Father Francis Hoffman The Catholic Answer, January/February 2015
Q. May a Catholic marry a nonbeliever? May they be married in a Catholic church? What kind of a marriage does that create? And what different kinds of marriages are there in the eyes of the Church?
A. Yes, a Catholic may marry a nonbeliever. For the sake of the rest of this answer I will assume that the “nonbeliever” is either a non-baptized person, or a baptized non-Catholic Christian who no longer believes. (It is also entirely possible that the nonbeliever is a baptized and fallen-away Catholic, but since “once a Catholic, always a Catholic” when it comes to the canonical regulation of marriage, anonbelieving Catholic would need no special treatment.)
With the permission of the local ordinary (bishop) a Catholic may marry a “nonbeliever” so long as he/she promises to avoid dangers to their faith and morals and promises to make their best effort to raise their children Catholic.
Canon 1125 of the Code of Canon Law addresses this issue:
“The local ordinary can grant apermission of this kind if there is a just and reasonable cause. He is not to grant it unless the following conditions have been fulfilled:
“1.the Catholic party is to declare that he or she is prepared to remove dangers of defecting from the Faith and is to make a sincere promise to do all in his or her power so that all offspring are baptized and brought up in the Catholic Church;
“2.the other party is to be informed at an appropriate time about the promises which the Catholic party is to make, in such a way that it is certain that he or she is truly aware of the promise and obligation of the Catholic party;
“3.both parties are to be instructed about the purposes and essential properties of marriage which neither of the contracting parties is to exclude.”
With proper permission from the local bishop, they may be married in a Catholic church.
Then you ask, “What kind of a marriage does that create?” It creates a valid marriage. Whether or not it would be a sacramental marriage depends on which expert you ask, since the Code of Canon Law only states that marriage is a “sacrament between the baptized” (Canon 1055). The canon reads:
“1. The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life and which is ordered by its nature to the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring, has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament between the baptized.
“2. For this reason, a valid matrimonial contract cannot exist between the baptized without it being by that fact a sacrament.”
So, if one party is not baptized, it is certainly not a sacrament for that person.
And, finally, you ask, “And what different kinds of marriages are there in the eyes of the Church?”
Marriage is not as complex as people think. There is really only one type of marriage in the eyes of the Church: one man and one woman, married for life, with thewill to be open to life and the desire to help each other. To enter into such a marriage more or less preparation is needed, and more or less permissions need to be granted.
Q. May a Catholic marry a nonbeliever? May they be married in a Catholic church? What kind of a marriage does that create? And what different kinds of marriages are there in the eyes of the Church?
A. Yes, a Catholic may marry a nonbeliever. For the sake of the rest of this answer I will assume that the “nonbeliever” is either a non-baptized person, or a baptized non-Catholic Christian who no longer believes. (It is also entirely possible that the nonbeliever is a baptized and fallen-away Catholic, but since “once a Catholic, always a Catholic” when it comes to the canonical regulation of marriage, a
With the permission of the local ordinary (bishop) a Catholic may marry a “nonbeliever” so long as he/she promises to avoid dangers to their faith and morals and promises to make their best effort to raise their children Catholic.
Canon 1125 of the Code of Canon Law addresses this issue:
“The local ordinary can grant a
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With proper permission from the local bishop, they may be married in a Catholic church.
Then you ask, “What kind of a marriage does that create?” It creates a valid marriage. Whether or not it would be a sacramental marriage depends on which expert you ask, since the Code of Canon Law only states that marriage is a “sacrament between the baptized” (Canon 1055). The canon reads:
“1. The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life and which is ordered by its nature to the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring, has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament between the baptized.
“2. For this reason, a valid matrimonial contract cannot exist between the baptized without it being by that fact a sacrament.”
So, if one party is not baptized, it is certainly not a sacrament for that person.
And, finally, you ask, “And what different kinds of marriages are there in the eyes of the Church?”
Marriage is not as complex as people think. There is really only one type of marriage in the eyes of the Church: one man and one woman, married for life, with the