Athiest marrying a Catholic

  • Thread starter Thread starter Lil_Cat
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
L

Lil_Cat

Guest
If the athiest is validly baptized are they required to disclose the fact that they are athiest during the marriage prep? I would think not, but I have been wrong before 😛 Also, since the athiest is validly baptized it is a sacramental marriage, correct?
 
Lil_Cat said:
If the athiest is validly baptized are they required to disclose the fact that they are athiest during the marriage prep? I would think not, but I have been wrong before 😛 Also, since the athiest is validly baptized it is a sacramental marriage, correct?
Click to expand...
Interesting question.
Disclose to fiancé or priest that is marrying you?

I see no reason to hide it. Surely not a good start to preparing for marriage!

Are you willing to raise any dc that might result in the catholic faith?

If not, then I think a good priest would have strong misgivings.
 
Lil_Cat said:
If the athiest is validly baptized are they required to disclose the fact that they are athiest during the marriage prep? I would think not, but I have been wrong before 😛
Click to expand...
IIRC, the priest who married my wife and me asked me some questions about my beliefs and upbringing. I have no idea if they were absolutely required by some church document, though.

My situation was a bit different, since I’m unbaptized; my wife’s priest had to get special dispensation from the bishop. “Petition for difference of cult”, he called it, which I still find a strangely funny term. 🙂
Lil_Cat said:
Also, since the athiest is validly baptized it is a sacramental marriage, correct?
Click to expand...
My wife’s priest said that because she was baptized and I wasn’t, the marriage would be a sacrament for her but not for me. I assume this means that if I were baptized, it would’ve been sacramental for both of us, but I don’t know for sure.
 
Lil_Cat said:
If the athiest is validly baptized are they required to disclose the fact that they are athiest during the marriage prep? I would think not, but I have been wrong before 😛 Also, since the athiest is validly baptized it is a sacramental marriage, correct?
Click to expand...
I am in a mixed marriage, my husband is Catholic and I am Lutheran. We were married in a Lutheran Church and later had our marriage radically sanized (sp?). Anyway, we were very upfront with my pastor about my husband’s faith. Entering a marriage hiding things like that from the priest or those around you is not a good sign.

I have to admit I would have misgivings about marrying someone who doesn’t believe in any God at all. On the grand scale of Religous Beliefs Lutheranism and Catholism are pretty close, and my husband and I have struggled a lot with the differences that exist.

I’m not saying it can’t be done successfully, but I don’t think that is a gap I could bridge. I would make sure you invest in some serious premartial counseling (always a good idea no matter the circumstances), and be ready for some really tough situations ahead.
 
Question: did the atheist leave the Church in a formal act of renunciation?
 
Whoa, probably should have made it clear that this is not about me. I neither athiest nor Catholic. I have a friend in this situation and I didn’t want to give her bum information. I have been through a convalidation myself and am trying to avoid one in her case.

Sorry for the confusion :o
 
I think this is a subject that’s very confusing, and you should ask it in Ask an Apologist. You’d get the correct answer from one of them.

My ex-husband said he was an agnostic, and not baptized. He turned out to be an atheist, and both our children are too. It was very difficult and I lost the battle. If my parish priest got permission for me to marry someone who wasn’t baptized, I don’t know about it. The pastor and my cousin who was a monsignor performed the ceremony, no Mass, though. I have no interest in getting married again – once was plenty – but I’ve always thought I’d have grounds for anulment.

We like to think love conquers all, but when you have very different beliefs, it just makes something that’s hard to start much harder indeed.
 
daeve said:
I think this is a subject that’s very confusing, and you should ask it in Ask an Apologist. You’d get the correct answer from one of them.

My ex-husband said he was an agnostic, and not baptized. He turned out to be an atheist, and both our children are too. It was very difficult and I lost the battle. If my parish priest got permission for me to marry someone who wasn’t baptized, I don’t know about it. The pastor and my cousin who was a monsignor performed the ceremony, no Mass, though. I have no interest in getting married again – once was plenty – but I’ve always thought I’d have grounds for anulment.

We like to think love conquers all, but when you have very different beliefs, it just makes something that’s hard to start much harder indeed.
Click to expand...
I don’t know if many pastors actually tell the couple about the dispensation that is required for “Disparity of Cult/Worship” when one of them isn’t baptized. After all, there is really no need to if he’s already decided to recommend to the bishop that it be granted and usually it is. I have yet to know one to be denied in my 12 years of working at the parish. That’s probably why you didn’t know.

Years ago it would probably have been better known that a dispensation was required simply because marrying someone who wasn’t Catholic, let alone not Christian, was a big deal and most people knew they would have to jump through hoops. Today it’s relatively common and people just assume that it’s not a problem.

I know of one petition that was originally denied: my parents’ petition for a dispensation due to consanguinity – they shared a grandmother. They were devastated when their pastor informed them that it had been denied. The pastor was their friend though, a man for whom dad had been an altar server for 25+ years – they weren’t exactly wet behind the ears when they got married. He didn’t leave it at that but went to bat for them and eventually the bishop relented and granted the dispensation. They had a happy 32 year marriage that ended with Mom’s death.
 
I’m not a theologian, but since baptism leaves an indelible mark on the soul, I would expect that the marriage would be sacramental and only a permission for a mixed marriage is necessary.

In such a case, the atheist wouldn’t technically need to disclose his or her beliefs, but it would be really, really good thing to do, since the priest would be able to address potential conflicts between Catholic / atheist families. Being atheist wouldn’t prevent the marriage (I know several atheists married to Catholics in Catholic churches).
gearhead said:
My wife’s priest said that because she was baptized and I wasn’t, the marriage would be a sacrament for her but not for me. I assume this means that if I were baptized, it would’ve been sacramental for both of us, but I don’t know for sure.
Click to expand...
The marriage is a natural marriage, and not a sacramental marriage unless you are baptized.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top