Validity of Marriages

[Bookcat]

Are marriages between protestants valid if they were only married civilly?

Yes. The Church presumes they are valid. And if they are baptized … sacramental.

(of course we are talking about persons who are free to marry…not ‘remarriages’ after divorce…in such case normally the presumption will be with the first marriage of two ‘unpreviously married’ …and of the opposite sex) (and we are presuming they were never baptized Catholic or received into the Catholic Church).

 

[Texas_Roofer]

He has to be the one to decide if he is in an invalid marriage. You can’t decide it just because he is divorced. It may be he will read that book and realize his marriage is probably valid. I have no way of knowing.

Divorce does not mean invalid. Sometimes divorce happens just because of sin.

Though it is true some extreme consquences could result in a civil divorce during a real marriage it not just unlikely but in this thread it is said " He’s willing to go through the annulment process" so you ask me to believe a divorced non catholic man considering a catholic annulment is really married, as in unitity with the woman he divorced? I see that as an extreme longshot.

You said

How can you say he will not have that rough a go of it? He has to prove his marriage was invalid and the divorce is not just a result of sin. This is no simple matter. How do you know he was not properly prepared for the sacrament? Protestants are capable of understanding it and being prepared.Your statement implies that protestants are not properly prepared because they are protestant.
What did you mean when you said “he married without the church”? As a protestant he did not need a church.

And there you have it, does the catholic church control sacraments through the holy spirit and its unique appointment to guide god’s people? That is what we are taught so the presumption of validity placed on the vows he took are they truly sacramental? If the vows are sacramental the catholic church is powerless to change the vows. If this couple were self prepared for marriage that is the grounds, lack of proper preparation. If the Protestants properly perpared them and their sacrament is valid then the catholic church holds no unique authority on the marriage sacrament.

hope that helps

 

[Seatuck]

Though it is true some extreme consquences could result in a civil divorce during a real marriage it not just unlikely but in this thread it is said " He’s willing to go through the annulment process" so you ask me to believe a divorced non catholic man considering a catholic annulment is really married, as in unitity with the woman he divorced? I see that as an extreme longshot. And there you have it, does the catholic church control sacraments through the holy spirit and its unique appointment to guide god’s people? That is what we are taught so the presumption of validity placed on the vows he took are they truly sacramental? If the vows are sacramental the catholic church is powerless to change the vows. If this couple were self prepared for marriage that is the grounds, lack of proper preparation. If the Protestants properly perpared them and their sacrament is valid then the catholic church holds no unique authority on the marriage sacrament.

hope that helps

Thanks for discussing this. The Sacrament of marriage and also natural is conferred by the couple. It’s part of the Natural Law.Yes, all Sacramental grace comes through the church. We also are bound by civil laws and Catholics are bound in addition to Canonical Law. Formal preparation isn’t really grounds for nullity as car as I can see. Inability to make vows is . Serious lack of knowledge of what marriage entails is. Serious Immaturity and inablility to fulfill the role of husband or spouse is. We have no idea from the information in this thread what may have been lacking in ability to make a vow. If serious inability to fulfill the role of spouse is found there is a good chance the person will have limits on whether the church would agree to witness them attempting another marriage. Proof must be shown that they have overcome this lack. Providing of course the proof isn’t all against the other spouse.

Some marriages fail because of selfishness and turn of the will toward sin. There doesn’t have to be an impediment to making and conferring the vow to each other. You can encourage someone to go through the process but we shouldn’t make declarations ensuring that cause for nullity exists just because someone is protestant and is divorced.

 

[Kendy]

He has to be the one to decide if he is in an invalid marriage. You can’t decide it just because he is divorced. It may be he will read that book and realize his marriage is probably valid. I have no way of knowing.

Divorce does not mean invalid. Sometimes divorce happens just because of sin.

You said

How can you say he will not have that rough a go of it? He has to prove his marriage was invalid and the divorce is not just a result of sin. This is no simple matter. How do you know he was not properly prepared for the sacrament? Protestants are capable of understanding it and being prepared.Your statement implies that protestants are not properly prepared because they are protestant.
What did you mean when you said “he married without the church”? As a protestant he did not need a church.

His wife abandonned him during a difficult time in his life.

 

[Kendy]

Does anybody if one can apply Petrine privilege if both of the divorced parties are baptized but not catholic?

 

[thistle]

Does anybody if one can apply Petrine privilege if both of the divorced parties are baptized but not catholic?

No.

The Petrine Privilege

The Petrine Privilege is exercised when: one of the parties was unbaptized at the time of the marriage, they separate without the baptized party being at fault (or plan to separate and the unbaptized party refuses Baptism and will not live peaceably with the baptized party), and the baptized party now wants to marry a Catholic (see I Esdras 10-14). Unlike the Pauline Privilege which is handled by the local Bishop, this sort of case is sent to Rome to be adjudicated by the Pope himself.

 

[Spencerian]

Does anybody if one can apply Petrine privilege if both of the divorced parties are baptized but not catholic?

Hi, there.

I’ve gone through the Pauline Privilege myself, but I’m aware of the Petrine process.

The Petrine Privilege is only available if one and only one of the party is unbaptized. Whether one of the parties was a Catholic before the civil divorce may also play a role.

See this link (Note: this is a PDF file). It shows a very concise chart of what options are available based on your circumstance.

In any case, speak to a priest for specific information for your case. It’s probably not the best idea to go through your specific circumstances in a public forum.