It is a partial response to Reformation, putting many common practices that were not yet law into Catholic law. Papal authority is reasserted. The Council of Trent reifies the sacraments, making it explicit that marriage is only legal when a priest recognizes the union. This is yet another cultural attack on the many other forms of intimate partnership that had continued to flourish across Christian lands, some called “concubinage" and others similar to what is called "polyamory" today. Additionally, the council asserts that marriage is for life; second marriages are only permitted if the original spouse has died.