Requirements for marrying a Catholic if a person is Non-Catholic

Code of Canon Law, Chapter VI, Mixed Marriages:

http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P40.HTM

Can. 1124 Without the express permission of the competent authority, marriage is prohibited between two baptised persons, one of whom was baptised in the catholic Church or received into it after baptism and has not defected from it by a formal act, the other of whom belongs to a Church or ecclesial community not in full communion with the catholic Church.

Can. 1125 The local Ordinary (i.e. can grant this permission if there is a just and reasonable cause. He is not to grant it unless the following conditions are fulfilled:

1° the catholic party is to declare that he or she is prepared to remove dangers of defecting from the faith, and is to make a sincere promise to do all in his or her power in order that all the children be baptised and brought up in the catholic Church;

2° the other party is to be informed in good time of these promises to be made by the catholic party, so that it is certain that he or she is truly aware of the promise and of the obligation of the catholic party

3° both parties are to be instructed about the purposes and essential properties of marriage, which are not to be excluded by either contractant.

...

It is forbidden to have, either before or after the canonical celebration in accordance with §1, another religious celebration of the same marriage for the purpose of giving or renewing matrimonial consent. Likewise, there is not to be a religious celebration in which the catholic assistant and a non-catholic minister, each performing his own rite, ask for the consent of the parties.

young man wrote:

okay first of all, I'm not going to convert. Second of all, she is not a "hardcore" Catholic, but does attend the church some days during the year. Her parents are Catholic, so it has always been her dream to marry in the Catholic church. I've heard that I would have to get baptized and promise the church to raise my kids in the church. I wouldn't have a problem with getting baptized, but I wouldn't want to promise them to raise my kids catholic. I don't think she would care much either.

Your kids are probably going to be raised at least nominally Catholic so it may make it easier for the future family if you go through RCIA and convert (Tony Blair style) although from your original post, it does not sound like there is much "conversion" for you to go through. In other words, you sound like much more of a believer than many of the Catholic school parents I know -- Catholics are generally not hardcore Bible reading types.

Just convert, the pros totally outweigh the cons

Cons: weekly offerings at church, listen to appeals for money, read letters that ask for donations, feelings of guilt from not giving enough, etc.

Pros: no condoms allowed during sex

So are other forms of contraception.

Just pay her mystic wizard and he'll marry you guys. The money is all they really care about. The Catholic mystics are that way.

My wife's family is Catholic and from Chicago. My then to be mother-in-law told me I had two choices1) Convert to Catholicism; or2) Become a Bears fanGO BEARS!

young man wrote:

What are the requirements? My gf is catholic and I'm not really anything specific. I believe in Jesus and accept him as my savior and I read the bible, but don't go to church. If anything, I would say I'm a baptist. What would I have to do to marry inside a catholic church?

Jeri is a Jedi wrote:

My wife's family is Catholic and from Chicago. My then to be mother-in-law told me I had two choices

1) Convert to Catholicism; or

2) Become a Bears fan

GO BEARS!

That's one choice.

no matter wrote:

Happy New Year wrote:

Jesus Loves You.

Everyone else thinks you're an asshole.

No, I think YOU are an asshole! Nothing like elistist Christian d-bags to lead the asshole pack. Congrats.

I actually thought that was pretty funny, though he omitted the asshole rant from the quote.

joe blow 2 wrote:

I'm an atheist and got married in a catholic church. I'm not bringing my kids up catholic, they've never been to church.

I don't believe in any god, or that jesus was the son of god, or special in anyway.

All christians are f***ing morons...

Die Religion... ist das Opium des Volkes

so you maried someone you think is a moron? smooooth...

The reason I don't want to convert is because of certain practices that I don't agree with, like confessing your sins to a priest. Where in the bible does it say I have to confess my sins to a priest? Don't they also pray to the pope? I don't mean to change this thread about my religion, but those are a few reasons why I don't want to convert. Also, I want my children to grow up believing whatever they want.

I am marrying a catholic in 2011. Requirements at her church were that I had to produce my certificate of baptism (so did she) and we have to attend a marriage prep course which costs around $500 (I can`t remember, maybe it was a bit less). I think we also get the short version of the ceremony too since I`m not a catholic but my fiance is okay with that.

We plan on raising our future kids catholic until they are old enough to decide for themselves. Lots of good things are taught in a religious environment, even if I don`t agree with 100% of them.

Catholics don't pray to the pope. The confession thing is justified by saying you ought to confess to folks instead of just keeping them to yourself.

I converted several years ago. My hang up was transubstantiation, but I was able to understand it so it made sense.

It sounds like you are clueless about Catholicism, which might cause issues in your family religiously. It's one thing to intermarry, it's another not to understand or respect your spouse's religion.

