Between Canon and Custom: Reconciling Cross‑Cousin Marriages in Flores, Eastern Indonesia
The presentation examines tensions between Catholic canonical law and local kinship practices surrounding cross‑cousin marriage in Flores, eastern Indonesia, to understand how Catholic communities negotiate universal ecclesial norms and particular social obligations. Based on ethnographic fieldwork, in‑depth interviews with families, customary leaders, and clergy, and textual analysis of canonical and kinship literature, the research situates local marriage practices within debates in kinship anthropology and contextual theology. Findings show that cross‑cousin marriage remains a central mechanism for securing family alliances, land transmission, and social solidarity, while parish authorities assert canonical priorities through disciplinary measures, most notably prolonged, deferred dispensations and the relegation of sanctioned unions to collective, mass blessings rather than individualized sacramental rites. These measures function both as institutional deterrents and symbolic penalties, privileging ecclesial legitimacy over customary recognition and producing stigma, marginalization, and conflict with custom norms. The study problematizes assumptions of canonical universality, highlights the pastoral and ethical costs of disciplinary regimes, and calls for a more contextually sensitive theology of marriage. It concludes by asking how local experiences can inform global debates on the reconciliation of universal law and particular traditions.
About the Speaker: Fransiska Widyawati is an associate professor on religion and cultural studies at Universitas Katolik Indonesia Santu Paulus Ruteng, Indonesia. She was formerly the vice-chancellor and head of the research institute of the university. She is a guest researcher at the Chair of Canon Law during the Summer Semester 2026 as a recepient of Bonn International Fellowship.