It’s been quite some time since canon lawyers have been in such demand for their views on Catholic marriage. Boris Johnson’s marriage to Carrie Symonds in Westminster Cathedral was the occasion for any amount of interested observations about how a twice-divorced man contrived to have a Catholic wedding, to which the only possible answer was that as far as the Church is concerned those prior marriages weren’t valid and so weren’t an impediment. Francis Davis, normally a thoughtful person, made the silly observation that “Cardinal Nichols just told the Johnson children their mums and dad were never married and their mums didn’t matter”. Really?

Well, Cardinal Nichols didn’t say anything, but for what it’s worth, the PM didn’t have children with his first wife, Allegra Mostyn-Owen, just with his second, Marina Wheeler, whom he married in a register office when she was already pregnant. But his other child – at least, I think it’s the only other one – was the result of an extra-marital relationship. No one disputes that both marriages were legal or suggests the “mums”, married or not, and their children don’t matter. Fr Daniel Humphreys, who officiated, was acting perfectly correctly. As Westminster Cathedral observed, “The bride and groom are both parishioners of the Westminster Cathedral parish and baptised Catholics. All necessary steps were taken in both Church and civil law, and all formalities completed before the wedding. We wish them every happiness.” Good for Westminster.