Catholic/marrying non-catholic

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Does a practicing Catholic need special permission to be married to a non-catholic in a non-catholic ceremony? there will be no priest present at the ceremony. Quotes from the catechism would be helpful in either case Yes/no thank you in advance.
 
I thought it was OK, but it doesn’t appear that way from the CCC or CCL.

**CCC: **
**1633 **In many countries the situation of a mixed marriage (marriage between a Catholic and a baptized non-Catholic) often arises. It requires particular attention on the part of couples and their pastors. A case of marriage with disparity of cult (between a Catholic and a non-baptized person) requires even greater circumspection.

CCL:
Can. 1108 §1 Only those marriages are valid which are contracted in the presence of the local Ordinary or parish priest or of the priest or deacon delegated by either of them, who, in the presence of two witnesses, assists, in accordance however with the rules set out in the following canons, and without prejudice to the exceptions mentioned in cann. 144, 1112 §1, 1116 and 1127 §§2 - 3.

Can. 1112 §1 Where there are no priests and deacons, the diocesan Bishop can delegate lay persons to assist at marriages, if the Episcopal Conference has given its prior approval and the permission of the Holy See has been obtained.
 
During my time away from the Church, I married a non-Catholic. We were married by a Protestant preacher at Walt Disney World.

When I was ready to return to the Church, I had asked a few priests from 3 different parishes how the Church would view our marriage. I had grave concerns about this myself.

They didn’t seem to have a problem with it, and in fact welcomed us with open arms.

I think you have to keep in mind that depending on where you are in life you may fall in love with and want to marry a non-Catholic. While some families may frown on the idea (like mine did at the time), what do you do if you’re a Catholic in a predominately non-Catholic area or society?
 
Yes, you need 2 dispensations from your bishop: one to marry a non-Catholic and another to marry in a non-Catholic ceremony. Without them, the marriage will be invalid.

Yes, you can do it anyway, and later go to confession (because it’s a sin to enter into an invalid marriage) and get the marriage convalidated later (assuming no one had prior marriages), in the case of coming back to the Church (praise God! 🙂 ). But it’s not the best way to get married.

usccb.org/laity/marriage/marriagefaqs.shtml
 
maryj said:
Does a practicing Catholic need special permission to be married to a non-catholic in a non-catholic ceremony? there will be no priest present at the ceremony. Quotes from the catechism would be helpful in either case Yes/no thank you in advance.
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A Catholic needs specific permission to Marry a non-Catholic Baptized person. A Catholic who attempts to Marry a non-Baptized person the Marriage is automatically invalid unless a dispensation from Canon Law is granted.

The Catholic also needs to obtain a dispensation from form for the location and a dispensation from form from having a Catholic representative witness the exchange of vows.

So yes, three dispensations or permissions are required as I understand it.
 
Maryj,

Discuss this with your parish priest. You can look up these canons on the internet so you’ll have an idea of what is involved, but rely on that discussion. Keep in mind that the Catechism itself is not the legal text of Church law. The code of canon law is.

There is a distinction in canon law between a permission, which is usually needed for something to be lawful, and a dispensation, which is needed not only for something to be lawful but also to be valid as well.

The form of the celebration, the place of the celebration, and the condition of the other person are three different issues.
  1. The form of the celebration
For a non catholic ceremony, the dispensation from the canonical form mentioned canon 1127 §2 is normally required for the validity of marriage. (We’d look there rather than to canon 1112 §1, which is a little off topic here. If a non Catholic wedding is allowed, the officient would not be the delegated Catholic lay minister mentioned in that canon.). One exception would be that it is required for a lawful marriage to an “Eastern” Orthodox according to the rites of the Orthodox Church but not for validity. There are other more technical exceptions you can discuss with the priest if he believes they would seem to apply.
  1. The place of the celebration.
The norms for the place of celebration of a mixed marriage or the marriage of two Catholics and the permissions are found in canon 1118. These are not dispensations per se, just permissions.
  1. The condition of the other party to the marriage.
The permission to marry (it is not a dispensation per se) a non Catholic is found in canon 1124. Certain conditions must be met for this permission to be given.

However, if the other party is not baptized as well as being a non Catholic, then an additional dispensation from the impediment of disparity of cult mentioned in canon 1086 §1 is necessary for the validity of marriage. Certain conditions must be met for this permission to be given.
 
Thank you all for your help. My best friends son(catholic) is getting married, in may, at the girls lutheran church in another state from where we all live.I guess I just assumed a priest would be present at the ceremony, until today when I asked if they had gotten a hold of a priest in the town they will be getting married in to witness the marriage ceremony. The reply was that the minister at her church told them that he does not allow that in his church, and it is not necessary:( . well now I’ve got some info to show my friend. Thank you once again for the information, I will talk with her tomorrow. God Bless you all.
 
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