What does "valid, but not sacramental" mean?

[MMan]

My co-worker is a baptised Methodist and married to a baptised, non-practicing Catholic. They did not receive a dispensation from the Catholic church and were not married in a Catholic church.
Does the Catholic church recognize this marriage as valid but not sacramental? What does it mean to say it is valid but not sacrimental? What can I use as an official reference from the church that would lay this out in easy to understand terms?
Thanks and God Bless.

 

[Fr.Vincent_Serpa]

Dear MM,

The Catholic Church does not recognize their marriage as valid. Catholics are obliged to go through the Catholic Church for marriage. If neither of them has ever been married before their non-Catholic marriage to each other, it is possible for them to have their marriage blessed by the Catholic Church.

By saying that the Catholic Church does not recognize their marriage as valid, it is also saying that they commit the sin of fornication every time they have sexual relations.

A valid marriage is also sacramental if both parties have been baptized. If a Catholic marries a non-baptized person in the Catholic Church, the marriage is valid, but not sacramental. Should the un-baptized person receive the sacrament of Baptism, the marriage automatically becomes sacramental.

Further, the Catholic Church recognizes the marriages between non-Catholics as valid. If they have been baptized, it recognizes them as sacramental as well.

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.