Engaged to a protestant, have some questions

[Alix1912]

I have a question, given that your husband is Catholic would anything really dangerous happen if you just decided to raise your children Catholic? I am a protestant Baptist, but I don’t consider Catholicism so far out there that I would put my marriage at stake to uphold my Protestantism. They are both Christian.

If you read my entire situation you would know that I did not enter into this marriage expecting to be married to a devout Catholic. He was very lapsed when we married. He the rediscovered his faith about 8 months into our marriage.

So my question is why do I have to make all the compromises. I have to be OK with having to have our marriage “validated” by the Catholic Church. I have to be OK with NFP (despite the fact that the bulk of the work and the consequences of failure fall on me not him). I have to run the family gambit of reorganizing and planning family holidays to accommodate his need for mass attendance in addition to the Lutheran Services we all attend.

The Lutheran MS Church is probably at this point in time the most similar to the Catholic Church other than the Eastern Orthodox Church. We share many of the same doctrine and believes. However, Catholicism is a way of life, and the Catholic Church does not encourage cooperation or compromise when dealing with interdenominational marriages.

That is the problem. I would love to work with my husband to find something that works for both of us. However, the more deeply he finds his faith, the more mine is ripped away from me.

I tried approaching him with compromises. Like OK we can raise the kids Catholic but they have to wait a year or two to do 1st communion and DD is not wearing a bridal veil because it freaks me out. He looked at me like I had suggested setting up a satanic alter in the middle of the house.

The problem with inter denominational marriages that involve a Catholic spouse is that the only way they really work is if the protestant spouse is totally OK giving up most of their traditions, believes and is fine having their kids grown up being taught that one of their parents beliefs are false or at a minimum deficient.

It’s very tough.

 

[GreyWings]

I don’t think a Catholic and a Protestant are interfaith. Of course, there are some differences, but there are way more similarities. You both believe the Bible, in Christ, and other core doctrines and that is most important. I am speaking of people who are truly practicing Christians not just Christian in name.

There are differences, though, and these differences are very important to Catholics, and Catholicism is often misunderstood by non-Catholics. You know what was said in my presence among protestants, as a Catholic family was being discussed? “They’re Catholic… but they’re spiritual.”

Yes, I felt pretty offended. :ehh: