I wish you could have been here to hear my mum screech with joy when i read your email to her. I know theres no guarentees but this is just great news. Does the time frame not matter, his marriage was from 1958-1967 then he and mum civilly married in ‘68’. Does this also mean that if his first marriage is annulled, he and mum could have a sacremental wedding?
The time-frame does not matter. It might be more difficult to contact the interrested parties, and it might be more difficult for them to accurately recall what happened, but there is no requirement that a petition must be submitted within a certain time.
Understood and thanks.
I have attended a Protestant Church which has communion each month - first Sunday. When communion is offered, the ministers says in effect: "This is the Lord's Table, and anyone who professes faith in Christ, is in love and charity with his/her neighbors, and intends to serve God to the best of his/her ability is welcome to this table."
The minister has indicated that he considers any further decision should be made by the communicant, not the pastor. Communion, he says, is essentially between God and the individual, not between the Church and the individual. If the communion is not valid for any reason, that's for God to decide, not a priest.
Two questions:
(1) Should a Catholic accept that invitation and receive communion there? The church certainly invites all who believe in and seek to serve Christ.
(2) Isn't that a good way to view communion - as between Christ and the communicant? Then neither the Church nor the priest has to judge as to whether a person may or may not receive? Matt. 7:1I know of at least two elderly couples, at least one of them divorced, who have no problem sleeping in separate bedrooms, but who are basically “married” for economic reasons.
But the Church’s teaching is strongly against cohabitation under all circumstances. It is scandal, a sin, and should always be abstained from. When priests allow it, they are allowing the two parties to live in danger. And if the two parties do not feel they are in any immediate danger, they are putting in danger the young children involved in the scandal who witness the couple living together outside of marriage. The children will find nothing wrong with cohabitation and there goes Church teaching down the drain.
But Father, couldn’t they live as brother and sister, even having not obtained declarations of nullity?
I wouldn’t think so.
At the risk of getting too personal (and it might be too late for that), simply put no, because the situation itself of living together causes legitimate scandal. I do know elderly persons (man and woman, but I won’t say “couple”) who do this, and I know young people of college age who have done this (and yes, it was a legitimate relationship–there was nothing going on behind the scenes) but what makes this particular scenario different (and let’s keep in mind that it’s not a hypothetical, but very personal one) this couple has had 5 children. That changes the “living as brother and sister” part–even if they are doing so at the present time, and have been for a long time. It is one thing for people outside of the household to make assumptions (and the sin of gossip), but it’s another thing when something in the external forum makes it obvious that at least for a long period of time, they weren’t “as brother and sister.”