Marriage outside the Church and The Eucharist

[maxdouglas402]

I am asking this question on behalf of my Mom. My Mom was married outside of the Catholic Church and then divorced. Then she married my step-dad outside the Church and they got divorced as well. My Mom stopped receiving Communion after she married my step-dad because she was told she wasn’t supposed to.

My questions is, now that she is divorced from my step-dad can she receive Communion?

This question is kind of weird so I would like an explanation if anybody has one. I told my mom she probably could receive Communion after Confession, but it seems weird to me that now she can receive our Lord after she gets divorced.

 

[bilop]

I am asking this question on behalf of my Mom. My Mom was married outside of the Catholic Church and then divorced. Then she married my step-dad outside the Church and they got divorced as well. My Mom stopped receiving Communion after she married my step-dad because she was told she wasn’t supposed to.

My questions is, now that she is divorced from my step-dad can she receive Communion?

This question is kind of weird so I would like an explanation if anybody has one. I told my mom she probably could receive Communion after Confession, but it seems weird to me that now she can receive our Lord after she gets divorced.

If your Mom is currently unmarried, and chaste, she can receive Holy Communion (after confession) regardless of her past marriages.

If your Mom was a Catholic before her non-Church weddings, both would be invalid. She could very likely get a decree of nullity for both quite easily. She would only need to prove that 1) she was baptized Catholic, and 2) married outside the Church w/o dispensation.

God Bless

 

[TheRealJuliane]

I am asking this question on behalf of my Mom. My Mom was married outside of the Catholic Church and then divorced. Then she married my step-dad outside the Church and they got divorced as well. My Mom stopped receiving Communion after she married my step-dad because she was told she wasn’t supposed to.

My questions is, now that she is divorced from my step-dad can she receive Communion?

This question is kind of weird so I would like an explanation if anybody has one. I told my mom she probably could receive Communion after Confession, but it seems weird to me that now she can receive our Lord after she gets divorced.

Your mom needs to go to her priest and talk to him about the situation. He can advise her about what she needs to do in order to receive the sacraments.

If she was a baptized Catholic then neither of those marriages is considered valid because she did not marry in the Church as she should have. This is hard to understand for non-Catholics, but the Church has her reasoning for this. But your mom should not take the advice of people on the internet, but go and talk to her priest.

 

[davidv]

Your mom needs to go to her priest and talk to him about the situation. He can advise her about what she needs to do in order to receive the sacraments.

If she was a baptized Catholic then neither of those marriages is considered valid because she did not marry in the Church as she should have. This is hard to understand for non-Catholics, but the Church has her reasoning for this. But your mom should not take the advice of people on the internet, but go and talk to her priest.

A minor correction. The Church considers all first marriages to be valid unless ruled null by the tribunal. This does not mean there are no justification for such declaration.

 

[bilop]

A minor correction. The Church considers all first marriages to be valid unless ruled null by the tribunal. This does not mean there are no justification for such declaration.

I don’t believe so. The Church considers all first marriages by **non-Catholics **valid.

A Catholic is required to marry in Church, or get a dispensation. If they don’t, the marriage is invalid.

A decree of nullity is still required to marry in Church, but it is pro forma. It will be granted by merely showing proof of baptism, and that the marriage was not in the Church. It will usually be granted in a very few weeks.

God Bless

 

[Joe_5859]

From what you have described, it sounds like she just needs to go to Confession and then she can start participating in the sacramental life of the Church once again. She can certainly ask the priest in Confession if it would make her feel more certain about receiving.

 

[Steveabrous]

I am asking this question on behalf of my Mom. My Mom was married outside of the Catholic Church and then divorced. Then she married my step-dad outside the Church and they got divorced as well. My Mom stopped receiving Communion after she married my step-dad because she was told she wasn’t supposed to.

My questions is, now that she is divorced from my step-dad can she receive Communion?

This question is kind of weird so I would like an explanation if anybody has one. I told my mom she probably could receive Communion after Confession, but it seems weird to me that now she can receive our Lord after she gets divorced.

The Church assumes that the first marriage is valid ,regardless of where they got married, until the church says it’s nullified. So when your mother remarried after divorcing her first husband( A divorce the church does not recognize) as far as the church was concerned she was living in sin and co-habitating with a man who wasn’t her husband. Now that that marriage is gone, and she is no longer co-habitating, she is just divorced. And divorced people can recieve communion. She needs to discuss this with a priest though.

 

[ValPal]

I don’t believe so. The Church considers all first marriages by **non-Catholics **valid.

A Catholic is required to marry in Church, or get a dispensation. If they don’t, the marriage is invalid.

A decree of nullity is still required to marry in Church, but it is pro forma. It will be granted by merely showing proof of baptism, and that the marriage was not in the Church. It will usually be granted in a very few weeks.

God Bless

A priest on this forum commented on this matter, and stated that all marriages are presumed valid until proven otherwise. This can be readily demonstrated by the fact that if this person went to marry, the prior “marriages” would have to be addressed. If they were invalid, then they wouldn’t need to be addressed in the first place. Granted, the “marriages” are invalid due to lack of form, which are remedied fairly quickly.

With regard to the OP, I believe that she could start receiving Communion after confessing these sins, and assuming she is living chastely. But don’t take my word for it; ask a priest.

 

[PaulfromIowa]

I would like an explanation if anybody has one. I told my mom she probably could receive Communion after Confession, but it seems weird to me that now she can receive our Lord after she gets divorced.

Your advice is correct if she is now living chastely. The civil divorces are meaningless. The sin is in 1. marrying outside the Church without dispensation and 2. divorce and remarriage is a state of adultery per the teaching of Christ. (Matthew 5:32)

 

[Phemie]

A priest on this forum commented on this matter, and stated that all marriages are presumed valid until proven otherwise. This can be readily demonstrated by the fact that if this person went to marry, the prior “marriages” would have to be addressed. If they were invalid, then they wouldn’t need to be addressed in the first place. Granted, the “marriages” are invalid due to lack of form, which are remedied fairly quickly.

With regard to the OP, I believe that she could start receiving Communion after confessing these sins, and assuming she is living chastely. But don’t take my word for it; ask a priest.

The question was answered by Rome many decades ago that for a Catholic there is only a presumption of validity if the marriage was celebrated in the Church (or with a dispensation). No decree of nullity is required, although in most North American dioceses these cases are submitted to the Tribunal. Some dioceses have the priest who is preparing the couple deal with this without involving the Tribunal.

As I understand it, in Europe if there is no record of marriage in the baptismal register the person is considered free to marry.