Mtn Dew wrote:

Catholics don't pray to the pope. The confession thing is justified by saying you ought to confess to folks instead of just keeping them to yourself.

I converted several years ago. My hang up was transubstantiation, but I was able to understand it so it made sense.

It sounds like you are clueless about Catholicism, which might cause issues in your family religiously. It's one thing to intermarry, it's another not to understand or respect your spouse's religion.

I never said I didn't respect their religion. Also, it doesn't matter if I don't fully understand her religion, and vice-versa. We love each other and don't let religion separate us. And you didn't justify anything about confessing. Please don't post on my thread again; you just make yourself look like a religious nutjob.

My wife is Czech and a Catholic and I was raised Shinto-Buddhist in Portland and Berkeley. I had to take a few classes with her at her Church before we were married then the Catholic Church allowed us to get married. It was o.k. I like Catholics, they have nice music. I go with her to Church on Christmas but that's all. Shinto-Buddhists of course accept all religions so there is no conflict, plus I went to our temple as a kid to play basketball, baseball, Kendo, Judo, Karate and to meet girls, I've never been into religion at all. I still go for Judo and Kendo and my wife and I help out at festivals.

Good luck, I hope your wife has the patience of a saint.

young man wrote:

What are the requirements? My gf is catholic and I'm not really anything specific. I believe in Jesus and accept him as my savior and I read the bible, but don't go to church. If anything, I would say I'm a baptist. What would I have to do to marry inside a catholic church?

To marry inside a Catholic church, one of you, at the least, must become Eastern Orthodox and the other must agree to raise the kids Orthodox. Transcend "Roman Catholicism" and Protestantism (Protesting abuses introduced after the Pope's schism from Orthodoxy in 1054 AD) by returning to the Catholic Church (Eastern Orthodoxy).

middle aged man wrote:

young man wrote:

What are the requirements? My gf is catholic and I'm not really anything specific. I believe in Jesus and accept him as my savior and I read the bible, but don't go to church. If anything, I would say I'm a baptist. What would I have to do to marry inside a catholic church?

To marry inside a Catholic church, one of you, at the least, must become Eastern Orthodox and the other must agree to raise the kids Orthodox. Transcend "Roman Catholicism" and Protestantism (Protesting abuses introduced after the Pope's schism from Orthodoxy in 1054 AD) by returning to the Catholic Church (Eastern Orthodoxy).

We real Protestants want to go back to what Jesus preached, before the schism introduced by that skunk St. Paul.

Protestant wrote:

middle aged man wrote:

To marry inside a Catholic church, one of you, at the least, must become Eastern Orthodox and the other must agree to raise the kids Orthodox. Transcend "Roman Catholicism" and Protestantism (Protesting abuses introduced after the Pope's schism from Orthodoxy in 1054 AD) by returning to the Catholic Church (Eastern Orthodoxy).

We real Protestants want to go back to what Jesus preached, before the schism introduced by that skunk St. Paul.

Jesus preached a Church that the Gates of Hell couldn't prevail against. That leaves you with Rome or with Orthodoxy, your choice, it certainly isn't anything that needed refounding by Luther, Calvin, [insert name here] 1,500 to 2,000 years later.

Hello again young man,

1) Regarding confessing to a priest and its biblical derivation, I drew this post-Resurrection scene from John 19: 19-23:

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19 Now when it was late the same day, the first of the week, and the doors were shut, where the disciples were gathered together, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst and said to them: Peace be to you. 20 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples therefore were glad, when they saw the Lord. 21 He said therefore to them again: Peace be to you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you. 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them; and he said to them: Receive the Holy Ghost. 23 Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them: and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.

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The Catholic Church looks especially to the understanding of the Christians of the early centuries - those of the Apostolic, sub-Apostolic and Patristic eras (basically from the time of Jesus until about the seventh century AD) - for what is known as a "consensus patrum," a consensus of the Church Fathers, in trying to understand its Sacred Scriptures. We find that the early Christians did confess to a priest. My dim understanding is that this was sometimes a public confession rather than the private one practiced now. Here's one specimen from a non-biblical author, Origen of Alexandria (circa 185 - 253/254 AD), who, though not canonized as a saint, was tremendously influential:

"In addition to these there is also a seventh [remission of sins], albeit hard and laborious: the remission of sins through penance, when the sinner washes his pillow in tears, when his tears are day and night his nourishment, and when he does not shrink from declaring his sin to a priest of the Lord...." ("Homilies on Leviticus," brackets mine).

2) We Catholics do not pray to the pope, but we do pray for him, he for us (and here I include Catholics and non-Catholics), and we Catholics pray with him.

Peace in and out.