Ne Temere (literally meaning "not rashly" in Latin) is a decree (named for its opening words) of the Roman Catholic Congregation of the Council declaring invalid any marriage of a Roman Catholic or any person who has ever been a Roman Catholic, unless contracted before a qualified Roman Catholic priest (or the bishop of the diocese) and at least two witnesses. The decree was issued under Pius X, Aug. 10, 1907, and took effect on Easter Apr. 19, 1908. This decree was voided for marriages in Germany by the subsequent decree Provida
The explicit intent was to eliminate clandestine marriages, with the justification that the Roman church has "always very justly detested and forbidden secret marriages" extending a decree of the Counter-Reformation Council of Trent enforcing parish discipline in matters of betrothal and marriage.
The result made official marriages difficult for lapsed Catholics in some Church-dominated nations.
External link
