scardella Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 I was talking with a friend of mine the other day, and he mentioned that it is against Church teaching to marry a non-Catholic. He added that a dispensation was required to marry a non-Catholic and that you had to agree to raise any children Catholic. My first question, particularly to those with direct experience, is how problematic is this in raising the children? If the non-Catholic parent held forcefully to his beliefs, would that make it difficult to raise the children Catholic? My second question is how would one discern this sort of relationship in the first place? It would seem that one would have to avoid non-Catholics in social situations to prevent such a relationship from occurring. However, that certainly doesn't sound right to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Red Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 i married a non-Catholic, basically non-Christian. our marriage is going just fine, thank you! as far as children, my husband was never brought up with any religion. and he sees the detriment that it did to him. he agrees and insists that our children (when God sees fit that we have them) be brought up Catholic. and he says that he wants to present a "united front" to our children, and so he will go to Church with us. when i met my husband, i was not "on fire" for the Catholic faith, or any faith. but after being married in the Church, my heart and soul became more and more "on fire" for the Church in every way (somebody sure was praying for me!), and my husband respects and understands this. he is curious, and always asking questions about why Catholics do this or that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelFilo Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 I suggest a look at the Syllabus of Erros most especially on marriage. The marriage must be founded with an understanding that the children will be Catholic. If not, the marriage is NOT in accord with the will of the Church (albiet, valid still). Marrying non-Catholics would be like marrying anyone else. Of course, you have an active duty to convert them to the Catholic faith, because that is true love, to want to share what God has given you with whoever you are married to. ' Also, marrying non-Catholics involves a bit more than just non-Catholic. Are they baptized, or not? If they are not baptized, then God cannot bless the marriage through the sacraments (or will not would be more accurate) since the sacrament can only be conferred on baptized persons. That also means that they are not bound to stay together (ie, they aren't united as one). I wonder if the Church even allows this.... although I'm sure there is someone here who knows better. God bless, Mikey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scardella Posted May 17, 2005 Author Share Posted May 17, 2005 [quote name='MichaelFilo' date='May 17 2005, 02:22 PM'] Also, marrying non-Catholics involves a bit more than just non-Catholic. Are they baptized, or not? [/quote] The question is primarily directed at Catholic-Protestant marriages, but I didn't intend to limit the question to that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birgitta Noel Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 The Church does allow marriages between Catholics and Non-Christians, though there is a special dispensation needed (from the bishop I believe). One must also remember that just marrying a Catholic carries no guarentees. People do leave the faith. This goes both ways of course, non-Catholics also convert. As for dating, many Catholics do only date Catholics. One's faith is integral to one's being (or should be), and for some the faith of the one they are dating is as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusader_4 Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 I know the church allows marriage to traditional protestants i.e. Lutherans, United, Anglican, Presbyterian (i believe)...since they all believe in sacremental baptsim. However what about a group that is Anabpatist i.e. Baptists, mennonites, hutterites, pentecostals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mulls Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 i don't get it.....don't be unequally yoked....why is this even allowed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philothea Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 I wasn't baptized when I got married, and I don't remember any special dispensations or anything. We even had a mass (because I asked for it) and I know now that was not entirely proper. Hrm. I might have had to sign something saying that I agreed to raise any children as Catholic. No one told me I wasn't [i]really[/i] getting married. Do I have to do it again? I don't think I fit into my dress anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don John of Austria Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 [quote name='philothea' date='May 17 2005, 05:32 PM'] I wasn't baptized when I got married, and I don't remember any special dispensations or anything. We even had a mass (because I asked for it) and I know now that was not entirely proper. Hrm. I might have had to sign something saying that I agreed to raise any children as Catholic. No one told me I wasn't [i]really[/i] getting married. Do I have to do it again? I don't think I fit into my dress anymore. [/quote] In all seriousness you need to consult a prieist preferably one who is not a liberal lunitic about having a nuptual blessing given, you should have never been allowed to be married as an unbapized person, that is certianly grounds for an annulment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Red Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 i asked my priest, and he assured me that all was done correctly, with the proper dispensations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birgitta Noel Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 [quote name='Don John of Austria' date='May 17 2005, 05:37 PM'] In all seriousness you need to consult a prieist preferably one who is not a liberal lunitic about having a nuptual blessing given, you should have never been allowed to be married as an unbapized person, that is certianly grounds for an annulment. [/quote] That's not true, unbaptized people may be married. There is an uber special dispensation, and it's wholly discouraged, but it's not disallowed...it is grounds for an annulment as no sacrament occured, but I don't believe it's disallowed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelFilo Posted May 18, 2005 Share Posted May 18, 2005 And what is the point of marriage outside of the Sacrament? It is secular. History shows, getting married with the Sacrament is truely a blessing. God bless, Mikey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philothea Posted May 18, 2005 Share Posted May 18, 2005 Well thank you, I'll pass that thought on to my husband of 16 years... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmotherofpirl Posted May 18, 2005 Share Posted May 18, 2005 [quote name='MichaelFilo' date='May 17 2005, 09:08 PM'] And what is the point of marriage outside of the Sacrament? It is secular. History shows, getting married with the Sacrament is truely a blessing. God bless, Mikey [/quote] Love might have something to do with it...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don John of Austria Posted May 18, 2005 Share Posted May 18, 2005 [quote name='cmotherofpirl' date='May 17 2005, 08:08 PM'] Love might have something to do with it...... [/quote] No love has absolutly nothing to do with it, if there is no sacramental marraige there is no point in it at all, if there is no baptism there is no marriage, mariage is a union of 2 BAPTISED PERSONS, period, end of story. No baptism no sacrament no sacrament no marriage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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