Not sure my spouse is Catholic

[dianaballein]

Hi all,

I am in the process of my conversion to Catholicism…anxiously awaiting the Easter Vigil. My husband has always told me that he is a non-practicing Catholic, however now that I am going through my sacraments, I am thinking perhaps he is not really Catholic? His Mom was Catholic, and she had him baptized as a baby, but he did not go through confirmation or anything of the sort…so that leads me to believe he started on his journey but never finished the trip. Please advise if my thinking is correct?

 

[CalCatholic]

Congratulations on your journey. If your husband has only been baptized in the Catholic Church, then his journey is incomplete. He will have to attend R.C.I.A., and once he completed that, he would receive the Eucharist, and would be Confirmed, then he would be a full member of the Catholic Chuch. As of right now he is not in full communion with the Catholic Church, and if he attends Mass he should not receive the Eucharist.

 

[dianaballein]

Thank you for the clarification. I will pass on this information to him. He is non-practicing, and has no intentions of going back at this time. I am praying he will see the joy and peace within me and be inspired to see what is doing that!

Peace.

 

[1ke]

Diana,

CalCatholic is not exactly accurate.

If your husband was baptized Catholic, he is indeed a Catholic. He is not partially Catholic, he is **fully **Catholic. He is a Catholic who has not completed his Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation). However, by virtue of his baptism he is a Catholic and subject to Catholic Canon Law.

However, more importantly, there **may **be impediments to your entry into the Church if you are in an invalid marriage. If he was a “non-practicing” Cathlic when you married, I presume you did not marry in the Catholic Church nor did he receive a dispensation to marry outside the Catholic form. It is possible for you to rectify this via convalidation.

I am surprised your marriage situation was not discussed at the beginning of RCIA.

You need to discuss this with your priest, ASAP.

 

[dianaballein]

Diana,

CalCatholic is not exactly accurate.

If your husband was baptized Catholic, he is indeed a Catholic. He is not partially Catholic, he is **fully **Catholic. He is a Catholic who has not completed his Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation). However, by virtue of his baptism he is a Catholic and subject to Catholic Canon Law.

However, more importantly, there **may **be impediments to your entry into the Church if you are in an invalid marriage. If he was a “non-practicing” Cathlic when you married, I presume you did not marry in the Catholic Church nor did he receive a dispensation to marry outside the Catholic form. It is possible for you to rectify this via convalidation.

I am surprised your marriage situation was not discussed at the beginning of RCIA.

You need to discuss this with your priest, ASAP.

It was discussed with my Priest and with my RCIA Directory…and has been taken care of…however that was not revelant to my query…so I didn’t offer up that information. Thank you!!!

 

[1ke]

It was discussed with my Priest and with my RCIA Directory…and has been taken care of…however that was not revelant to my query…so I didn’t offer up that information. Thank you!!!

That is good to know.

Church teaching is that baptism is the Sacrament that incorporates one into the Body of Christ, the Church. Therefore, your husband is fully Catholic by virtue of his baptism. See the Catechsim for a full treatment of the effects of Baptism.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

Hi all,

I am in the process of my conversion to Catholicism…anxiously awaiting the Easter Vigil. My husband has always told me that he is a non-practicing Catholic, however now that I am going through my sacraments, I am thinking perhaps he is not really Catholic? His Mom was Catholic, and she had him baptized as a baby, but he did not go through confirmation or anything of the sort…so that leads me to believe he started on his journey but never finished the trip. Please advise if my thinking is correct?

If he was Batized Catholic (which is easy to prove) then he is Catholic unless he formally left the Church. He would need to attend some form of Adult preparation for the Sacraments of REconciliation, First Holy Communion and Confirmation if he has never received these. Again this would also be easy to confirm by conntacting the parish where he was Baptized.

 

[MCGar]

Prayers for you and your husband!

Yes, maybe the soft and gentle approach is best. Soak up Catholicism and let the Lord shine brightly through you!