confirmation

[rmcjr]

yes, please, i have a question I was told by my parish that because i was married in the lutheran chuch and never received an annulment or dispensation, my marriage has not been blessed by a catholic priest, that the marriage is not valid and i can not act as a confirmation sponsor,is this true?( it was my first marriage, my partners second who is not catholic. thank you.

 

[Seatuck]

yes, please, i have a question I was told by my parish that because i was married in the lutheran chuch and never received an annulment or dispensation, my marriage has not been blessed by a catholic priest, that the marriage is not valid and i can not act as a confirmation sponsor,is this true?( it was my first marriage, my partners second who is not catholic. thank you.

Were you Catholic at the time of the marriage? Did you know you were contracting an invalid marriage?
Your partner may still be married to his first spouse. Without a decision from a marriage tribunal we don’t know if there was freedom to marry.
A Catholic in an invalid marriage is not an acceptable candidate to be a sponsor because of the poor example they are living. But this can be corrected.

 

[FAB]

yes, please, i have a question I was told by my parish that because i was married in the lutheran chuch and never received an annulment or dispensation, my marriage has not been blessed by a catholic priest, that the marriage is not valid and i can not act as a confirmation sponsor,is this true?( it was my first marriage, my partners second who is not catholic. thank you.

The short answer is yes.
There is some info thast is missing. are you still married to the same person or divorced and then remarred since you mention dispensation and annulment.
As a Catholic, if married in another church without dispinsation, you marrige is veiwed as being invalid, and you are not in full communion with the Church.
If you divorced and remarried out side the church, you are still in the same boat.
If you were married in the Lutheran church with dispensation, the marriage is a sacramental marrige, so if you remarreid without an annulment, you would then be in a state of sin, basically the same situation.
If you are living with someone and not married, same problem.

To be in commuion with the Church to be able to be a sponsor, if married, the marrage must be in accordance with the Church’s cannon. The sponsor is not a possition of honor, it is a spirital possition, to set an example and the lead the person in the faith. Thats hard to do if you have’nt followed the faith.

 

[Angela77]

I don’t see how whether or not you were married by the Catholic Church has anything to do being a Confirmation sponsor. If you’re simply “unmarried” from the Church’s perspective, why is that a problem?

 

[rmcjr]

I am Catholic was a catholic when married in the Lutheran service my marriage in the Lutheran church was my first marriage, my husbands marriage to me was his second marriage, he was divoriced.

 

[rmcjr]

Thank you Angela.

 

[FAB]

I am Catholic was a catholic when married in the Lutheran service my marriage in the Lutheran church was my first marriage, my husbands marriage to me was his second marriage, he was divoriced.

If you are now single, not remarried and a practicing Catholic, in communion with the Church, which would include not living with anyone outside of marriage, there wouldn’t be an issue.

 

[Seatuck]

I don’t see how whether or not you were married by the Catholic Church has anything to do being a Confirmation sponsor. If you’re simply “unmarried” from the Church’s perspective, why is that a problem?

Because she is living with a man she is not married to. A sponsor needs to be a Catholic in good standing with the church and able to receive the sacraments themselves.

 

[TrueLight]

I don’t see how whether or not you were married by the Catholic Church has anything to do being a Confirmation sponsor. If you’re simply “unmarried” from the Church’s perspective, why is that a problem?

Since she is Catholic and did not get a dispensation, wouldn’t that mean they are essentially cohabiting?

And yes, we are not tribunals. I’m just sayin’.

 

[Seatuck]

I am Catholic was a catholic when married in the Lutheran service my marriage in the Lutheran church was my first marriage, my husbands marriage to me was his second marriage, he was divoriced.

Your husband’s first marriage could be valid. This makes your relationship adultery. You will want to have him file paperwork with the church for “annulment”.

As a Catholic you should have followed the church teaching on marriage. You did not do so and contracted an invalid marriage. This makes you unable to receive the sacraments and unable to be a sponsor.

Make an appointment with your pastor and start things in motion to change this situation.

 

[rmcjr]

This is an example why Catholics are turning their backs on their catholic faith, I was married in a Church , have been in a loving marriage for 20 years,it is recognized as legal in this country,it was a spirtual vow, and shame on the catholic church, it is 2011. I would have been a sponsor that showed a good spirtual example to this child.

 

[Annabelle_Marie]

This is an example why Catholics are turning their backs on their catholic faith, I was married in a Church , have been in a loving marriage for 20 years,it is recognized as legal in this country,it was a spirtual vow, and shame on the catholic church, it is 2011. I would have been a sponsor that showed a good spirtual example to this child.

