Note 986 — Chapter II · THE TREATMENT OF PENITENTS IN DIFFERENT EXTERNAL CIRCUMSTANCES

Benedict XIV, Decl. 4 Nov., 1741; Pius VII, Bull 27 Feb., 1809; Gregory XVI, Encycl. 27 May, 1832, to the archbishops and bishops of Bavaria. Finally, Leo XIII, Circular 10 Feb., 1880 declares: “A warning voice must also be raised against marriage lightly contracted with a person of another faith; for where the souls are disunited in religion, union in other matters is scarcely to be expected. It is clear that such marriages must be particularly shunned, for the reason that they give occasion for unlawful communication and participation in religious exercises, that they are a source of danger for the religion of the Catholic party, an obstacle to the good education of the children and not infrequently a temptation to hold all religions equally justified, denying all difference between true and false.” Even Protestant divines and authorities have frequently expressed themselves decidedly against mixed marriages, and earnestly warned people against them.