Protestant Marriages

[TotusTuusMaria]

If two baptized protestants are married in their protestant community or by their protestant pastor is that marriage ceremony valid? Is their marriage valid? Are there certain conditions that must be met for this marriage to be valid?

Can they get divorced ?

Can they get remarried?

Is there anything that would make their marriage invalid?

What if one or both were not open to life?

What if they did divorce and one of them later became Catholic? Could they marry or enter religious life with in the Church?

Is a Catholic allowed to attend a Protestant wedding ceremony? Is a Catholic allowed to attend a second Protestant wedding ceremony if one or both of the spouses have received divorces in the past from previous Protestant marriages. Is either attendance a sin?

Can they attend either reception?

Can a Catholic encourage a protestant married in their protestant community and/or by their protestant pastor to divorce?

Can they encourage them to remarry?

Are either of these two previous actions a sin on the part of the Catholic?

If two baptized Protestant Christians are married by the state alone, is their marriage valid?

[CatherineM]

Good thing Phatmass doesn't charge by the question. These are questions I get asked all the time.

[b]If two baptized protestants are married in their protestant community or by their protestant pastor is that marriage ceremony valid? Is their marriage valid? Are there certain conditions that must be met for this marriage to be valid? [/b] For a marriage to be valid in the Catholic Church both parties (one male and one female) must be free to marry, ready and able to marry. They must understand what marriage truly involves. The wedding must have had a proper process for the witnessing of the marriage, etc. So long as the requirements are met, then the Church recognizes the union of two non-Christians, or of a Christian and a non-Christian. If it is between two Christians, the Church recognizes it as a sacramental marriage. If both parties are baptized Catholics, then in addition, the marriage must be celebrated according to the laws and customs of the Rite of the Church the couple belongs to.

When working in the tribunal, I actually saw many more Protestant marriages come up for annulment than Catholic ones. That was of course due to the large percentage of Protestants in the population in Oklahoma. It is actually easier many times to annul a Catholic marriage than a Protestant one just because of the extra requirements. For example if Protestants marry in front of a Justice of the Peace, it is considered valid because as Protestants they were not required to get married in front of a priest, whereas, Catholics getting married in front of a Judge makes for an automatic annulment if it isn't later blessed in the Church. For Catholics to validly marry non-Catholics, they have to receive a dispensation. That basically means that their pastor will have to do more counseling to make sure the Catholic partner won't fall away from the faith, and that any children will be baptized and brought up in the Church.

[b]Can they get divorced ? [/b]Protestants can divorce, as that is a legal process, not liturgical.

[b]Can they get remarried?[/b]That depends on their denomination, but usually yes.

[b]Is there anything that would make their marriage invalid?[/b] If one party was still married, underage, then it would be legally invalid. As to a Protestant marriage before the Catholic tribunal, we would consider it invalid if the one of the parties was divorced without receiving an annulment from their first marriage. Also all the other reasons that can annul a previous marriage such as immaturity, intoxication, impotence.

[b]What if one or both were not open to life?[/b] This would be grounds for a Catholic marriage, but I'm not sure if we hold Protestants to that. I don't remember seeing a case like that, and since Protestants don't go through the same marriage prep that Catholics do, and the tenets of their faith many times allows for contraception, I'm not sure it would be grounds for them.

[b]What if they did divorce and one of them later became Catholic?[/b] Could they marry or enter religious life with in the Church? If they have their first marriage annulled, they can remarry. Divorced people can enter religious life, as long as they can take vows of chastity, but not the priesthood unless they have the marriage annulled. That can also depend on the order.

[b]Is a Catholic allowed to attend a Protestant wedding ceremony? Is a Catholic allowed to attend a second Protestant wedding ceremony if one or both of the spouses have received divorces in the past from previous Protestant marriages. Is either attendance a sin?[/b] Attending a wedding isn't a sin so long as you don't receive communion in a Protestant church.

[b]Can they attend either reception?[/b] Sure, as long as you are comfortable doing so. Some people show their disapproval of a marriage by only attending the reception, or by only attending the wedding.

[b]Can a Catholic encourage a protestant married in their protestant community and/or by their protestant pastor to divorce?[/b] If you had a pressing reason. We should try to encourage people in their marriages, even Protestant ones. If there is some kind of abuse present, I would certainly recommend separating.

[b]Can they encourage them to remarry?[/b] If you have a reason to. If they are free to marry there certainly isn't an issue. If they aren't free to marry, I'm not sure why you would want them to marry.

[b]Are either of these two previous actions a sin on the part of the Catholic?[/b] It depends on what your intentions are, and the specifics of the situation. Trying to get your mother to marry someone she has been living with for 20 years is different than trying to get someone to divorce their wife so that they can marry you.

[b]If two baptized Protestant Christians are married by the state alone, is their marriage valid?[/b] If it met the requirements of the Church, then yes. If both were free to marry, probably, but if one party had 4 previous divorces that hadn't been annulled, then no.