Author Topic: Marriage question (Read 4055 times)

MaterDominici · « **on:** August 10, 2012, 01:05:08 AM »

Two scenarios:

First, a Catholic marries a person of another faith outside the Church.

Second, a Catholic marries within the Church, divorces (no annulment), and then remarries outside the Church.

Is the nature of the two resulting marriages any different?
I know the first would be easier to rectify, but in the meantime are they any different?

PenitentWoman · « **Reply #1 on:** August 10, 2012, 01:12:52 AM »

Good question.

My Dad will soon be placing himself in scenario #2.

I think that's worse because it adds the element of adultery.

catherineofsiena · « **Reply #2 on:** August 10, 2012, 01:50:24 AM »

My guess under the old law...

#1 = fornication. No marriage recognized and the Catholic is considered excommunicated.

#2 = adultery.

spouse of Jesus · « **Reply #3 on:** August 10, 2012, 04:32:59 AM »

Can people who live in mortal sin progress in holiness? If a marriage between a catholic and a pagan is fornication then it means that a saint like St. Monica was living in mortal sin when she was living with her pagan husband. Didn't she receive any Eucharist all those years? She was progressing in holiness so it couldn't have been a mortal sin.

Nishant · « **Reply #4 on:** August 10, 2012, 06:14:31 AM »

Spouse of Jesus, St.Monica was not living in sin. In the early Church, dispensations were sometimes granted for such so-called mixed marriages, even between a baptized Christian and an unbaptized pagan, provided there was a necessity.

To answer MaterDominici's question, a marriage contracted between two baptized persons, including a Catholic and a Protestant, would be valid but unlawful. A marriage between a Catholic and a non-Christian however would be null and void.

So in the first case, I do not think it would count as fornication, but in the latter it would.

A dispensation for marriages of the first sort is granted when the non-Catholic person agrees to allow his/her spouse the free practice and profession of the Catholic religion, the Catholic spouse in turn promises to bring up the children in the Faith, and further to do what is possible to bring the other spouse to the profession of true Faith.