Can a Catholic marry a fallen away Catholic?

  • Thread starter Thread starter MilesVitae
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
M

MilesVitae

Guest
I know that a Catholic may marry another baptized Christian, and even a non-Christian if they get a dispensation.

But, can a Catholic marry a fallen away Catholic? Heresy, schism, and apostasy bear the penalties of automatic excommunication. If I understand it correctly, excommunication bars one from receiving the Sacraments (among other things). This being so, would a fallen away Catholic (or any excommunicated person, I suppose) be able to marry a Catholic?
 
Marriage in the Catholic sense is to receive the Sacrament of Matrimony. Someone who is excommunicated, though still catholic, is barred from the Sacraments until she/he repents and receives absolution. So you would first have to convince the excommunicant to repent and be absolved of her/his sins before the marriage can take place. Same goes with the fallen away Catholic who may not be necesarrily excommunicated.
 
MilesVitae said:
I know that a Catholic may marry another baptized Christian, and even a non-Christian if they get a dispensation.

But, can a Catholic marry a fallen away Catholic? Heresy, schism, and apostasy bear the penalties of automatic excommunication. If I understand it correctly, excommunication bars one from receiving the Sacraments (among other things). This being so, would a fallen away Catholic (or any excommunicated person, I suppose) be able to marry a Catholic?
Click to expand...
A fallen away Catholic is not necessarily excommunicated. Most Catholics who no longer practice are not excommunicated. To my knowledge, failing to practice does not carry that penalty.
 
I guess the advice I would give (not really mine, but the apostle Paul’s, from 2 Corinthians) is “be not unequally yoked”. The tendancy in such cases is that the stronger in the faith is usually pulled down by the weaker, not the weaker being pulled up by the stronger.

The other aspect is the potential strife it will cause in your marriage. My wife and I are both Catholic, but we don’t see eye to eye on all aspects of the faith. And, it causes us problems sometimes.

I’d think long and hard about it. And PRAY.
 
The fallen away Catholic would have to have been either convicted of an excommunicatable offense ( such as heresy) by an eccesial court, or a latie sentate excommunicatable offense such as procuring an abortion.

Otherwise, there is no excommunication.

A fallen away Catholic could have declared several heretical statements, or appeared to have gone into schism, but unless they were declared so by a Church tribunal, their is no excommunication.
 
As others have pointed out, a “non-practicing” or “fallen away” Catholic has not necessarily been automatically excommunicated, because it’s likely that he or she has probably not actually engaged in “apostasy, heresy, or schism” but rather simply drifted away. While this is sad and potentially problematic, to my knowledge it presents absolutely no impediment to marriage.
 
MilesVitae said:
But, can a Catholic marry a fallen away Catholic?
Click to expand...
To marry a fallen away Catholic, the bishop must give permission and the couple must meet the following criteria:
*
Can. 1071 §1. Except in a case of necessity, a person is not to assist without the permission of the local ordinary at:

4/ a marriage of a person who has notoriously rejected the Catholic faith;

5/ a marriage of a person who is under a censure;

§2. The local ordinary is not to grant permission to assist at the marriage of a person who has notoriously rejected the Catholic faith unless the norms mentioned in ⇒ can. 1125 have been observed with necessary adaptation.*

Canon 1125 refers to the requirments for mixed marriage. So, the practicing Catholic and non-practicing Catholic would have to meet the following criteria:

*Can. 1125 The local ordinary can grant a permission of this kind if there is a just and reasonable cause. He is not to grant it unless the following conditions have been fulfilled:

1/ the Catholic party is to declare that he or she is prepared to remove dangers of defecting from the faith and is to make a sincere promise to do all in his or her power so that all offspring are baptized and brought up in the Catholic Church;

2/ the other party is to be informed at an appropriate time about the promises which the Catholic party is to make, in such a way that it is certain that he or she is truly aware of the promise and obligation of the Catholic party;

3/ both parties are to be instructed about the purposes and essential properties of marriage which neither of the contracting parties is to exclude.*
 
Brendan said:
The fallen away Catholic would have to have been either convicted of an excommunicatable offense ( such as heresy) by an eccesial court, or a latie sentate excommunicatable offense such as procuring an abortion.

Otherwise, there is no excommunication.
Click to expand...
I thought that heresy (obstinate denial or doubt of some truth which must be believied with faith), as well as schism and apostasy, was a latie sentate excommunicatable offense. I just found a list of offenses which bear the penalty of automatic excommunication. Can. 1364 supposedly states that heretics, schismatics, and apostates bear this penalty.

