When is a Catholic catholic?

[Kaizmom]

My husband has a 24 year old daughter who was baptised in the RC church, however, as a teen she went to the SSPX and was confirmed there. We are now hearing through other family that she might be marrying another man from SSPX. My husband thinks he can go to the wedding because she was never “really” catholic but I disagree. So what makes one Catholic vs Christian and would he be allowed to go to that wedding?

Samantha

 

[FrDavid96]

A person becomes a Catholic either by:
a. Being baptized as a Catholic
c. Being received into the Church after a non-Catholic baptism

There is no way for a person to become no-longer-Catholic (in the eyes of the Church), although one can be an excommunicate, schismatic, heretic, or apostate.

Since your step-daughter was baptized as a Catholic, so far as the Church is concerned she will always be Catholic. Consequently, the only way for her to be validly married would be for her to marry according to Catholic form (which excludes marriage officiated by an SSPX priest), or dispensed from Catholic form by the local bishop.

 

[surritter]

Although baptism leaves an indelible mark on the soul as someone claimed for Christ (through the Catholic Church), I think there is a way that someone can formally notify a bishop that he/she is no longer to be considered a Catholic.

This doesn’t change the “stamp” of baptism, but I believe it does change the rules about whether or not the person must follow the proper canonical form for marriage.

 

[OraLabora]

Although baptism leaves an indelible mark on the soul as someone claimed for Christ (through the Catholic Church), I think there is a way that someone can formally notify a bishop that he/she is no longer to be considered a Catholic.

This doesn’t change the “stamp” of baptism, but I believe it does change the rules about whether or not the person must follow the proper canonical form for marriage.

Renouncing one’s Catholic faith is no longer possible under the 1983 Code of Canon Law.

 

[dans0622]

Renouncing one’s Catholic faith is no longer possible under the 1983 Code of Canon Law.

Hello,

You were right to correct the statement made by “surritter”: formal defection is not an issue in the case presented by the OP.

However, one can still renounce the faith and do so in a formal manner. So, I think it is better to say that “formal defection from the Church” no longer carries with it any consequences in regard to the marriage laws of the Church.

Dan