A
Aboveallbereal
Guest
Browsing in a shop today I could not help overhearing three men in their thirties, that is the marriageable generation, discussing the upcoming marriage of a non practising cohabiting but nominally catholic relative of one of them who had initially been refused marriage by the local parish Priest until his or her mother had gone and bullied the clergyman into submission.
Those of us living in areas with nominal catholic majorities will be familiar with the braggart stories of how the clergy were told where to get off in respect of marriage ceremonies when they had the impertinence to require some form of evidence that those presenting were actual believers.
My question. What is the correct course of action for local clergy in places like Ireland Spain etc where the vast majority are nominally catholic and still for god knows what reason present for first marriages in a Church they are uninterested in but are in truth non practising lapsed agnostics openly sinful and unrepentent in re cohabitiation.?
Does the clergy allow the Church be used for hatch match and dispatch ceremonies without asking any questions or do we expect some kind of engagement with the faith before allowing acess to the sacrament?
Those of us living in areas with nominal catholic majorities will be familiar with the braggart stories of how the clergy were told where to get off in respect of marriage ceremonies when they had the impertinence to require some form of evidence that those presenting were actual believers.
My question. What is the correct course of action for local clergy in places like Ireland Spain etc where the vast majority are nominally catholic and still for god knows what reason present for first marriages in a Church they are uninterested in but are in truth non practising lapsed agnostics openly sinful and unrepentent in re cohabitiation.?
Does the clergy allow the Church be used for hatch match and dispatch ceremonies without asking any questions or do we expect some kind of engagement with the faith before allowing acess to the sacrament?