By the way, when I say fallen away Catholic, I do not mean merely someone who has stopped actively practicing their faith. I mean someone who has fallen away from the Church, someone who has (for instance), become a member of some other denomination (and, thus, committed heresy and schism) or left the Christian faith altogether (apostasy).
 
odhiambo said:
Marriage in the Catholic sense is to receive the Sacrament of Matrimony. Someone who is excommunicated, though still catholic, is barred from the Sacraments until she/he repents and receives absolution. So you would first have to convince the excommunicant to repent and be absolved of her/his sins before the marriage can take place. Same goes with the fallen away Catholic who may not be necesarrily excommunicated.
Click to expand...
If the fallen away Catholic is not excommunicated, why would it be necessary (as far as the validity of the Sacrament is concerned) to persuade them repent and receive absolution?
 
MilesVitae said:
I thought that heresy (obstinate denial or doubt of some truth which must be believied with faith), as well as schism and apostasy, was a latie sentate excommunicatable offense.
Click to expand...
Yes, such a situation can involve excommunication:

Can. 1364 §1. Without prejudice to the prescript of ⇒ can. 194, §1, n. 2, an apostate from the faith, a heretic, or a schismatic incurs a latae sententiae excommunication.

However, there is more to it than that, as the following canons also apply. There are circumstances in which the penalty would not apply-- such as being unaware of the law or penalty, being a minor, etc:

vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P4W.HTM
MilesVitae said:
By the way, when I say fallen away Catholic, I do not mean merely someone who has stopped actively practicing their faith. I mean someone who has fallen away from the Church, someone who has (for instance), become a member of some other denomination (and, thus, committed heresy and schism) or left the Christian faith altogether (apostasy).
Click to expand...
The practicing Catholic needs serious counseling from their priest to discuss why they would even contemplate such an unsuitable marriage in the first place. They would then need permission of the Bishop to proceed if the priest believes the Catholic can meet their obligations.

I find it doubtful that a Catholic can do so under such circumstances as you describe.
 
MilesVitae said:
If the fallen away Catholic is not excommunicated, why would it be necessary (as far as the validity of the Sacrament is concerned) to persuade them repent and receive absolution?
Click to expand...
First, this is not necessarily the case, as the canons I have supplied detail how such a situation should be handled.

However, to answer your question about why someone might need sacramental confession even if not excommunicated: just because someone has not be excommunicated does not mean they are in a state of grace.
 
However, to answer your question about why someone might need sacramental confession even if not excommunicated: just because someone has not be excommunicated does not mean they are in a state of grace.
Click to expand...
Of course, but this does not effect the validity of the sacrament, which is what I asked about in that last post (although, I assume that receiving the sacrament of matrimony, or any other sacrament of the living, while in the state of mortal sin would, itself, be a sin).
 
1ke said:
Can. 1364 §1. Without prejudice to the prescript of ⇒ can. 194, §1, n. 2, an apostate from the faith, a heretic, or a schismatic incurs a latae sententiae excommunication.
Click to expand...
I looked up Canon 194…and I don’t understand how it relates. I want to make sure i am not missing something important.

Heresy is defined as obstinate, post-baptismal denial or obstinate doubt of something which must be believed with faith. What precisely does “obstinate” mean?
The practicing Catholic needs serious counseling from their priest to discuss why they would even contemplate such an unsuitable marriage in the first place. They would then need permission of the Bishop to proceed if the priest believes the Catholic can meet their obligations.
Click to expand...
I find it doubtful that a Catholic can do so under such circumstances as you describe.
Click to expand...
Why do you find it doubtful?
 
MilesVitae said:
I looked up Canon 194…and I don’t understand how it relates.
Click to expand...
It doesn’t. Canon 194 applies to clerics or those holding other ecclesial offices.

See this set of canons regarding additional criteria related to imposed penalties:

vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P4W.HTM
MilesVitae said:
Why do you find it doubtful?
Click to expand...
How is a Catholic to assure the bishop that they will be able to freely exercise their religion and bring up all children in the Catholic faith in this situation?

I am doubtful. It is a very bad idea and lacking in prudence for a Catholic to enter a relationship with such a person who is a self-proclaimed heretic or apostate.
 
If this is not a hypothetical question, then the parties involved need to make an appointment with a priest, lay out all the facts, and then receive guidance from the diocese on the canonical status of the fallen away Catholic and what is necessary to pursue marital preparation.

I hope the practicing Catholic comes to their senses.
 
1ke said:
It doesn’t. Canon 194 applies to clerics or those holding other ecclesial offices.
Click to expand...
Okay. The reference to it confused me.
How is a Catholic to assure the bishop that they will be able to freely exercise their religion and bring up all children in the Catholic faith in this situation?
Click to expand...
I am doubtful. It is a very bad idea and lacking in prudence for a Catholic to enter a relationship with such a person who is a self-proclaimed heretic or apostate.
Click to expand...
More so than any other mixed-marriage?
 
MilesVitae said:
By the way, when I say fallen away Catholic, I do not mean merely someone who has stopped actively practicing their faith. I mean someone who has fallen away from the Church, someone who has (for instance), become a member of some other denomination (and, thus, committed heresy and schism) or left the Christian faith altogether (apostasy).
Click to expand...
Oh. Ignore my answer, then… I defer to these others!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top