[via CBCP News] The head of Manila’s Roman Catholic Church has banned wedding rites from being held outside the churches.

Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales said that for a couple to get married outside a parish church was contrary to the meaning of Christian marriage.

“All Catholic marriages within the Archdiocese of Manila should be held within the parish churches,” Rosales said in a circular issued to his clergy recently.

Rosales said he was acting to prevent the sacrament of marriage being ridiculed and to press the observance of “all ecclesiastical laws.”

“I have to ensure that abuses do not creep into ecclesiastical discipline, especially concerning the celebration of the sacrament of marriage,” he said.

But the cardinal took exception for those “in periculo mortis” cases.

The religious term is a marriage that is performed when either the groom or bride is in danger of death.

Canon law does require that weddings take place within a church building but each bishop may particularize the policy in his diocese.

Hence, like in Manila, there are other dioceses that do not allow outdoor weddings without a dispensation from the bishop.

Rosales is known for his moves to ensure the solemnity of the sacrament of matrimony within his pastoral jurisdiction.

The church official earlier called the attention of soon-to-wed couples not to forget the solemnity of their marriage ceremony.

He noted that couples focus too much their attention on the wedding details like invitations, attires, among other things, and their attention towards the solemnity of the ceremony is diminished.

Rosales also stated that more couples are now opting to have a civil wedding rather than a church wedding because of the increasing cost involved in holding the latter.

He likewise appealed to bridal parties to wear proper attire during wedding ceremonies. Certain clothing can distract fellow churchgoers from prayer, he said.