Episcopal wants to become catholic

[jeannie_p10]

My mother-in-law is Episcopal who has not attended mass for many years. She has recently as of last month begun attending a Catholic Church and has decided that she would like to become Catholic. The parish priest has encouraged her to join RCIA. He said that she could be confirmed in April of this year. My mother-in-law was previously married in the Episcopal church, had four children, then was divorced. The marriage was not annulled. Many years later, she remarried a non-baptised man who was never married before, again in the Episcopal church and is still married to him currently. Wouldn’t she have needed an annulment of her first marriage to remarry in the Episcopal church? Wouldn’t all of this have a large impact on her becoming Catholic? It seems that the Catholic Church she is attending either is not concerned about these details and hasn’t asked, or, it will all emerge later on and she will be greatly disappointed in being denied permission to become Catholic in April.

I am a Catholic but I am not really sure about how the Episcopal Church handles divorce/remarry, or what the Catholic Church recognizes as valid marriages as far as the Episcopal church goes.

 

[1ke]

Yes, your MIL would need to have her first marriage examined by the Catholic marriage tribunal for validity. If found invalid, she would then be able to enter the Church.

She is currently in a state that would preclude her from receiving any of the sacraments.

She should speak to the priest about it as soon as possible. It is disappointing that this has not been discussed with her and yet the priest is giving her a timeline for entering the Church.

She cannot receive the sacraments while in this invalid marriage-- unless of course she is willing to live as brother and sister with her current husband.

 

[1ke]

I am a Catholic but I am not really sure about how the Episcopal Church handles divorce/remarry, or what the Catholic Church recognizes as valid marriages as far as the Episcopal church goes.

How the EC handles divorce and remarriage isn’t actually relevant. The Catholic Church recognizes God’s law on marriage as applying to them. The first marriage is *presumed *valid. There are a number of factors and details that need to be looked at by the Catholic marriage tribunal.

The Catholic Church recognizes as valid those marriages of non-Catholic Christians, and non-baptized persons, when no divine law impediments exist (for example, prior marriages, close degree of kinship, etc).

Non-Catholics are not bound by the merely ecclesiastic laws on marriage (for example, the form in which someone is married-- place, who witnesses, etc). They are bound by the divine law-- so in this case the prior marriage is an impediment to this current marriage being valid.

Step 1: She needs to talk to the priest. There are MANY variables that need to be discussed.

 

[crazzeto]

The Catholic Church isn’t going to conduct an inquiry into such matters until there’s a real reason to, I assure you this Church will certainly care. Your mother in-law should go to RCIA, and when they ask if anyone has ever been divorced and remarried, just be honest about her situation.