“I guess my question to Dr. Peters would be why this situation was relegated to jurisprudence?”
Mr. Peters addresses this question:
“Natural law requires that presumptions (here, of validity) be overturned only for specific reasons (here, grounds) demonstrated by objective information (here, declarations and testimony) weighed by independent minds (here, judges) subject to review by superiors (here, appeal).”
This is part of a longer quote, but to me, it's the key.
What I take from this is that if we are to say that sacramental marriage is a real, objective thing, and that there are people who are validly, sacramentally married, then to the critical question is, objectively, did a particular putative marriage actually occur sacramentally?
If it did, then nothing short of the death of one spouse or the other can gainsay what Jesus said about the indissolubility of marriage, and anyone who remarries under such circumstances lives in sin.
If it did not, then that fact must be objectively determined, and the nature of that inquiry must be an objective process which, when we describe it, is essentially, intrinsically juridical.
sitetest
Do the Eastern Orthodox churches have valid sacraments?