Catholic Converts Married to Protestants

[Elaina]

My question is my friend is going through RCIA. I am her sponsor. She is on her third marriage, her husband and her were married by a JP and he is not affiliated with any church. Can she take communion when she becomes a Catholic? I have been told yes and also no by different Priests. Also, I am divorced and contemplating remarrying my ex of whom we have two children and two grandchildren. In order to get married in the church would I have to have the first marriage annulled but that is silly since I am remarrying him. THis is where it gets so confusing!!!

 

[ridesawhitehors]

The red flag comes up on the 3 marraiges and raises the question of how the catecumen would be brought into the church. Are all of her previous marriages invalid? Have they been annulled? If so, the status of her husband would not be an impediment to reception of the eucharist. However, my husband is not a catholic, I am a convert, and when I was brought into the Church our marraige was convalidated. A more knowlegable person could answer these questions more clearly however.

I’m not sure how to answer the second question - but what a unique situation and congrats! God bless!

 

[Elaina]

She is on her third marriage, was married by a jp. He is of no denomination and not interested in the Catholic faith. Since she is just coming into the Catholic church, she has no annulments, just two legal divorces.

 

[SMHW]

Elaina:

My question is my friend is going through RCIA. I am her sponsor. She is on her third marriage, her husband and her were married by a JP and he is not affiliated with any church. Can she take communion when she becomes a Catholic? I have been told yes and also no by different Priests. Also, I am divorced and contemplating remarrying my ex of whom we have two children and two grandchildren. In order to get married in the church would I have to have the first marriage annulled but that is silly since I am remarrying him. THis is where it gets so confusing!!!

I think your friend needs to speak to someone in charge at the parish about getting her previous marriages annulled. As hads already been stated, she may not be able to enter the Church at all if her current marrige is invalid. There are so many factors that could impact her situation. You don’t say if she is already a baptized Christian or if she is a catechumen. We don’t know the circumstances of the previous husbands. We don’t know whether her current ‘husband’ was ever baptized and/or has had any previous legal marriages.

As for your situation, you probably need to talk to the same person in charge. Was your marriage a valid Catholic marriage in the first place?

 

[Elaina]

I am a convert, I nor my husband were Catholic when I was married. When i converted I was divorced and my Priest told me I was fine not to worry about it , that it was all prior to my baptism and confirmation. He says he would deny noone in his church. I am asking on here because I have heard others say it is not allowed to take communion if you are divorced. I guess it depends on who you ask and what day! Neither of us were Catholic when these divorces occurred, what I am asking is if her being married to a noncatholic impacts her entering into full communion to the church.

 

[SMHW]

Elaina:

I am a convert, I nor my husband were Catholic when I was married. When i converted I was divorced and my Priest told me I was fine not to worry about it , that it was all prior to my baptism and confirmation. He says he would deny noone in his church. I am asking on here because I have heard others say it is not allowed to take communion if you are divorced. I guess it depends on who you ask and what day! Neither of us were Catholic when these divorces occurred, what I am asking is if her being married to a noncatholic impacts her entering into full communion to the church.

Being divorced will not prevent anyone from entering the Church or from receiving communion. That is why it was not a problem for you to enter the Church. In the case of your friend, the fact that her current husband is non-Catholic is not a problem either.

But marrying again (to a new person) after divorcing will be an impediment to entering the Church or receiving Communion. The Church recognizes marriages to be valid, even if they are not Catholic marriages. So in the case of your friend, the Church would generally consider that she is still validly married to her first husband in which case she cannot be validly married to the third. She will want to see if she can have the first marriage rulled to be null. She’ll also need to get a ruling on the second. If she and the previous husbands are unbaptized, a Pauline Privelege may apply.

In any case, these rulings take some time so the sooner she checks into things, the better.

In your case, since you say you were baptized when you entered the Church, your marriage was probably valid but it wouldn’t have been sacramental. If you wish to marry your ex-spouse you would probably just have to contact your parish like any couple that wishes to marry. Your parish should tell you what, if anything, you would need to do because of your legal divorce.

 

[Elaina]

That makes sense and thank you for the info. I will pass it on to my friend! God Bless.