be condemned, as the Holy Synod doth condemn them with anathema who deny that such marriages are true and valid … nevertheless the holy Church of God has for reasons most just, at all times detested and prohibited such marriages…. Those who shall attempt to contract marriage otherwise than in the presence of the parish priest, or of some other priest by the permission of the said parish priest or of the Ordinary, and in the presence of two or three witnesses; the Holy Synod renders such wholly incapable of thus contracting and declares such contracts invalid and null, as by the present decree it invalidates and annuls them."

Thus after much debate, a long-desired reform was accomplished. When the final vote was taken on the decree, 56 of the Council Fathers voted against it, 135 voted for it, and nine either cast no vote at all or simply deferred the matter to the judgment of the Holy See.

The Sacrament of Matrimony is unique in that it is administered not by a bishop or priest, but rather by the parties themselves who administer the Sacrament to each other. It was fear of a possible change in this doctrine that had caused the long debate on the Tametsi decree. Yet legislation as contained in the Tametsi decree had become increasingly necessary, mainly due to the oftencondemned practice of clandestine (secret) marriages. The evil of such secret marriages consisted in the fact that often no proof was available that a marriage had indeed taken place, resulting in obvious legal and moral chaos. Hereditary rights were often endangered; shadows could be cast on the legitimacy of children; and conflicts between the internal and external forums could easily arise.

Various attempts to legislate against secret marriages had been made by local and provincial councils; e.g., Salzburg (1420), Magdeburg (1370), Padua (1351), Prague (1355), and Cologne (1280).

It is generally admitted, however, that historically clandestine or secret marriages were considered valid before the Council of Trent. The first universal law of the Church, which established a juridical form of marriage, was embodied in the decree Tametsi requiring for the validity of marriage the presence of the parish priest or of another priest authorized by the parish priest or by the ordinary and in the presence of two or three witnesses. Apart from the juridical form required for the validity of marriage, the Tametsi decree further prescribed that banns were to be published before a marriage was to take place. Moreover, a liturgical form for the celebration of marriage was determined. Newly married couples were exhorted to receive the priestly blessing in the church, to go to Confession, and to receive the Holy Eucharist. Finally provision was made for the recording of all marriages.

The Tametsi decree had several shortcomings as effective legislation. The weaknesses in the decree can here be only summarized: (1) Doubts continued—because of difficulties in determining a person's domicile—concerning the proper pastor before whom the marriage was to be contracted. (2) No exemption from the law was provided for baptized non-Catholics who consequently, if their marriages were to be valid, were to marry before a priest. (3) The most serious difficulty arose from the manner in which the new law was to be promulgated. The Tametsi decree stated: "This decree shall begin to take effect in every parish at the expiration of thirty days to be reckoned from the day of its first publication in that Church." The decree was actually never published in wide areas of the Church. Entire nations were left unaffected by it. In other nations the decree was published in some places while not in others; the result was again serious doubt concerning the validity or invalidity of many marriages. It was especially this last-mentioned weakness in the law that necessitated further legislation concerning the juridical form of marriage. The ne temere decree of Aug. 2, 1907, attempted to settle the innumerable doubts resulting from the shortcomings of the Tametsi decree.

In summary, it can be said that in the decree Tametsi were contained all the means necessary for a successful reform in marriage law. However, further legislation had to be enacted to put the reform into universal effect.

Bibliography: e. fus, The Extraordinary Form of Marriage according to Canon 1098 (Catholic University of America Canon Law Studies 348; Washington 1954). j. carberry, The Juridical Form of Marriage (Catholic University of America Canon Law Studies 84; Washington 1934). w. boudreaux, The "ab acatholicis nati" of Canon 1099.2 (Catholic University of America Canon Law Studies 227; Washington 1946). a. marx, The Declaration of Nullity of Marriage Contracted outside the Church (Catholic University of America Canon Law Studies 182; Washington 1943).

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