PARENTAL OBLIGATIONS AND RIGHTS TO THE EARLY INTEGRAL FORMATION OF THEIR OFFSPRING

Abstract

This paper critically examines parental obligations and rights to the integral formation of their offspring with particular emphasis on the emerging trend of early childhood boarding school enrollment. The study examines the juridical implications of parental failure to fulfill obligations regarding the early integral formation of offspring within the canonical matrimonial legal framework. While canon 1055 §1 establishes the ends of marriage, and canon 1136 explicitly affirms parental rights and duties concerning the upbringing of children, jurisprudence has not identified the exclusion of early integral formation as grounds for nullity. This research analyzes whether such exclusion vitiates in accordance with canons 1101 §2 or 1095. Employing historical and canonical exegetical methods, the study explores Rotal jurisprudence on the bonum prolis and examines the extent to which a deliberate refusal to fulfill the parental obligations of early childhood formation can be established as excluding an essential element of marriage. The study demonstrates that parental delegation of formative responsibilities during critical attachment and identity formation periods may contravene both natural and ecclesiastical expectations. It concludes that such decisions may represent exclusion of essential marital goods rather than genuine fulfillment of parental educational duties, with profound implications for matrimonial validity.