Civil and Religious Wedding Regulations

[1SeekingChrist]

Hi,

I have a bit of a problem and I’m trying to find information wherever I can as fast as I can. My fiance and I are getting married 4 weeks from today and because of a difficulty getting a hold of our parish’s premarital coordinator we haven’t been able to attend our diocese’ marriage prep weekend until next weekend, after which we get a discount on the marriage license, so we’ve been holding off on getting the license. Well, as of today, my state has gone into a government shut down and one of many services suspended, the issuance of marriage licenses is halted… Which means we may not be able to get the license by our wedding date. The invites are out, reception hall reserved, honeymoon planned etc. Now my question is, is it likely that our priest will ok the wedding ceremony without the civil license and just follow through on the paperwork after as soon as the government is functioning again or could this postpone the wedding date?

I’ve contacted our priest on the phone but he’s calling back later and I don’t know I’ll be able to get the call and since it’s 4th of July weekend we probably won’t hear anything all weekend.

Anyways, any informed guesses or answers are greatly appreciated. Thank you!

 

[SonCatcher]

Now that’s an extraordinary situation. I’d be interested to know how it pans out. Perhaps a quick call to your representative about the issue will encourage him to act more quickly on the budget (presuming that’s the issue).

 

[Digitonomy]

One possibility that occurs to me is that if you are near another state, you may be able to drive across the state line, and have the civil marriage formalized there. However, that will probably involve a priest who can marry couples in that state. The coordination between the priests involved and the permission of the respective dioceses will probably be a chore.

 

[1ke]

Well, as of today, my state has gone into a government shut down and one of many services suspended, the issuance of marriage licenses is halted… Which means we may not be able to get the license by our wedding date.

Trust me. Your state government will not remain shut down for 4 weeks.

The invites are out, reception hall reserved, honeymoon planned etc. Now my question is, is it likely that our priest will ok the wedding ceremony without the civil license and just follow through on the paperwork after as soon as the government is functioning again or could this postpone the wedding date?

It is not legal to marry without a license and no your priest will not do so unless he wants to get in legal trouble with the state and hot water with his bishop.

Anyways, any informed guesses or answers are greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Take a deep breath and relax. You will be fine. You are overly worried. Again, the government is not going to remain shut down for four weeks. Obtain your license when the office reopens.

 

[Digitonomy]

Your state government will not remain shut down for 4 weeks.

This is probably true. Here’s the Wikipedia article on government shutdowns. The longest one mentioned is the federal shutdown in 1995, which lasted about 3 wks. It probably would have been shorter, had it not been over the Christmas and New Year holidays.

 

[Will_S]

It is not legal to marry without a license and no your priest will not do so unless he wants to get in legal trouble with the state and hot water with his bishop.

How interesting. Marriage in the Church is actually something completely different than, and separate from, the civil marriage recognized by the state. The Church shouldn’t be bound by civil marriage law regarding licenses just as the State isn’t bound by canon law.

I was married outside the United States and where I was married, Catholic marriage and civil marriage are completely separate and require two distinct “ceremonies”. Catholics are married in Church in front of a priest and witnesses and then, if they wish civil recognition of their marriage, they go to a government office and fill out some paperwork. The two things can be done days, weeks, or months apart. Either one can precede the other.

 

[Corki]

How interesting. Marriage in the Church is actually something completely different than, and separate from, the civil marriage recognized by the state. I

In the US, a priest is allowed by the state to witness a wedding and to sign the wedding certificate. This privalege comes with the duty to follow the laws in place.

The Church shouldn’t be bound by civil marriage law regarding licenses just as the State isn’t bound by canon law.

I can’t think of any instance where the state would be acting as an agent for the Church, but by signing the marriage certificate, the priest (or deacon) is acting as an agent for the state. So, the comparison is not valid.

 

[1ke]

Marriage in the Church is actually something completely different than, and separate from, the civil marriage recognized by the state. The Church shouldn’t be bound by civil marriage law regarding licenses just as the State isn’t bound by canon law.

It’s not a matter of should or shouldn’t. It’s a matter of what is. The Church voluntarily cooperates with the civil law in the matter of marriage of Catholics and requires Catholics to follow civil law.

In the US, the priest is the civil witness as well as the witness for the Church. The priest is obligated to follow civil law and the Church requires him to.

I was married outside the United States and where I was married, Catholic marriage and civil marriage are completely separate and require two distinct “ceremonies”. Catholics are married in Church in front of a priest and witnesses and then, if they wish civil recognition of their marriage, they go to a government office and fill out some paperwork. The two things can be done days, weeks, or months apart. Either one can precede the other.

Not in the United States. Your story is not relevant. The OP is in the US.

 

[puzzleannie]

I was married outside the United States and where I was married, Catholic marriage and civil marriage are completely separate and require two distinct “ceremonies”. Catholics are married in Church in front of a priest and witnesses and then, if they wish civil recognition of their marriage, they go to a government office and fill out some paperwork. The two things can be done days, weeks, or months apart. Either one can precede the other.

OP is in the US, you were not. rules are different
in many countries clergy are not allowed to be the official witness of a marriage under civil law, so a separate civil procedure is required.

in all US states the clergyman is also the official witness in civil law so he must conform to that law in all aspects. No license no marriage, or he will lose his ability to witness weddings at all, and in addition possibly be in violation of canon law.

 

[Phemie]

How interesting. Marriage in the Church is actually something completely different than, and separate from, the civil marriage recognized by the state. The Church shouldn’t be bound by civil marriage law regarding licenses just as the State isn’t bound by canon law.

I was married outside the United States and where I was married, Catholic marriage and civil marriage are completely separate and require two distinct “ceremonies”. Catholics are married in Church in front of a priest and witnesses and then, if they wish civil recognition of their marriage, they go to a government office and fill out some paperwork. The two things can be done days, weeks, or months apart. Either one can precede the other.

Yours is an unusual situation because countries such as France and Germany, where separate civil & religious marriage ceremonies are required, forbid clergy from marrying couples who are not civilly married. The Church complies and requires that a marriage certificate be presented before the religious ceremony.

 

[Brendan]

My wife and I were in a similar situation.

She is Canadian, and since we were getting married in her parish Church in Canada, the visa application was for entry for a wife (as opposed to a finace, which is a different visa).

As the wedding date approached, the visa had not arrived. Net result was that I could marry her, but I could not have my wife move in with me, she would have had to remain in Canada.

So the parish pastor went to the bishop and recieved permission to witness the Sacrament of Marriage, but not sign or file the marriage licence.

After the wedding, my wife entered the US as a regular Canadian visitor. since she was not legally married to me.

After the visa arrived two months later, we filed a signed marriage license. And my wife entered the US as my wife on a green card.