Should civil marriage be abolished?

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Phemie said:
I don’t know about Latin America but it is the law in Germany, France, etc.
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About Europe is where I am not sure. But in Latin America is not law, it is merely Church’s policy.
 
Hoosier_Daddy said:
And yes, it would be a lot cleaner a century from now if the Church just said, to have a sacramental marriage you must marry a Catholic, and the only marriage we recognize as a Church for our members is a sacramental one. I understand why that cannot be done …
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I believe that that specific point depends on the region or country that you live and that it boils down to the local conference of bishop. The first time I heard in my life that a catholic could have a sacramental marriage with a non catholic was in the US. In my country if you ask a priest about it they will tell you that catholic are not allowed to marry non Catholics and no priest will marry a catholic with a non catholic. I was told that I’m countries like the USA where catholics are a minority the church handles the issue by allowing catholics and non catholic to enter into sacramental marriages. In countries like mine where there is a.majority that is catholic the church states that to have a sacramental marriage you have to marry another catholic. At least that is what people told me when I asked why the difference, though I cannot say if that is exactly how it is. What I do know is that there are other regions in which the catholic church won’t marry catholics and non catholics.
 
SuscipeMeDomine said:
What happens if one spouse wants to become Catholic and the other does not? You say they can’t have different faiths, so I guess either both would have to become Catholic or neither would be eligible. One spouse following the other into the Church couldn’t happen.

Marriage preparation would have to become part of the RCIA process since all those not-quite-married non-Catholics would have to get married in the Church.
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At least in my country the way it works is that if a non catholic wants to marry a catholic first the non catholic would have to go first through RCIA and after RCIA, then the priest will marry them. If the non catholic does not agree to become catholic then the priest simply just won’t marry them. They could get civilly married but not in the local church. It works there but I am not fully sure if it will work on places like the US.
 
I would love for this to happen, but it almost certainly won’t (or not until very far in the future, anyway).
 
marymary1975 said:
At least in my country the way it works is that if a non catholic wants to marry a catholic first the non catholic would have to go first through RCIA and after RCIA, then the priest will marry them. If the non catholic does not agree to become catholic then the priest simply just won’t marry them. They could get civilly married but not in the local church. It works there but I am not fully sure if it will work on places like the US.
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Well, at this time the Church allows marriage between a Catholic and either a baptized non-Catholic or an unbaptized non-Catholic.

I does leave the decision to the local bishop to give permission for a sacramental marriage (in our diocese the bishop has given that decision over to the priest who prepares the couple) or a dispensation for a non-sacramental marriage.

One thing I never wanted was for my husband to convert just to marry me. I preferred that he remain a non-practicing Protestant than that he convert and become a non-practicing Catholic. As long as he supported me in raising the kids Catholic, and he did that.
 
Honestly this is why i dont really sweat same sex civil marriage. If i dont believe in civil marriage because it is not sacramental before God, then what would make civil gay marriagedifferent from domestic partnership? I understand, it condones the lifestyle but dont single gay people (if not celibate) live the same way?

Should straight people that get married civically also be illegal then?
 
The government needs to get out of the marriage business and leave it to the churches. I don’t need the government meddling in my life.
 
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