Dual clergy weddings

[malta]

In my part of the country marriages between Protestants and Catholics are frequent. Often the couple wants the protestant clergy to assist or for the ceremony to take place in the protestant church. With the Episcopal church and other mainline protestants on the cusp of accepting “gay marriage” and their acceptance of contraception, divorce and remarriage etc. has the time come for us to refuse to participate in these mixed marriage ceremonies?

After all we cannot concelebrate the eucharist with them because they have a different understanding of the priesthood and communion. Shouldn’t the same logic apply to the different understanding of marriage?

 

[malta]

Let me be more specific. I am proposing that in the case of a mixed marriage the priest be required to carefully determine if both parties, particularly the non catholic have the same understanding as the church does regarding marriage and that the couple be required to marry according to the catholic rite with a catholic priest or deacon only.

This will avoid any confusion that could arise through the involvement of a non catholic minister whose church denies the indissolubility of marriage or the one man one woman definition of marriage.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

Actually the Church does not allow what you describe. A Catholic priest cannot share a wedding ceremony. The Church does allow for with necessity the wedding to take place in another church building or to be witnessed by another person other than a Catholic priest. Bishops will need to take a close look now at what they are approving when allowing marriages to take place in these other churches by other protestant clergy. We cannot share the Eucharist, Annointing of the Sick, Reconciliation, Ordination, Confirmation, because of differences in theology and soon we will not be able to share the Sacrament of Marriage because of differences of theology. All that will be left for us to share Sacramentally will be Baptism.

 

[Charles]

When we got married I was not Catholic. We had a Priest preside, a Southern Baptist preacher stand for something (readings I think) and witness, and it was held in the Chapel of the Methodist University my wife and I attended. I know before anything else I was required to sign a paper for the Priest stating I would agree to have my children raised in the Catholic faith.

When I became Catholic eight years later we did our marriage vows following my confirmation and first Eucharist by a Priest in a Catholic Church in what the Priest referred to as full communion with the Catholic Church. Does this sound right or did I misunderstand something?

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

Your wife was Catholic. Did she receive permission to enter into Marriage with a non-Catholic Christian? If not then that is why the priest wanted to Convalidate it when you entered the Church. If she did then there was nothing obvious that would cause the original marriage to be invalid and at the time of your Confirmation you just simply renewed your Marriage vows. No new Sacrament of Marriage was celebrated as would have been the case if it were Convalidated.

 

[Charles]

I must confess that we were not well educated in our faith when we married almost 20 years ago. I assume she had permission since it was a priest who married us and he had me state in writing that our family would be raised in the faith. The priest in Tokyo, where I became Catholic, seemed clear that this ceremony (or reaffirmation?) was important for us because I was now Catholic and we were both in communion with the Church.