Christian Wedding

[Guest bekahg]

My Catholic cousin met a girl who is Christian and is oppossed to the Catholic faith.
He started going to her church and now says he is no longer Catholic. They now plan to get married in her Christian church. I have told him how I feel and that I don't think I can attend their wedding because it is not in the Catholic church. He said he just wants to stand before God and get married and it shouldn't matter where it is. I told him it wouldn't be a sacrament and he said that was all right. This guy wasn't and attending Catholic and that is another of his excuses for "finding God." What is the Churches view on attending this wedding.

[cappie]

The question you ask is not unique. Below are some quotes from the Catechism about the Sacrament of marriage and why Catholics are asked to marry in the Church and with the blessing of the Church:

1601 "The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament."

1630 The priest (or deacon) who assists at the celebration of a marriage receives the consent of the spouses in the name of the Church and gives the blessing of the Church. The presence of the Church's minister (and also of the witnesses) visibly expresses the fact that marriage is an ecclesial reality.

1631 This is the reason why the Church normally requires that the faithful contract marriage according to the ecclesiastical form. Several reasons converge to explain this requirement:134

- Sacramental marriage is a liturgical act. It is therefore appropriate that it should be celebrated in the public liturgy of the Church;

- Marriage introduces one into an ecclesial order, and creates rights and duties in the Church between the spouses and towards their children;

- Since marriage is a state of life in the Church, certainty about it is necessary (hence the obligation to have witnesses);

- The public character of the consent protects the "I do" once given and helps the spouses remain faithful to it.

Whether you attend the wedding is really up to you. Obviously your cousin doesn't care where he gets married. You are correct in saying the Chruch would look upon the marriage as invalid. If in conscience you cannot attend then don't. I usually recommend attendance but the person should know your opinion (which you have already given). In the future if he comes to the correct way of thinking then you may be able to help, but if you cut him off then you may not get the chance to help if it comes to that. Personally I believe the old saying: "You catch more flys with honey than vinegar." But that's my opinion, others may feel differently.