Shame on the Church? And you want to be a sponsor for confirmation into the Catholic Church? According to the eyes of the Church…you are married to someone who was not free to marry…still married to someone else.

If it had been the first marriage for the both of you then you could have had your marriage blessed and been done with it.

Sorry but I don’t see how you could be a good spiritual example to a child who is being confirmed into the Catholic Church…would you tell them it’s ok to pick and choose what they want to believe?

 

[James_Trevor]

This is an example why Catholics are turning their backs on their catholic faith, I was married in a Church , have been in a loving marriage for 20 years,it is recognized as legal in this country,it was a spirtual vow, and shame on the catholic church, it is 2011. I would have been a sponsor that showed a good spirtual example to this child.

Are you Catholic now? Talk to your priest about this entire situation, you’ll thank me in 5 years.

 

[Jim_Roberts]

yes, please, i have a question I was told by my parish that because i was married in the lutheran chuch and never received an annulment or dispensation, my marriage has not been blessed by a catholic priest, that the marriage is not valid and i can not act as a confirmation sponsor,is this true?( it was my first marriage, my partners second who is not catholic. thank you.

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Yes, it isi truw, You just answered your own question. You indicate that your husband is his own marriage. Of course your marrriage in not valdid until a Bihop dispenses the first which of course meant yo9u living in mortal sin.

JESUS I TRUST IN YOU

jr

 

[puzzleannie]

yes, please, i have a question I was told by my parish that because i was married in the lutheran chuch and never received an annulment or dispensation, my marriage has not been blessed by a catholic priest, that the marriage is not valid and i can not act as a confirmation sponsor,is this true?( it was my first marriage, my partners second who is not catholic. thank you.

information is confusing, but if the pastor (not a secretary) who knows your entire situation told you that you cannot be a confirmation sponsor, then you cannot.

1. The sponsors should be willing to accept the responsibility of assisting the parents in developing the faith life of the child, and give personal testimony of Christian living. Those who do not participate regularly in the sacramental life of the Church, especially in the Eucharist, and/or who are living in an irregular marriage are not qualified to be godparents or sponsors.

this from our diocesan policy since I cannot get at canon law right this minute

 

[Seatuck]

This is an example why Catholics are turning their backs on their catholic faith, I was married in a Church , have been in a loving marriage for 20 years,it is recognized as legal in this country,it was a spirtual vow, and shame on the catholic church, it is 2011. I would have been a sponsor that showed a good spirtual example to this child.

It kind of looks to me like you turned your back on the Catholic faith when you got into an invalid marriage. We don’t know if your husband was able to make a spiritual vow with you . He already made some type of vow to another woman.

Why didn’t you follow the church teaching on marriage?

 

[Jim_Dandy]

I am Catholic was a catholic when married in the Lutheran service my marriage in the Lutheran church was my first marriage, my husbands marriage to me was his second marriage, he was divoriced.

Your marriage in a Lutheran Church to a divorced man, without his frist marriage (if it qualified) having been annulled, and without the proper dispensation, and without the witness of a Catholic priest, was an “attempted marriage,” not a marriage. Legal, but not sacramental. You are angry at the Church because you disobeyed Church law. Sure, the Church should let you and others do anything you wish, regardless of God’s law upon which the Church’s laws are based – that’s logical .

“But I say to you that every one who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery” Mt 5:32 RSV. The footnote reads: The expression except . . .unchastity occurs also in 19.9; it is absent from accounts in Mk 10.11-12 and Luke 16.18 (compare also Rom 7.2-3.

19.9 RSV - And I say to you whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another, commits adultery.

Mk 10.11-12 RSV - And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

Luke 16:18 RSV- Every one who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery."

The reverse is also true, of course.

Jim Dandy

 

[puzzleannie]

I would have been a sponsor that showed a good spirtual example to this child.

perhaps that is how you see the situation subjectively, but the Church, specifically the pastor who is presenting this candidate for Confirmation, is required to follow canon law, and the law states sponsors must be Catholics in good standing. A Catholic who has rejected the marriage laws of the Church, rejecting a sacrament of Christ, is not in good standing. Now that you know, you can take steps to return to the sacraments, and being honored by a teen who asks you to be a sponsor is one such occasion of grace that brings many people back. For the sake of that teen you want to be a model of the Christian life and an example of a good Catholic, which you cannot do if you are separated from the sacraments.