Catholics and protestant weddings

[aship716]

Can a Catholic, who isn’t ordained, officiate at a wedding if it is protestant or secular?

For example, can a Catholic preside at a wedding that is secular and unaffiliated with the Church or is it going against our beliefs of Holy Matrimony?

 

[JulianN]

Can a Catholic, who isn’t ordained, officiate at a wedding if it is protestant or secular?

For example, can a Catholic preside at a wedding that is secular and unaffiliated with the Church or is it going against our beliefs of Holy Matrimony?

Like a judge?

 

[ConfirmedAgnes]

I think the OP means, for example, if a cousin or close friend of yours who is not Catholic asked you to officiate their wedding–would it be appropriate to accept, or would it go against the Church’s teachings?

 

[Tis_Bearself]

For example, can a Catholic preside at a wedding that is secular and unaffiliated with the Church or is it going against our beliefs of Holy Matrimony?

If it’s a regular, expected part of a Catholic’s job, such as being a judge who is also expected to civilly marry people who present a valid license, then the Catholic should discuss it with their confessor because it’s likely the job will require the Catholic to perform marriages that the Church would not approve of, such as gay marriages, marriages of Catholics who are not willing or able to have their marriage regularized by the Church, etc.

If it’s not an expected job function and is just something the Catholic can choose to do or not, I would say no, the Catholic should not officiate.

 

[poche]

It would be irregular/ The only instance in which a lay Catholic would officiate at a wedding would be if there were no priests or deacons available and then only with the permission of the bishop.

 

[TheLittleLady]

Are you speaking of a Catholic Judge or JOP in civil weddings or a Catholic becoming an internet ordained minister, or a lay person appointed by their Diocese to preside at weddings?

 

[Mike_from_NJ]

I suspect this is about regular lay Catholics who don’t normally perform marriages (unlike a judge, ship captain, or county clerk). There are some places where a wedding officiant does not need to be a religious official or hold a job like the ones I mentioned.