Jobs and My Catholic Faith

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deeganh

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Good day all -
I am considering possibly entering the field of wedding planning. However, with all the changes going on in our world, I am really not quite sure if this will conflict with my Catholic faith.

Two things I am weighing in on to help me make a good, solid Christian decision:
  1. HOMOSEXUAL MARRIAGES:
    In the U.S. today, we are not to discriminate against homosexuals (which I think overall is a good thing). While I know that homosexual behaviors/marriages is not okay in the eyes of God (He still wants us to not turn away from them either), it’s just hard to know where my stance on this should be - if I were to get into the business, I believe it would be illegal to not help, however, knowing many Christians are taking a firm stance in avoiding helping.
    If anyone can shed a good solid, well thought out Catholic perspective on this, this would then really help me make my decision.
  2. PERFORMING MARRIAGES:
    Another thing I am looking at is becoming legally able to perform small civil marriages. With very few exceptions in Michigan, you technically have to be a “minister” - in my position, I would have to go that route. They have places you can register, not really officially being in line with any religious faith, but just going through the “paperwork” to be able to do that. Is this a potential conflict with my Catholic faith?
    Thank you in advance! I want to make as best of a decision as possible.
    Heather
 
deeganh said:
Good day all -
I am considering possibly entering the field of wedding planning. However, with all the changes going on in our world, I am really not quite sure if this will conflict with my Catholic faith.

Two things I am weighing in on to help me make a good, solid Christian decision:
  1. HOMOSEXUAL MARRIAGES:
    In the U.S. today, we are not to discriminate against homosexuals (which I think overall is a good thing). While I know that homosexual behaviors/marriages is not okay in the eyes of God (He still wants us to not turn away from them either), it’s just hard to know where my stance on this should be - if I were to get into the business, I believe it would be illegal to not help, however, knowing many Christians are taking a firm stance in avoiding helping.
    If anyone can shed a good solid, well thought out Catholic perspective on this, this would then really help me make my decision.
  2. PERFORMING MARRIAGES:
    Another thing I am looking at is becoming legally able to perform small civil marriages. With very few exceptions in Michigan, you technically have to be a “minister” - in my position, I would have to go that route. They have places you can register, not really officially being in line with any religious faith, but just going through the “paperwork” to be able to do that. Is this a potential conflict with my Catholic faith?
    Thank you in advance! I want to make as best of a decision as possible.
    Heather
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I’m sorry, you want to know if it jives with your faith if you participate in homosexual weddings, and become ordained in some Unitarian faith to where you may be asked to preform homosexual marriages!?

If you wish to go into wedding planning make sure you don’t have to compromise your beliefs. If there is a way you can be in that industry and have the freedom to choose where your talents can be applied go for it. If it will cause you to be a slave to an agenda you can’t agree with then do something else.

Whatever you do, and I speak from experience, do not “be ordained” to marry people.
 
I have thought about getting involved in wedding planning myself, and I won’t do it because of homosexual “marriage.” If someone does weddings for heterosexual couples, then they will probably have to do it for homosexual couples, in light of the bakery incident where a Christian couple didn’t want to bake a cake for a homosexual couple, etc.

I agree that one should not compromise their faith/beliefs. As for “ordained” people marrying others, I have heard that some of that isn’t legal. Not sure how true any of it is, but you might want to really look into it first. Perhaps talk to an family law attorney.
 
Hoosier_Daddy said:
I’m sorry, you want to know if it jives with your faith if you participate in homosexual weddings, and become ordained in some Unitarian faith to where you may be asked to preform homosexual marriages!?

If you wish to go into wedding planning make sure you don’t have to compromise your beliefs. If there is a way you can be in that industry and have the freedom to choose where your talents can be applied go for it. If it will cause you to be a slave to an agenda you can’t agree with then do something else.

Whatever you do, and I speak from experience, do not “be ordained” to marry people.
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👍 Well said. Getting ordained to be a minister is contrary to the Faith. I hope you can use your talents in a way as noted above where you don’t have to compromise the Faith Catholic.
 
deeganh said:
Good day all -
I am considering possibly entering the field of wedding planning. However, with all the changes going on in our world, I am really not quite sure if this will conflict with my Catholic faith.

