Return to Scripture Presentations Homepage

Defender of the Bond

The following presentation was given on May 3, 2017 as part of a Northwest Regional Canon Law Conference in Portland, Oregon.

The first session traces the origin of the Defender of the Bond beginning with Roman Law when there was no public official responsible for this duty.
The second session describes the duties of the Defender of the Bond in the current law. The law is contained in the 1983 Code, Dignitas Connubii, and the modifications in Mitis Iudex, with some reference to the 1917 Code as appropriate.
The third session compares the process for marriage nullity and causes of canonization. The defender of the bond plays an analogous role to the promoter of the faith, which is just one of many similarities between these two processes.

Presentation text (pdf file)

.