Reader Response re Canon Law and Marriage

I received the following response from MOJ reader Rob Driscoll to my post concerning Canon Law's recognition of ages 14 and 16 for females and males, respectively, as the age for a valid marriage:

"It seems to me that the case for the age differences (and youth) is two-fold.  First, to the extent that normal families are to emulate the Holy Family, we take into consideration that Mary was extremely young (13 or 14 I think is what most believe) while Joseph was not much older (16 – 18).  While in today’s society, maturity is put off far longer (sometimes I think it is not until people are in their 30’s!) it is still possible and conceivable for a young couple to marry at a young age, particularly in poorer societies and those which have a shorter life-span.  For prudential reasons I can see American or Western Bishops encouraging waiting until 18, but as a general matter it seems that 14 & 16 should form the “floor.”

Secondly, the difference in ages between the sexes (as opposed to one age for both men and women) seems to me to mirror the biological fact or tendency for women to mature earlier then men.  This is true in both their capacity to bear or conceive children (women go through puberty first) and their psychological/mental maturity.  It seems to me that women tend to mature a couple of years more quickly than men and are thus ready, both biologically and mentally, to bear children first.  Since the Church ties marriage to children, the disparity in ages between men and women makes sense."