Sacrament of Marriage

[jp54321]

I have relatives in the US South who are protestants. I forgot, either Baptist or Methodist. One of them has been engaged to marry. I’m concerned as to its validity in the eyes of God and the Church as the Catholic Church is out of the picture completely. Would this purported marriage have properties which Catholic Marriages have like indisolubility, the sacrament etc? Would their children be bastards? Not sure how protestant “marriages” work.

 

[Wendy1989]

I have relatives in the US South who are protestants. I forgot, either Baptist or Methodist. One of them has been engaged to marry. I’m concerned as to its validity in the eyes of God and the Church as the Catholic Church is out of the picture completely. Would this purported marriage have properties which Catholic Marriages have like indisolubility, the sacrament etc? Would their children be bastards? Not sure how protestant “marriages” work.

This thread under ‘Ask the Apologist’ should help somewhat:
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=1035217

A marriage between a man & woman is a covenant bond that transcends the boundaries of a particular religious confession. God ordained marriage in the Garden of Eden. While your relative may not be Catholic, the marriage (between male & female) is most definitely acknowledged as valid in the eyes of the Catholic Church and would be assumed to be indissoluble.

As to children being ‘bastards’; that is in the work of the state for inheritance and property rights and not God. In the eyes of God, everyone is legitimate.

 

[cominghome1966]

I have relatives in the US South who are protestants. I forgot, either Baptist or Methodist. One of them has been engaged to marry. I’m concerned as to its validity in the eyes of God and the Church as the Catholic Church is out of the picture completely. Would this purported marriage have properties which Catholic Marriages have like indisolubility, the sacrament etc? Would their children be bastards? Not sure how protestant “marriages” work.

The Catholic Church absolutely does recognize the validity of marriages performed outside her walls, assuming certain details.

For example, in the case you mentioned, if both the man and the woman are free to marry, and are both baptized, then the marriage is presumed valid and also a sacrament. Thus it is indissoluble. Even if one or both are unbaptized, it is still presumed valid though not a sacrament.

“Bastard” or “illegitimate” are cultural and/or civil terms, not Church terms. Technically, in the old days, they meant that the person does not have a father on the birth certificate.

 

[Cor_ad_Cor]

Just adding for clarity, as Fr. Serpa’s response linked above hints at but does not directly state (at least, not clearly enough to my liking): We’re assuming here that your relatives are not and have never been Catholic. If they are, that changes things; even someone who claims to no longer be Catholic is still bound by the Church’s laws on marriage and dispensations would be required.

Presuming that’s not the issue, the other posters above me have answered your questions, I believe.

 

[PaulfromIowa]

I have relatives in the US South who are protestants. I forgot, either Baptist or Methodist. One of them has been engaged to marry. I’m concerned as to its validity in the eyes of God and the Church as the Catholic Church is out of the picture completely. Would this purported marriage have properties which Catholic Marriages have like indisolubility, the sacrament etc? Would their children be bastards? Not sure how protestant “marriages” work.

The Catholic Church recognizes the validity of Baptist and Methodist baptisms, although not all Baptists and Methodists recognize the necessity of baptism. Unbaptized persons marry validly, according to the Catholic Church. Any valid marriage of two baptized Christians is a sacramental marriage.

 

[Phemie]

“Bastard” or “illegitimate” are cultural and/or civil terms, not Church terms. Technically, in the old days, they meant that the person does not have a father on the birth certificate.

While the vile term “bastard” appears nowhere in Canon Law, the issue of legitimacy certainly does. It is addressed in canons 1137-1140.

There was a time when being illegitimate would close certain doors to you within the Church – or at least make them more difficult to enter. Such is no longer the case but the canons still remain, as I understand, for those countries which use church laws to determine inheritance rights.