Can Catholics attend same-sex marriage ceremonies?

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It depends. There are different cases for different people. The Catholic Church offers general principles, and there is no general principle that says “Thou shall not attend a same-sex marriage.”

Some may argue that attending one causes scandal, and that may be true for some cases.

It may also be true that attending your OWN son’s wedding ceremony (for example) would be a serious scandal to the family, and may do long-term damage. After all, I assume the hypothetical son would already know of his parents’ rejection of same-sex marriage.
 
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A lot of people here like to speak for the Church. There is no official Catholic answer. There is no place in the catechism that says “Don’t attend a gay marriage.”

Like many things, per Catholicism’s own moral framework, this question depends on many other circumstances.

P.S. I think the answer of many people here would change depending on if they had LGBT children, or close relatives, for example.
 
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The quote kind of fits within Church teaching, maybe the language could be changed to be less offensive, but it does make sense.
 
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A simple question, would you attend a religious ceremony of someone of an entirely different religion, say Hindi? From a Catholic perspective this is an invalid religious marriage however it is clearly a civil union none the less. A same sex marriage is also invalid in a religious sense in the Catholic church, but it is also is a legal civil one.

In a simple sense, civil unions mostly impart a set of relational and property rights. It makes one member or the other the sole successor financially and gives the other control over the deceased body; don’t kid yourself families origin can and will do insensitive or morally questionable if they can. There are also of course tax advantages. I think that if two people are to create a life together, they at least deserve legal protection when it comes to person and property. Also for all of you that envision, especially gay men, as addicts to polyamory; why wouldn’t you support a civil union that promotes a monogamous relationship? Remember it is same sex sex that the Catholic Church opposes, not people in that state of being. While agree it’s unlikely; but a sexless same sex civil union I suspect would not violate Church teachings.

We went through the same thing years ago with Catholics attending non-Catholic marriages. The Church to this day still doesn’t consider these marriages valid in a religious sense, but it has gotten over thinking that its members are participating heretical sacrilege by attending. I believe it is more than enough to attend a same sex marriage or civil union simply on the basis of saying I love you and I’m glad you’ve found happiness. There are plenty of things that we all find happiness in that others might not think right . I’m sure there are many out there who don’t see any happiness for themselves in (or even take offense at) strict, conservative, Catholicism.
 
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PJH_74 said:
A simple question, would you attend a religious ceremony of someone of an entirely different religion, say Hindi? From a Catholic perspective this is an invalid religious marriage however it is clearly a civil union none the less. A same sex marriage is also invalid in a religious sense in the Catholic church, but it is also is a legal civil one.
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The Church does recognize the validity of the marriages of non Catholics. If they came into the Church (given it was a first marriage) the marriage would automatically become sacramental on the baptism of both parties.

A same sex marriage will never be recognized by the Church.

I would not attend the wedding of a divorced and remarried couple, a same sex wedding or the wedding of a Catholic who is marrying outside the Church without a dispensation.
 
Elf01 said:
A same sex marriage will never be recognized by the Church.

I would not attend the wedding of a divorced and remarried couple, a same sex wedding or the wedding of a Catholic who is marrying outside the Church without a dispensation.
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I never claimed the Church ever recognized same sex marriage. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think such dispensations are considered required anymore. I’d be willing to bet most Priests wouldn’t even think twice anyway. My own Aunt married a Lutheran in the 1960s, my Grandmother inquired about a dispensation but the Priest responded that it would be completely silly to miss her wedding and to not worry about it.
 
Say you are an EMT and you need to enter a building where a same-sex marriage is taking place to attend to one of the guests who’s had a heart attack. This would be an acceptable reason.

Otherwise, if you are a serious Catholic, do not attend. It is not an occasion for celebration. It is sadness all around to know somebody is thinking a same-sex relationship is marriage and a whole bunch of people are following along in the delusion.
 
gcshapero said:
The short answer is we may not since it is a direct violation of God.
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“For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.”

We are guilty of some sin or other so why are we picking on one(the act of homosexuality), let him without sin cast the first stone.
 
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That is a life or death situation you cannot compare it to homosexuality, all I am saying is give over with the gay bashing
 
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This forum is constantly bringing up homosexuality more than anything, the thread about abuse in the church turned into a topic on homosexuality!!! Does anyone remember this group.

en.wikipedia.org

Westboro Baptist Church - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
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Learner1969 said:
We are guilty of some sin or other so why are we picking on one(the act of homosexuality), let him without sin cast the first stone.
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I’m not saying that we are perfect for rejecting one sin. We will never be perfect until we are in heaven, but we are obligated to accept that all sin is to be rejected and we need to work as best we can to reject it.

Just because we are guilty of one sin doesn’t mean we throw up our arms and accept more of it.

With all due respect, I don’t understand what your point was. Was this your saying that because we are sinful beings that we are allowed to continue? I don’t mean that in a snarky way, it’s a genuine question.
 
Learner1969 said:
This forum is constantly bringing up homosexuality more than anything, the thread about abuse in the church turned into a topic on homosexuality!!! Does anyone remember this group.
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You’re invoking the WBC because as Catholics we are simply saying that we are not to accept and participate in a gay marriage? That is a cheap strawman move.

We aren’t attacking anyone or being hateful, we are simply acknowledging what the Church teaches and recognizing that if a same-sex wedding is being celebrated, it does against the Church’s definition and therefore we simply aren’t supposed to go along with it.

It doesn’t mean we disavow or unfriend these people – but we don’t go along with something we know for a fact goes against God.
 
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I understand, my point was that everyday I look on this forum there is yet another thread about homosexuality. It just gets to me sometimes, I consider myself a Christian where I love everybody equally homosexuals and heterosexuals, I do not like to make comments on their lifestyles but I do have opinions but I like to keep them to myself.

Peace be with your spirit.
 
My priest told me recently he blessed a same sex marriage so that told me it is acceptable by the church, is he wrong?
 
Learner1969 said:
I understand, my point was that everyday I look on this forum there is yet another thread about homosexuality.
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I understand where you’re coming from and I too think the level of focus on this one topic is often excessive, but at the same time we have to realize this is an issue many Catholics are struggling with or concerned about, even if you and I are not worried about it or not struggling with it or think the level of focus on it is excessive or uncharitable.
 
Same Sex marriage is a delusion. I’m not going to apologize for stating that fact. No matter how hard they pretend, or how much the government supports their delusion, the fact of the matter is that marriage is a reality which same-sex couples do not meet the requirements for.

I don’t expect you to agree with me, but I’m not going to water down my position just because you don’t like to hear it.
 
Yes, the priest is wrong.

The Church could not be clearer on this point, and that priest needs to repent and seek absolution for supporting those people in their grave sin.
 
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