Can first cousins marry?

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Kaily:
Catechism of the Catholic Church #2388 Incest designates intimate relations between relatives or in-laws within a degree that prohibits marriage between them. St. paul stigmatizes this especially grave offense: “it is actually reported that there is immoratlity among you…for a man is living with his father’s wife…in the name of the lord Jesus…you are to deliver this man to Satan for destruction of the flesh…” Incest corrupts family relationships and marks a regression toward animality.
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No offense, but “incestuous relationships” as conveyed in the bible normally consist of only mother-son, father daughter, or brother-sister, nephew-aunt, niece-uncle, this to include step-mothers, step-fathers, step-siblings. It doesn’t mention cousins of any degree.
 
YES First cousins can marry, look back in the old testament
Jacob marries not one but two of his first cousins.
And you have to take a session with a priest and answer some of the reasons why you want to be married, Also if you live in a state that it is not legal then you have to go to one where it is legal like cali, or idaho.You do have to have permission from your bishop.
 
space ghost:
another perv… 😃

YOU KNOW I’M KIDDING…RIGHT… 😃
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I see nothing wrong with falling in love with my beutiful second cousin, she IS sooooooo beutiful, a model type, literally! My heart pound everytime i see her, i LOVE HER!
 
Apologia, It says between relatives, well don’t you consider counsins relatives, last I heard. Anyway I don’t see why anyone would want to marry their 1st cousin.

God Bless
 
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Lilyofthevalley:
Folks, this is not a southern phenomina. Unfortunately, I got into this dicussion on another internet site. It is LEGAL to marry your first cousin in the state of Maine. YUCK!!
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Northeasterners: the “original hicks”. 😛
AND in Newport Vermont, they have such a “little” problem with incest there is a mental health facility smack dab in the middle of the town to deal with it.
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What’s it called? “The Cousins’ Clinic”?

Wouldn’t it be a little embarassing to be seen walking in or our of there? Or even to answer questions about where you are going?

“Yeah, Jo Bob, I gotta go down to the clinic today!”

“Really, what for?”
 
OK, other than the fact that I don’t have any first cousins I personally would want to marry (only one male first cousin and he’s 7 years younger than me, plus I’m already married), I really don’t see what the big deal is. Honestly.

I understand that some people seem to have a really big taboo feeling about first cousins marrying, but maybe it’s because I’ve studied history lots that it doesn’t seem taboo to me. There are so many instances of royalty marrying their first cousins you couldn’t count them all.

I think that in some cultures, first cousins are raised closer together though, more like brother-sister relationships, and I think that’s where the taboo comes from. In other cultures they aren’t, and it’s not that unusual, at least it wouldn’t have been before 1900.

First cousins marrying is not the same as incest, where the relationship is inherently disordered not only because of too-close family relationship but because of the perversion of the relationship between generations. Which I think is why you see some rare instances in some cultures where brother-sister incest is acceptable, but never father-daughter or mother-son, etc. Please note that I am not advocating brother-sister incest, only saying that it does occur in some cultures as an accepted practice. It is of course inherently disordered and an evil practice.

To me, it seems much stranger that step-siblings (brothers and sisters that don’t share any biological parents) can marry whether they have been raised together or not. Greg could have married Marsha?! Now, that seems a lot weirder than cousins marrying to me.

For those of you responding with “yuck,” please remember that a real person is asking these questions and have a little more courtesy. It is legal after all. Whether or not all the states allow it, they all have to recognize it once it’s happened.
 
Don’t cite the OT as an example for your argument.

Church law is based on more than what wandering tribes did and didn’nt do.
Memo to all: we may now eat shellfish and pork.

This thread should be closed and buried.
 
It has been an interesting read over the last few days concerning this topic. Some responses have been amusing whilst others have been more enlightening. I would like to thank this person for their response in appreciating that yes this a real question and one that reflects a real situation of genuine love between two cousins who have only recently met and are approaching 40. You may even call it accidental love and one that that has developed with a considerable level of anxiety attached to it as both tried to come to terms with the fact considering the relationship tie and what the legal and religous guidelines were concerning such a relationship, let alone the social implication! At the end of the day it is not incest, it is not illegal and is also something that will be accepted by the catholic church if marriage should ever be considered whether it is inside or outside of the church as well. I personally was interested to know and am comfortable with where it sits from both these angles.

I can also appreciate some of the other comments and the black humour attached to others. Thanks for the laugh! There will always be more than one view of any topic however at the end of the day these two people are very much in love and do not doubt for one moment that they have met their life match.

Thanks again to this particular person for their much valued comments.
 
Why should the legality of a consanguinous marriage even be considered by a Christian?

If, as is proposed, the cousins are past childbearing years this will still weaken the prohibition of these kinds of marriages as it may entice younger Catholic cousins with more fecundity to attempt same?

The Church has very good biological reasons for prohibiting this and science backs the church here. It is not good for the gene pool.

So we don’t want to be encouraging it even among seventy year olds because the very idea of it is abhorrent.

If you are in love with your first cousin please forget it. The Church will not allow it.

My national government lets two men be married. That is legal but it is not moral.

It is not licit in the eyes of the Church.

This thread should be removed as the question has been answered. It is not worth discussing what is a law of the Church.

We may not do it. We are forbidden.

It is that simple.

