Another question on marriage

[miggy12]

I’m sorry about opening another thread on marriage but I have a question and don’t know if it has been asked before.

My brother married a girl who is not catholic and married by the JP in a hotel ballroom. My question is this.

Is the marriage valid. My mother told me that if you marry someone who isn’t the same religion as youself, it isn’t valid. Especially if it is done by the JP.

I hope this makes sense.

 

[jmcrae]

It’s definitely a questionable situation.

He would not be eligible to receive the Sacraments in a Catholic Church until such time as they have the marriage “blessed” in a Catholic Church (that is, become validly married), but at the same time, if they get divorced at some point in the future, they would still have to go through the Marriage Tribunal process to get a Declaration of Nullity - they would not be able to just assume that the marriage was invalid. (In a case like this, they would most probably get the Declaration of Nullity in less than a week, but the point is that they would not be able to give themselves the declaration of Nullity - they’d have to wait for the Tribunal to make its ruling before either of them could remarry.)

In other words,there is a tiny sliver of a chance that it could be a valid marriage, but because of the rather wide swath of a chance that it isn’t, he can’t receive the Sacraments in the Catholic Church right now.

 

[miggy12]

Thank you Jmcrae. I forgot to mention that she is a divorcee and unfortunately they have a little boy and I have a feeling they will probably get a divorce if things don’t improve in their marriage.

I was afraid of that though. My other brother also married a divorcee, first through the JP and then in the catholic church. And she wants nothing to do with our faith.

Oh well, to each his own. But luckily he will not give up our religion to please her even though he attends other churches to appease her. I think she hates the church because they don’t believe in divorce and she thinks that is wrong on the churches behalf.

Anyway, enough rambling on. At least I married a WONDERFUL man and have 2 beautiful daughters and my mother just loves him to peices.

 

[OutinChgoburbs]

Actually, she should have gone through the decree of nullity process for it to be valid, even if she is not Catholic.

So, your brother probably lacks a valid Catholic marriage on two counts: His wife is technically still married to her first husband until she receives a decree of nullity, and your brother did not apply for a dispensation from form to have his marriage witnessed by a jp in a hotel ballroom.

The good news: If, Heavens to Mergatroid, they get a divorce (because we want the best for both of them, and we want him to have a change of heart, and we want her to come along with him, right?), he is not going to have to go through a full process with a Tribunal. All he has to do is prove he married in front of a jp in a hotel ballroom, and that the marriage was never rectified by a priest (convalidated, or “blessed”). This usually take an affidavit signed by two people who know he did not, witnessed by a priest or other person appointed by the Church. Its called “lack of form” or “defect of form”.

 

[1ke]

I’m sorry about opening another thread on marriage but I have a question and don’t know if it has been asked before.

My brother married a girl who is not catholic and married by the JP in a hotel ballroom. My question is this.

Is the marriage valid.

Unless your brother applied for and received permission from the bishop to marry a non-Catholic and marry outside the Catholic form of marriage his marriage is invalid.

My mother told me that if you marry someone who isn’t the same religion as youself, it isn’t valid. Especially if it is done by the JP.

I hope this makes sense.

This is not true. Only Catholics must follow Canon Law regarding who they marry and where they marry. Non-Catholics can marry each other validly in a religious or civil ceremony.