Successful Catholic/Non-Catholic Marriage?

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I’ve been doing research about Catholic and Non-Catholic marriages and all I have been finding is pretty negative stuff.

Is it not possible to have a successful Catholic/Non-Catholic Marriage and family?

If it is possible, how does it work for you?

Thanks!
 
It depends on what you mean by non-Catholic. Does that mean some other Christian denomination? Or is it Catholic marrying a non-Christian?

It would also depend on the Catholic. I personally don’t believe that an orthodox, devout Catholic who lives their life according to the laws of the faith would even consider marrying outside of it.

I think that faith is one of the most important aspects to marriage. I think it is the most important aspect in raising a family.

Of course you will find examples of interfaith marriages that work wonderfully. Just as you will find numerous examples of “Catholic” marriages that fail miserably.

I think that this is one of those occassions where you should play the odds…

and the odds say that 2 people who share and practice the same faith will have a more stable loving marriage than 2 people with different faiths.

Just my opinion…

Malia
 
As a child from a Catholic/Non-Catholic marriage, I would say the best scenerio would be to be of the same faith.

If you would like the perspective of a child in this case, just let me know.
 
My situation is that I have been dating my fiance for about 3 years and only recently because of him I have gotten back to my Catholic faith. He is a christian but not Catholic.

Maybe I sound stupid but I truly, honestly believe that he is who I was meant to be with. I would really hate to break something off that could be so great. I can see how there could be problems but is there not a chance it could be a beautiful thing being different?

If I was not engaged, I would probably want a Catholic guy. But I have found the person who I would like to have a family with and grow old with, together with God. He feels the same way.

Am I just not thinking realisticlly?
 
I am in a Catholic non-Catholic marriage. When we first got married I was pretty luke warm, but I made it clear that when we had children I wanted them to be raised in the Catholic Faith. Since then I have become more serious about my faith and learned a lot more. Mostly becuase my husband had some serious questions about things he had learned from the church he grew up in. When I met him he had already severed his ties with that church. He was searching. today he calls himself non-denominational. Which basicly means that his belifes are evolving over time (and area actually becoming quite Catholic). I belive with time (and prayer) he will eventually join the Church. He does come to Chruch with us every week and has no objections to raising our children in the Catholic Faith.

On the other hand, this is not always the way it goes. Growing up I had a good friend who lived down the street who came from a marriage witha Catholic father and a Non Catholic Mother. He and his brother went to his mother’s church one week and his father’s the other. We were friends up untill we left high school. At that time I was dating a mutual friend of ours. The guy I was dating attended the mother’s church. My friend decided to stop going to Mom’s church becuase of all of the things that were said about his father and the Catholic Church. I did not find it suprising becuase the guy that I was dating’s father said same such things to me openly. After my friend and his brother decided to only go to the Catholic Church the mother got upset. In the end it ruined the marriage.
 
As the Catholic in a Catholic, non-Catholic marriage that is going on 27 years I can tell you that it has not always been easy. I would not recommend it but on the other hand I did not enter this marriage without a lot of prayers and going to daily Mass.

In my prayers I was told that this was the man I was to marry and that someday he would be Catholic! I continue to pray for this. It is slow going but he started out as an agnostic (while we were dating) and then returned to the church of his parents (still while we were dating). His parents church albeit Lutheran is very anti-Catholic.

Neither one of us went into this marriage with our eyes closed. We were young, I was 20 and he was 23 but I knew I would never be anything but Catholic and even then I was searching for more knowledge about Catholicism (a hard row to hoe before the internet btw).

So, if you “feel” this man is the man you are meant to marry, start praying long and hard about it. You won’t necessarily get an answer like I got but God will answer your prayers and the answer might be “no”, it might be “not yet” and it might be a resounding “yes”.

If you do get married remember that any marriage is not easy but add to the mix a difference of faith and you are playing with fire! :eek:

My daughter’s will tell you that it isn’t always easy either as by the time the youngest came along, daddy had stopped going to Church with us and she really felt it.

Brenda V.
 
🙂 I forgot to add that you must enter any marriage with the thought that it takes three to make it work. You, your spouse and most improtantly God! A Christ centered marriage (whether two Catholics or a Catholic and Protestant) has a better chance of surviving than one in which you tell Jesus to leave.

Make sure you two talk about birth control and how you can do that - as in NFP only and no other artificial means and with good reason. There are some good places to go to learn more about what the Church teaches on this. This can be a breaking point in an engagement and better now before you get married than after (yes, this was a problem for us but he finally came around as I became more knowledgeable about the subject).

Brenda V.
 
Absolutely! I think it honestly depends on compromise and how deeply attatched to their religion/church each partner is. My dad is Catholic, my mom is not. We were raised in the Catholic Church. My youngest brother graduated from high school last year and my mom started attending the Methodist church in town. My parents alternate services now.

My husband is not Catholic. His big requirement when we got married is that we get married in a church–since he considers himself a Christian, but wasn’t a regular church goer, we got married in my church, by our priest. This would have been a deal breaker for me–I had to get married in the Church and we were able to do that. Now, he attends Mass with me about half the time, but almost always when I lector (which, due to the lack of people wanting to do that, I do pretty often). We also discussed that when we have kids, we’ll raise them Catholic, but there is the option of going to my in laws Christian church on occasion.

So, long story short, it does work. Both people have to be willing to work with each other.
 
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