Civil marriage for Catholics who can't marry

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TheAdvocate197

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We all know that if you are not capable of sexual intercourse, the Church will not marry you. So what if, say, a Catholic man were a war vet who was injured and incapable of the conjugal act, but met a woman with whom he felt deep affection. What, morally, would preclude him from marrying civilly? It’s not like he’d be having sex…
 
What would be the purpose for the civil marriage? You mean for civil benefits like health insurance and such?
 
Any attempt at invalid marriage is always morally wrong.

Nothing changes that.
 
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Yes, for things like health insurance and such. Exactly.
 
Not worth losing your soul for a $20 copay.

People can be friends, men and women can be friends!
TheAdvocate197 said:
the Church will not marry you.
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Actually, the Church cannot marry those who are permanently impotent. It is not a matter of “will not”, in order to marry there are conditions.
 
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Then don’t call it marriage.

But we have to find other ways for people to live in community together, to form relationship, and to be taken care of.

Similar concerns should be shown towards LGBT Christians who seek to follow the church. Currently, they don’t have much room vocation-wise. But no one is meant to be alone. They can’t marry, but surely they should be able to live with others and be financially and socially stable.
 
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Could the couple not share living space and expenses without getting a marriage license or calling the relationship marriage?
 
Yes, but there are certain financial and legal benefits they may wish to avail themselves of.
 
this would be putting money before God.

its attempting to scam God , and scam money providers.

its dishonest. remember that story of that couple that tried to scam the Holy Spirit by keeping money back
 
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So it’s not that they’ve been deprived of their rights. It’s that they wish to claim some benefits.

In which case Roseeurekacross has it right. They would be trying to scam God and the government.
 
Of course I wrote “will not” because the Church “cannot.”
 
I do not disagree, Father. What of circumstances where the intent isn’t necessarily marriage but to establish a next of kin relationship? Or perhaps enter into a joint guardian role of the dependent children of another (a widow, perhaps, maybe one who herself is also impotent due to some later accident)?

Is that trying to imitate marriage, necessarily, if they went into it with non-sexual affection for each other and know that no sexual actions of any type should be untertaken and they maintain separate bedrooms? What if the state allowed such all inclusive contracts but distinguished it from marriage? It seems like a gray area for discernment, assuming the partners in the contract all properly understood and agreed with the Church that they are not married and can’t be married.
 
VicaroVicaro said:
Only the One true Holy without spot or blemish Catholic Church has the ability to marry someone
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What if I told you that in marriage, the couple performs the Sacrament and the Church is the witness? Or did I miss that in the Catechism or a reference to the Pappas?
VicaroVicaro said:
celibate, take a vow, Obstain
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VicaroVicaro said:
pray to the saints and for the dead
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VicaroVicaro said:
pay your dues when it comes to the indulgences
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You keep using these words. I don’t think you know quite what they mean. 😛
 
PaulfromIowa said:
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TheAdvocate197:
Yes, for things like health insurance…
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A disabled veteran is already going to have health coverage.
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Only if their disability is service related by VA rule. I know a lot of people claim “disabled vet” who might be vets and might be disabled but the two are not related.

No VA determination, no VA coverage.
 
I know I’m in the minority here, but such cases are why I wish we had legal civil unions instead of civil marriages. The state’s interest is fundamentally about contracts and property rights. The argument for what this church intends by marriage isn’t even comprehensible to the secular world anymore.
 
VicaroVicaro said:
Only the One true Holy without spot or blemish Catholic Church has the ability to marry someone, and no marriage will ever be deemed valid without the Holy act of consummation,
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Where are you getting these ideas?

Non Catholics, non Christians, enter perfectly valid natural marriages every single day.

And an unconsummated marriage may be valid (and Sacramental if both are validly baptized and the marriage is valid).
 
78% of those baptized as Catholics have turned their back on the faith. Just for reasons like this. “Hi, you are not fit for marriage for a reason that is cruel and un-merciful. Now, I can go back to my cozy and comfortable life and good luck.” I’d bet that the vast majority of those who leave have little or no problem with the doctrine of the church. It is the lack of mercy or understanding of life’s difficulties or seeming indifference to the hopes and needs of people that drives people away.
In this case, while it wouldn’t be called a Josephite marriage because marriage necessitates the ability to be able to consummate, there has to be something more than, “can’t do it; good luck and have a nice life.”
Jesus was all about mercy over simple slavery to Law. Pope Francis is trying to effect that mercy. This is one Catholic who hopes he succeeds.
 
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