Baptism

[rbarrett]

Hello, everyone. New to Catholic Answers and new to the faith (about 2 years). Attended RCIA 2 years ago and my wife and I of 25 years both seeking annulments fromn prior marriage. We are in our late 50’s and I was married at 18, but it ws not a sacramental marriage as I’ve never been baptised.

Is it correct that I can’t get baptised until all the annulment process has been completed by the tribunal. Seems like we are discussing two issues that don’t related to each other and having a marriage that was not sacramental, I would think i can get baptised now and look forward with joy when my wife and I can obtain a catholic marriage and receive the sacrements. Any thoughts.

 

[DianJo]

You went through RCIA and you weren’t baptized at the Easter Vigil??

Your previous marriage has nothing to do with you being baptized - at least not to my knowledge. There are many people who have been married more than once and have gone through RCIA and been baptized at the Easter Vigil. After that, then they will address the issue of annulment.

You could google Canon Law and see if says anything different but I don’t think it will.

Welcome Home!!

 

[cameron_lansing]

Hello, everyone. New to Catholic Answers and new to the faith (about 2 years). Attended RCIA 2 years ago and my wife and I of 25 years both seeking annulments fromn prior marriage. We are in our late 50’s and I was married at 18, but it ws not a sacramental marriage as I’ve never been baptised.

Is it correct that I can’t get baptised until all the annulment process has been completed by the tribunal. Seems like we are discussing two issues that don’t related to each other and having a marriage that was not sacramental, I would think i can get baptised now and look forward with joy when my wife and I can obtain a catholic marriage and receive the sacrements. Any thoughts.

Let me address this as a canonist and a deacon.

The difficulty is that we would understand you to be in an irregular marriage until you are both determined free to marry. Each of you, as I understand from the limited facts provided, is presumed to have entered into a prior valid (which need not be sacramental to be valid) marriage. Consequently neither of you would been considered free to marry each other.

No one can guarantee that your prior marriages will be found invalid, and that must be the case for both of you before you can have or enter into a marriage recognized by the Catholic Church…

If you were baptized under the present circumstances without a resolution of your marital status, you would not be eligible to receive the Eucharist (which is part of the initiation of an adult, Baptism and Confirmation being the other sacraments).

You might well receive the counsel to live as brother and sister because of the appearance of objective adultery (which would be a source of scandal and public wonderment to practicing Catholics) that is presented to the community, until and unless the marital situation is resolved.

So bear with the Church as we pray for a happy resolution to your situation.

 

[Phemie]

You went through RCIA and you weren’t baptized at the Easter Vigil??

Your previous marriage has nothing to do with you being baptized - at least not to my knowledge. There are many people who have been married more than once and have gone through RCIA and been baptized at the Easter Vigil. After that, then they will address the issue of annulment.

You could google Canon Law and see if says anything different but I don’t think it will.

Welcome Home!!

I don’t think it’s his previous marriage that is the stumbling block but his present, invalid marriage which he cannot make valid until both he and his present wife obtain decrees of nullity, something which is not a given regardless of what the general public thinks.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

Hello, everyone. New to Catholic Answers and new to the faith (about 2 years). Attended RCIA 2 years ago and my wife and I of 25 years both seeking annulments fromn prior marriage. We are in our late 50’s and I was married at 18, but it ws not a sacramental marriage as I’ve never been baptised.

Is it correct that I can’t get baptised until all the annulment process has been completed by the tribunal. Seems like we are discussing two issues that don’t related to each other and having a marriage that was not sacramental, I would think i can get baptised now and look forward with joy when my wife and I can obtain a catholic marriage and receive the sacrements. Any thoughts.

Technically speaking if your wife, the one you married at 18 was Baptized then your Marriage would become Sacramental at the moment of your Baptism. You would want the original Marriage to be found invalid or have the use of a privilege, so that you could Marry the person you are living with now.