Can a widow baptised as a Methodist marry a Catholic in a Catholic church?

Answer 1

A Catholic can marry anyone they want legally. Most Catholic churches will allow a Catholic to marry a person of another faith such as a Methodist, Baptist or Lutheran. It is not prohibited by the Catholic church.

Catholic Answer

No, Canon 1124 of the Code of Canon Law specifically states:

Without the express permission of the competent authority, marriage is forbidden between two baptized persons, one of whom was baptized in the Catholic Church or received into it after baptism and has not left it by a formal act, and the other of whom is a member of a church or ecclesial community which is not in full communion with the Catholic Church.

This is called a "mixed marriage" and is forbidden by the Church for very good reasons, primarily the eternal salvation of the Catholic party and any children which may issue from such a bond. Under certain circumstances, and, after appropriate counseling, the couple decides that they would like to go forward with the marriage there are various laws which come into play and permission must be obtained from the Bishop. Further, the Catholic party must make a series of promises that the non-Catholic party must be aware of. Please consult your pastor for more information.

Answer

The Catholic Answer ti this question is found in the Apostolic Letter MATRIMONIA MIXTA (ON MIXED MARRIAGES), dated October 1, 1970:

"For these reasons the Church, conscious of her duty, discourages the contracting of mixed marriages, for she is the most desirous that Catholics be able in matrimony to attain to perfect union of mind and full communion of life. However, since man has the natural right to marry and beget children, the Church, by her laws, which clearly show her pastoral concern, makes such arrangements that on the one hand the principles of divine law be scrupulously observed and that on the other the said right to contract marriages be respected . . . [requiring dispensation]

1. A marriage between two baptized persons, of whom one is a Catholic, while the other is a non-Catholic, may not licitly be contracted without the previous dispensation of the local Ordinary, since such a marriage is by its nature an obstacle to the full spiritual communion of the married parties.

2. A marriage between two persons of whom one has been baptized in the Catholic Church or received into it, while the other is unbaptized, entered into without previous dispensation by the local Ordinary, is invalid.

Subject to the required dispensation, a marriage between a Catholic and another Christian is considered a sacrament.

Answer 2

Sure! Since the Methodist church has a decentralized organization, a prospective cross-religious matrimony is not frowned upon in all congregations. Though, there maybe some contention from individual parishioners whom must cling to xenophobic ideals. If you can't marry someone from another denomination then perhaps searching for another religion might be in order.

Answer 3

Of course!! It doesn't really matter!

Roman Catholic AnswerThis is something you should discuss with your pastor. Normally a Catholic is allowed to attend a non-Catholic service as a guest but not participate in any meaningfully way. I should think that you would not be given permission to be a godfather as this implies both support of a protestant faith and makes you responsible for a child's education in a faith contrary to your own.

Answer 4

The divorced Catholic not married in church cannot marry a divorced Methodist in the Catholic Church as the Catholic church recognizes the Methodist marriage as valid. The Methodist would have to go through the Catholic annulmemt process. Check with the local pastor to be sure.

Answer 5

No. In the catholic church there are rules and in those rules it states, "Catholics cannot marry outside the catholic religion." Therefore, the catholic man can't marry a divorced Methodist woman. Also, if said catholic man were to marry said woman he would be banned from the catholic church. If you need to you should head to your catholic church and ask.

Answer 6

The answer is a definitive maybe:

A divorced person whose (ex-) spouse is still alive may not marry in the Catholic Church. Anyone who was married and has a civil divorce would have to apply for a decree of nullity (an annulment, which states that no valid marriage ever existed). If an annulment is granted, and there is a divorce, then the person is free to marry. If that person is a protestant, then he would not only have to go through the petition for an annulment, and have it approved (not a sure thing), but then he would have to convert or, at the very least, promise to uphold his spouse's religion and raise the children as Catholic. In addition, the Catholic girl and the protestant man would have to go through wedding preparation classes. You should both make an appointment with your pastor, sit down and talk this whole thing through. If the man is a good man and really loves you, and wishes to convert, then here is wishing you luck on the annulment. Either way, you are talking about the better part of a year, it takes that long to process an annulment, and he will probably have to go through RCIA classes while he is waiting, they start in the late summer, and end next Easter.

Answer 7

She may, as long as she promises not to do anything that endangers the Catholic's faith, and she must promise that her children will be brought up as Catholics.