Two things I am weighing in on to help me make a good, solid Christian decision:
  1. HOMOSEXUAL MARRIAGES:
    In the U.S. today, we are not to discriminate against homosexuals (which I think overall is a good thing). While I know that homosexual behaviors/marriages is not okay in the eyes of God (He still wants us to not turn away from them either), it’s just hard to know where my stance on this should be - if I were to get into the business, I believe it would be illegal to not help, however, knowing many Christians are taking a firm stance in avoiding helping.
    If anyone can shed a good solid, well thought out Catholic perspective on this, this would then really help me make my decision.
  2. PERFORMING MARRIAGES:
    Another thing I am looking at is becoming legally able to perform small civil marriages. With very few exceptions in Michigan, you technically have to be a “minister” - in my position, I would have to go that route. They have places you can register, not really officially being in line with any religious faith, but just going through the “paperwork” to be able to do that. Is this a potential conflict with my Catholic faith?
    Thank you in advance! I want to make as best of a decision as possible.
    Heather
Click to expand...
Both of your concerns are in conflict with your Catholic faith. It is not allowed to promote or participate in a homosexual “marriage”; one should not even attend one. Of course you should not seek to perform any kind of marriage ceremony. Make an appointment with a wise and holy priest to get some guidance about a career in the wedding industry. If you are good at design, you could create a line of classy, modest wedding attire there is a big market for that.
 
The answer to your first question really should be obvious. Being sympathetic with homosexual persons should never include active participation in sin.

A Catholic may not be ordained as a minister in a non-Catholic religion. A Catholic may perform civil marriages (between non-Catholics) where permitted by law. It is very unlikely that any US state would require a religious ordination to perform a wedding.
 
Sexual orientation is not a federally protected class, and not every state includes it in their anti-discrimination laws. Depending on where you live, turning away clients who want a same-sex wedding might be legal.
 
Hoosier_Daddy said:
I’m sorry, you want to know if it jives with your faith if you participate in homosexual weddings, and become ordained in some Unitarian faith to where you may be asked to preform homosexual marriages!?
Click to expand...
Are Roman Catholics allowed to be ordained as Protestant ministers?
 
KnowtheSilence said:
Sexual orientation is not a federally protected class, and not every state includes it in their anti-discrimination laws. Depending on where you live, turning away clients who want a same-sex wedding might be legal.
Click to expand...
Right. The whole wedding cake lawsuit was decided at the state level. As far as I can recall, the Supreme Court did not weigh in on it. Different states are bound to be different in this area. For how much longer that will remain the case, that is hard to say. But for now at least, where you live can make a big difference.
 
Tomdstone said:
Are Roman Catholics allowed to be ordained as Protestant ministers?
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No. I know Catholics can serve in secular capacities as “Justice of the Peace”, which would involve performing marriage ceremonies. But as to getting ordained in another religion, that wouldn’t be okay.

It seems to me the whole “online minister” craze whereby a friend of the bride and groom gets “ordained” in order to preside at the wedding is the exploitation of a legal loophole. It would be better for them to call it what it really is—a person obtaining a license to preside at wedding ceremonies—that having them be “ordained” into whatever religious faith it is that hands out ministerial positions like candy.
 
So this begs the question:

If a Catholic were authorized, by position of authority, to officiate at marriages, would he or she be allowed to do so by the Church? Would a Catholic judge, or a Catholic captain of a cruise ship, etc. be permitted by the Church to perform that function?
 
on_the_hill said:
So this begs the question:

If a Catholic were authorized, by position of authority, to officiate at marriages, would he or she be allowed to do so by the Church? Would a Catholic judge, or a Catholic captain of a cruise ship, etc. be permitted by the Church to perform that function?
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I would venture yes of course with a couple of caveats.

I would not think the person could perform homosexual marriages. Also, there would be a problem if one or both of the people were Catholic and seeking marriage outside the church.
 
Thanks all, I suspected I already knew the answers, but I am glad you all confirmed it… I have been considering this, and the areas nowadays seem so “gray.” While I am already in a decent job, it’s in considering my options that I wanted to be certain of where I was going to would jive with my core beliefs. Thank you all. 🙂
 
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