Roma locuta causa finita est - Rome has spoken, the issue is closed is al we have to know. Whether you want to understand the Church’s reasoning - its sources in holy scripture, science and Holy tradition is not even necessary.

To paraphrase an old European saint “If the Church told me to throw my Bible in the river I would.”

Do you see, we are followers of Christ- absolutely and completely in all matters of faith and morals.
 
Great post George. Could you put up the link so that we can see the formal declaration and hereby close this thread?
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George2:
Why should the legality of a consanguinous marriage even be considered by a Christian?

If, as is proposed, the cousins are past childbearing years this will still weaken the prohibition of these kinds of marriages as it may entice younger Catholic cousins with more fecundity to attempt same?

The Church has very good biological reasons for prohibiting this and science backs the church here. It is not good for the gene pool.

So we don’t want to be encouraging it even among seventy year olds because the very idea of it is abhorrent.

If you are in love with your first cousin please forget it. The Church will not allow it.

My national government lets two men be married. That is legal but it is not moral.

It is not licit in the eyes of the Church.

This thread should be removed as the question has been answered. It is not worth discussing what is a law of the Church.

We may not do it. We are forbidden.

It is that simple.

Roma locuta causa finita est - Rome has spoken, the issue is closed is al we have to know. Whether you want to understand the Church’s reasoning - its sources in holy scripture, science and Holy tradition is not even necessary.

To paraphrase an old European saint “If the Church told me to throw my Bible in the river I would.”

Do you see, we are followers of Christ- absolutely and completely in all matters of faith and morals.
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The Hidden Life:
OK, other than the fact that I don’t have any first cousins I personally would want to marry (only one male first cousin and he’s 7 years younger than me, plus I’m already married), I really don’t see what the big deal is. Honestly.

I understand that some people seem to have a really big taboo feeling about first cousins marrying, but maybe it’s because I’ve studied history lots that it doesn’t seem taboo to me. There are so many instances of royalty marrying their first cousins you couldn’t count them all.

I think that in some cultures, first cousins are raised closer together though, more like brother-sister relationships, and I think that’s where the taboo comes from. In other cultures they aren’t, and it’s not that unusual, at least it wouldn’t have been before 1900.

First cousins marrying is not the same as incest, where the relationship is inherently disordered not only because of too-close family relationship but because of the perversion of the relationship between generations. Which I think is why you see some rare instances in some cultures where brother-sister incest is acceptable, but never father-daughter or mother-son, etc. Please note that I am not advocating brother-sister incest, only saying that it does occur in some cultures as an accepted practice. It is of course inherently disordered and an evil practice.

To me, it seems much stranger that step-siblings (brothers and sisters that don’t share any biological parents) can marry whether they have been raised together or not. Greg could have married Marsha?! Now, that seems a lot weirder than cousins marrying to me.

For those of you responding with “yuck,” please remember that a real person is asking these questions and have a little more courtesy. It is legal after all. Whether or not all the states allow it, they all have to recognize it once it’s happened.
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Brother-sister marriage isn’t inherently disordered or evil. Adam and Eve’s children married each other and so it can’t be something inherently evil since it was part of the way God set up the human race.
 
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tuopaolo:
Brother-sister marriage isn’t inherently disordered or evil. Adam and Eve’s children married each other and so it can’t be something inherently evil since it was part of the way God set up the human race.
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That’s true that that is what we assumed happened, but since it isn’t specifically mentioned in the Scriptures who Cain, Abel or Seth married, then we don’t actually know for sure. For example, God could have created other persons in addition to Adam and Eve to solve this problem. We can’t know for sure. Also, I would argue Adam and Eve and their immediate children were living under a different law than people born later.

George2, I’m not sure why you are in such a state over this. Your comments aren’t accurate as to first cousin marriage being legal and acceptable by the church. Yes, a dispensation may be required, but that is not the same thing as illicit.
 
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George2:
Why should the legality of a consanguinous marriage even be considered by a Christian?

If, as is proposed, the cousins are past childbearing years this will still weaken the prohibition of these kinds of marriages as it may entice younger Catholic cousins with more fecundity to attempt same?

The Church has very good biological reasons for prohibiting this and science backs the church here. It is not good for the gene pool.

So we don’t want to be encouraging it even among seventy year olds because the very idea of it is abhorrent.

If you are in love with your first cousin please forget it. The Church will not allow it.

My national government lets two men be married. That is legal but it is not moral.

It is not licit in the eyes of the Church.

This thread should be removed as the question has been answered. It is not worth discussing what is a law of the Church.

We may not do it. We are forbidden.

It is that simple.

Roma locuta causa finita est - Rome has spoken, the issue is closed is al we have to know. Whether you want to understand the Church’s reasoning - its sources in holy scripture, science and Holy tradition is not even necessary.

To paraphrase an old European saint “If the Church told me to throw my Bible in the river I would.”

Do you see, we are followers of Christ- absolutely and completely in all matters of faith and morals.
Click to expand...
 
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George2:
Don’t cite the OT as an example for your argument.

Church law is based on more than what wandering tribes did and didn’nt do.
Memo to all: we may now eat shellfish and pork.

This thread should be closed and buried.
Click to expand...
I agree with that!!! Just look at the poor childless widow who had to marry all 7siblings from the same family because they kept dying. Yuk, yuk and double yuk.
 
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