G
gloraykid
Guest
My sister, recently divoced, is contemplating coming back to the Church. (Yeah!) She was baptized & confirmed Catholic, but renounced the faith in her college years, joined officially a number of non-denominational and protestant denominations, but is currently attending mass weekly with her kids at our mom’s parish (not taking communion, of course). She is already dating (BOO!) and I would like to know whether she can even marry again… because obviously, she shouldn’t be dating if she intends to rejoin the Church if she cannot remarry therein. She was married in a non-denominational Church, and at the time, her husband was unbaptized. however, about a year before their divorce – when they were already separated (living in the same house trying to work things out for the kids’ sakes, but not sleeping together), he was validly baptized in a Christian church, but I don’t believe they ever consummated their marriage once he was baptized. I checked out a canon law commentary (I am actually a civil lawyer and I thought i could figure this out!) and it seemed to me because she had openly renounced the Church and officially joined another church and married in that church, that the Catholic Church’s canons re marriage would not apply to her, and the Church would view her marriage as a protestant one- i.e. a baptized christian marrying an unbaptized person, and that such union was VALID, BINDING and no divorce (in the Church’s eyes) was possible. If that is true, then she is still married in God’s eyes to her ex-husband, and, unless her ex dies, she shouldn’t be dating as it can never lead to marriage in the Catholic Church. While her ex-husband ended up committing repeated infidelities, I don’t think there is any doubt that they both had the intention on the day they married that it was to be a lifelong commitment…
Do I have it right, or do I need a Canon lawyer?
Do I have it right, or do I need a Canon lawyer?