Hindu Wedding?

[severus68]

Dear OP, the best place for advice is with your parish priest. Please contact him as soon as possible so that he can guide you in whatever steps you need to take, but also advise you on issues you should be thinking of long before wedding plans get made. Wearing a bindi should be very far down the list of tpoics to discuss with your boyfriend and your priest at this point,

Good advice.

 

[1ke]

I am still unsure of how a Catholic can marry a non Christian in a Non Christian ceremony and have a dispensation for it.

Because canon law allows it.

The Catholic applies to the bishop for the dispensation through their pastor. The bishop will either grant or deny the dispensation from form.

Does this exist?

Yes. Of course.

I know a Catholic can marry a non Chrisian within the Church. But in another faith? I don’t know if that is allowed.

It is, with a dispensation from form.

 

[1ke]

You could have two ceremonies - His Hindu ceremony and a Catholic Church wedding.

As previously posted, the Catholic Church does not allow this.

 

[Hoosier_Daddy]

Because canon law allows it.

The Catholic applies to the bishop for the dispensation through their pastor. The bishop will either grant or deny the dispensation from form.

Yes. Of course.

It is, with a dispensation from form.

Where in cannon law is this addressed?

Specifically the part about a Catholic marrying a non CHRISTIAN in a non Christian ceremony.

 

[1ke]

Where in cannon law is this addressed?

Specifically the part about a Catholic marrying a non CHRISTIAN in a non Christian ceremony.

I alreadty posted the canons. Canon 1127.3 addressed dispensation from form and Canon 1129 expressly states that this applies to disparity of cult (i.e. marrying a non-Christian) also.

And please note I am not saying a dispensation will be granted, only that it is possible to be granted.

 

[severus68]

As previously posted, the Catholic Church does not allow this.

I must have missed that post, sorry. I know for a fact it is done.

 

[severus68]

It is not a valid marriage if the Catholic fails to obtain a dispensation from form before marrying in some other form-- i.e. civilly. That is the purpose of a dispensation from form-- to be validly marrried outside Catholic form.

Catholics may apply for such a dispensation when they marry a non-Catholic. It is up to the bishop to grant or deny the dispensation. If it is granted, the one and only marriage ceremony is in the non-Catholic form.

And by the Catholic Church.

On the grounds that the bishop has the authority to grant it.

Can.* 1127 §1. The prescripts of ⇒ can. 1108 are to be observed for the form to be used in a mixed marriage.

Nevertheless, if a Catholic party contracts marriage with a non-Catholic party of an Eastern rite, the canonical form of the celebration must be observed for liceity only; for validity, however, the presence of a sacred minister is required and the other requirements of law are to be observed.

§2. If grave difficulties hinder the observance of canonical form, the local ordinary of the Catholic party has the right of dispensing from the form in individual cases, after having consulted the ordinary of the place in which the marriage is celebrated and with some public form of celebration for validity. It is for the conference of bishops to establish norms by which the aforementioned dispensation is to be granted in a uniform manner.

§3. It is forbidden to have another religious celebration of the same marriage to give or renew matrimonial consent before or after the canonical celebration according to the norm of §1. Likewise, there is not to be a religious celebration in which the Catholic who is assisting and a non-Catholic minister together, using their own rites, ask for the consent of the parties.

What does “Eastern rite” here mean please?

 

[Hoosier_Daddy]

I alreadty posted the canons. Canon 1127.3 addressed dispensation from form and Canon 1129 expressly states that this applies to disparity of cult (i.e. marrying a non-Christian) also.

And please note I am not saying a dispensation will be granted, only that it is possible to be granted.

Sometimes it is facinating to learn things. From the USCCB website.

1. Do Catholics ever validly enter into non-sacramental marriages?

Yes. Marriages between Catholics and non-Christians, while they may still be valid in the eyes of the Church, are non-sacramental. With permission, a priest or deacon may witness such marriages.

So it seems the OPs marriage would be non sacramental but valid.
Interesting that a Catholic would want a marriage that is not a sacrament.

1. If a Catholic wants to marry a non-Catholic, how can they assure that the marriage is recognized by the Church?

In addition to meeting the criteria for a valid Catholic marriage (see question #3), the Catholic must seek permission from the local bishop to marry a non-Catholic. If the person is a non-Catholic Christian, this permission is called a “permission to enter into a mixed marriage.” If the person is a non-Christian, the permission is called a “dispensation from disparity of cult.” Those helping to prepare the couple for marriage can assist with the permission process.

This is the part about non christians and I did not know it was another dispensation all together.

1. If a Catholic wishes to marry in a place outside the Catholic church, how can he or she be sure that the marriage is recognized by the Catholic Church as valid?

The local bishop can permit a wedding in another church, or in another suitable place, for a sufficient reason. For example, a Catholic seeks to marry a Baptist whose father is the pastor of the local Baptist church. The father wants to officiate at the wedding. In these circumstances, the bishop could permit the couple to marry in the Baptist church. The permission in these instances is called a “dispensation from canonical form.”

Now here we deal with venue but it only gives an example of another Christian Church. Not the ceremony of an entirely different religion. I assume a different religion can be accommodated. But it never really puts the two issues. 1 A different religion for the spouse and 2 not in the Catholic Church together.

There have got to be some kind of parameters here. I think a Catholic could not partake in a marriage ceremony that offered some kind of pagan sacrifices to other gods. Or satanic worship.

