Civil marriage

[henrykc]

Dear Father,

I have a question.
I am from Poland. I am getting tomorrow married at the courthouse in a Civil Ceremony. Our families are in Poland and we plan next summer in Poland to get married in Catholic Church and have a nice wedding. Right now we are forced to have a civil ceremony here in Los Angeles becasue our families cannot come to USA, and I need to start the process for my future wife to obtain the green card (I am a citizen).

My question is, what’s Church position for the vows exchanged in the court, are they valid in the eyes of the Church? Can we consume our marriage now, or we have to wait till we get married in Church next summer? Regardless if the vows in the court are valid or not, we are going to get married in the Church.
Thank you,
Henryk

 

[Mt19_26]

The marriage would be invalid in the eyes of the Church and you would have to wait until you are married in the Church before you could consumate your marriage.

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but isn’t it a sin for a Catholic to get married outside the Church without a dispensation?

 

[mosher]

henrykc:

Dear Father,

I have a question.
I am from Poland. I am getting tomorrow married at the courthouse in a Civil Ceremony. Our families are in Poland and we plan next summer in Poland to get married in Catholic Church and have a nice wedding. Right now we are forced to have a civil ceremony here in Los Angeles becasue our families cannot come to USA, and I need to start the process for my future wife to obtain the green card (I am a citizen).

My question is, what’s Church position for the vows exchanged in the court, are they valid in the eyes of the Church? Can we consume our marriage now, or we have to wait till we get married in Church next summer? Regardless if the vows in the court are valid or not, we are going to get married in the Church.
Thank you,
Henryk

Because you are Catholic it would not be valid. For it to be valid you would need permission from the Archbishop of Los Angeles to be married in the manner that you speak of. If you do not obtain permission from the Archbishop it would be a sin to consumate the marriage because in the eyes of God the two of you would not be married.

 

[Deacon_Ed]

Mt19:26:

The marriage would be invalid in the eyes of the Church and you would have to wait until you are married in the Church before you could consumate your marriage.

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but isn’t it a sin for a Catholic to get married outside the Church without a dispensation?

Depends on the reason. I was married in Switzerland because, at the time, I was in the military in Germany and the Germans would not recognize (or permit) a religious marriage if there was no civil marriage. Therefore, no dispensation was needed since it was to fulfill a civil obligation. It also was not a valid marriage (because of the lack of dispensation) and consequently I went back to the my room on base and my wife went back to her room on base until we actualy were married two days later. BTW, for legal reasons we celebrate the civil marriage date since that was the one the U.S. and the military recognized…

Deacon Ed