Baptism, Holy Communion

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Hello everyone, new here. I have a question that I hope somone should answer for me.

I was raised and am still a Catholic. That will never change. I married a presbyterian and now have two children 5 and 2. Since my wife relocated for me, I told her we could have the kids baptized in her church. My question is… Can my kids recieve their First Holy Communion if baptized in the Presbyterian Church?

Thank you
 
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WEAKFISH:
I have a question Can my kids recieve their First Holy Communion if baptized in the Presbyterian Church?Thank you
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Welcome! If your question is, can the children receive their First Holy Communion in a Catholic Church, the answer is no. They are Presbyterians, not Catholics.

May I ask, were you married by a priest or deacon? (Not that it would make a difference in the answer to your question.) Please just ignore the Q if you’d rather not answer.

God be with you,

JMJ Jay
 
This would be an excellent question for Ask an Apologist. I will give you an answer from what I understand, and I am not well versed in Catholicism – I am hoping that my comment will prompt discussion that leads to a more exhaustive answer.

The Catholic Church recognizes the Baptisms of Children outside of the Catholic Church as valid. Likewise, if you left the Catholic Church and were married outside of the Church after 1983? – your marriage is also considered valid.

Anyways, I believe, your child can receive first Communion at the Catholic Church if you begin raising your child as Catholic and send them to all of the classes that are required before first communion. If you are not going to raise your children as Catholic individuals – then the answer is “no” for the most part. There are exceptions that can be made for individuals outside of the Catholic Church so that they can receive communion in extraordinary and dire circumstances, but this is not one of them.

I do have to say that if you consider yourself Catholic at this time and you have chosen to raise your children outside of the Church you may be in hot water. Likewise, if you are currently Catholic and were married outside of the Church you are definitely in hot water and should look into getting your marriage convalidated. ← I think that that is the process that I am looking for…
 
When I got married, I asked several priests to attend be involved in the ceremony. I was rejected by several. A family friend (priest) said it was O.K. and the church would recognize the marriage. I got married in her church (Presbyterian).

I have been told by several people (CCD teachers, friends) that my kids could receive their First Holy Communion in a Catholic Church. I was also told by two different priests that I cannot have them baptized in a Catholic church after being baptized in a Presbyterian church as we only recognize one baptism for the forgiveness of our sins, and for that matter the Catholic Church would recognize the Presbyterian Baptism as simply a Christian Baptism same as Catholic.

Have I been misinformed?
 
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WEAKFISH:
Hello everyone, new here. I have a question that I hope somone could answer for me.

I was raised and am still a Catholic. That will never change. I married a presbyterian and now have two children 5 and 2. Since my wife relocated for me, I told her we could have the kids baptized in her church. My question is… Can my kids recieve their First Holy Communion if baptized in the Presbyterian Church?

Thank you
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Welcome to the forums. I also think you should post this in the “Ask an Apologist” section, but more importantly I think you should talk to your parish priest. He will be able to get the details of the situation and come to an informed decision.
 
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WEAKFISH:
When I got married, I asked several priests to attend be involved in the ceremony. I was rejected by several. A family friend (priest) said it was O.K. and the church would recognize the marriage. I got married in her church (Presbyterian).
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I’m afraid your priest friend was wrong. Only the local ordinary (in this case your diocesan bishop) may grant a dispensation of form to allow Catholics to marry outside the Church. I would recommend speaking with your parish priest about having your marriage convalidated.
I have been told by several people (CCD teachers, friends) that my kids could receive their First Holy Communion in a Catholic Church. I was also told by two different priests that I cannot have them baptized in a Catholic church after being baptized in a Presbyterian church as we only recognize one baptism for the forgiveness of our sins, and for that matter the Catholic Church would recognize the Presbyterian Baptism as simply a Christian Baptism same as Catholic.

Have I been misinformed?
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The Catholic Church does indeed recognize any baptism which is performed in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit by a minister who intends to baptize (if your children were baptized using a different form the baptism may be invalid – again, speak to a priest). What I’m not sure of is whether or not this is sufficient to allow them to receive First Communion without first being officially received into the Church.
 
Thanks for all the welcomes, and I’m sorry if I posted in the wrong location. Is it possible for a moderator to move the thread to the appropriate section?

Thanks again.
 
It deals with other religions so I think that you are safe.
 
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Shibboleth:
It deals with other religions so I think that you are safe.
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That’s what I was thinking when I posted the question…Thanks.
 
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WEAKFISH:
Thanks for all the welcomes, and I’m sorry if I posted in the wrong location. Is it possible for a moderator to move the thread to the appropriate section?

Thanks again.
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“Ask an Apologist” is a special section of the forums, as only the offical apologists employed by Catholic Answers are allowed to post answers. It’s okay to double-post both there and somewhere else on the forums, and “Non-Catholic Religions” seems as good a place as any for this question.
 
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WEAKFISH:
Hello everyone, new here. I have a question that I hope somone could answer for me.

I was raised and am still a Catholic. That will never change. I married a presbyterian and now have two children 5 and 2. Since my wife relocated for me, I told her we could have the kids baptized in her church. My question is… Can my kids recieve their First Holy Communion if baptized in the Presbyterian Church?

Thank you
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Dear Weakfish,

Based upon comments you made subsequent to this post let me see if I can provide some answers, but there are some questions that also need to be posed.
  1. You said you were married in her Presbyterian church. Did you get a dispensation for this marriage? If not, your marriage is not recognized as valid by the Catholic Church due to “lack of form.”
  2. Your children are Presbyterian, not Catholic, and therefore cannot make their first communion in the Catholic Church *unless *you have the “received” into the Church via a profession of faith (which is all that is necessary for children of this age). They can then go through the normal sequece of sacraments as any Catholic child would. On the other hand, if they are over seven years of age then the RCIA process is suggested for them.
  3. If the answer two question 1 was that you did not get a dispensation, you should not be participating in the sacraments until you get your marriage blessed (the technical term is “convalidated”) by a priest or deacon. If this is the first marriage for both of you, there should be no problem in doing this.
Should you wish to communicate privately on this, you may send me a PM or email.

Deacon Ed
 
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