I had a huge question that I did not want to bring up on this thread but the USCCB website answered it. It was how can an unbaptized person enter into a sacrament when baptism is the gateway sacrament. It turns out. They can’t. Which is probably why a Catholic married to a non Christian is not sacramental.

OP:
Are you ok with not receiving the sacrament of Marriage?

So from what I can tell several dispensations are needed.

1. For a Catholic to marry a non Christian
2. For a Catholic to marry outside of the Church

 

[foreveralone]

Hello everyone. First of all, I want to thank those of you who took the time to respond to my post. I truly appreciate it, and now I better understand what is expected of me; I will certainly contact my parish priest to further investigate into these matters.

However, I feel as though some of you were a bit harsh on me, and I would like to clear some things up. I absolutely love the Catholic Church and would never want to do anything that goes against its teachings, which is why I wrote on these forums - I am concerned enough to ask! I am not so loose in my beliefs that I would frivolously run off, marry a Hindu, and worship in his ceremonies. I want to do everything right to the best of my abilities and I will work hard to make this relationship work, if he is God’s will for my life. I love him dearly and cannot imagine myself with any other man. But I will take it one day at a time.

I just wanted to clear that up, because again, I felt that I was being viewed a bit unfairly. But thank you all again for your (name removed by moderator)ut!

 

[1ke]

What does “Eastern rite” here mean please?

Orthodox.

 

[1ke]

I must have missed that post, sorry. I know for a fact it is done.

Well, “done” and “allowed” are not the same thing.

 

[1ke]

I assume a different religion can be accommodated. But it never really puts the two issues. 1 A different religion for the spouse and 2 not in the Catholic Church together.

See canons 1127 and 1129. It is possible, I cannot say how often it is allowed.

There have got to be some kind of parameters here. I think a Catholic could not partake in a marriage ceremony that offered some kind of pagan sacrifices to other gods. Or satanic worship.

Yes, as I said, the bishop must make the decision to dispense or not. That is after he has been supplied with all the relevant facts.

 

[1ke]

Hello everyone. First of all, I want to thank those of you who took the time to respond to my post. I truly appreciate it, and now I better understand what is expected of me; I will certainly contact my parish priest to further investigate into these matters.

However, I feel as though some of you were a bit harsh on me, and I would like to clear some things up. I absolutely love the Catholic Church and would never want to do anything that goes against its teachings, which is why I wrote on these forums - I am concerned enough to ask! I am not so loose in my beliefs that I would frivolously run off, marry a Hindu, and worship in his ceremonies. I want to do everything right to the best of my abilities and I will work hard to make this relationship work, if he is God’s will for my life. I love him dearly and cannot imagine myself with any other man. But I will take it one day at a time.

I just wanted to clear that up, because again, I felt that I was being viewed a bit unfairly. But thank you all again for your (name removed by moderator)ut!

I suggest that you and your fiance discuss the option of a Catholic wedding. A dispensation is not guaranteed, and may be declined. So, you need to discuss the fact that you will have to marry in the Catholic form if there is no dispensation forthcoming.

 

[severus68]

Orthodox.

Yes, then why quote that section for marriage to a Hindu?

 

[severus68]

Well, “done” and “allowed” are not the same thing.

Obviously.

 

[Mount_Carmel]

1ke - Could even the Pope, let alone a bishop ever give a valid dispensation to a marriage form that appears to go against the First Commandment? Indeed, would he?

 

[1ke]

Yes, then why quote that section for marriage to a Hindu?

Because I did a copy/paste of the entire canon assuming people can use common sense as to what applies and what doesn’t in their particular situation.

 

[1ke]

1ke - Could even the Pope, let alone a bishop ever give a valid dispensation to a marriage form that appears to go against the First Commandment? Indeed, would he?

Well we do not have the details of what the OP really means by “Hindu wedding” which could be anything from a culturally Indian wedding to a religious ceremony,and it’s really not productive to speculate.

What we can say is that the petition can be made and that it is up to the bishop to determine whether to grant it. That will depend upon the specifics of the case.

I agree that it is doubtful that a dispensation would be granted for a truly religious Hindu ceremony. But ultimately it’s up to the bishop.

 

[Hoosier_Daddy]

Well we do not have the details of what the OP really means by “Hindu wedding” which could be anything from a culturally Indian wedding to a religious ceremony,and it’s really not productive to speculate.

What we can say is that the petition can be made and that it is up to the bishop to determine whether to grant it. That will depend upon the specifics of the case.

I agree that it is doubtful that a dispensation would be granted for a truly religious Hindu ceremony. But ultimately it’s up to the bishop.

It certainly would be helpful if the OP would clarify some things. The OP has already posted again but really has not addressed some issues.

But I wonder, why is this wedding not taking place in a Catholic Church? It would seem that it would be easier.

 

[pensmama87]

As previously posted, the Catholic Church does not allow this.

That’s interesting; I will have to remember this. My husband’s cousin is planning on marrying a Muslim man next year and they are planning two weddings - one in a mosque with just her, her intended, and her father, and then a few months later the Catholic wedding…and they are trying to get a dispensation so they don’t have to have it in a church, so as not to offend Muslim sensibilities. They asked if my son would be the ring bearer, and while that’s not an “official” position in the wedding party it makes me nervous that they may not be going about this the right way.

He’s a very nice man, but I am worried about all of this. I wonder how open they are being about their plans with all the religious officials involved. And what responsibility we have to correct her, if any.