BUT, to be consistent he would need to condeem all supposed “marriages” that are not performed by a religious leader as simply “social rites”.
These people who run off and get “married” by a judge are not really married either!
From a Catholic perspective it is the couple who are the actual ministers of the sacrament. The priest is there present only to witness the marriage and to give the Church’s blessing. The need of the priest is not of the essence of the sacrament and was only required after the Council of Trent in order to assure that marriages were publicly known and entered into freely. The need for the priest to witness a Catholic wedding is a question of positive law and not doctrine. It is also only applicable to Catholics. The essence of marriage is the free exchange of vows by the couple.
These people who run off and get “married” by a judge are not really married either!
...such a ‘marriage’ would already be recognized by the Church as not valid...and stable grounds for annulment...