As part of the requirements to be married in the Church, the non-catholic party has to agree to raise any children born of the union as Catholics, and to follow Catholic Moral teachings regarding artificial birth control.

Now for the reason the Church requires the above. One of the reasons that the Church exists is to safeguard the souls of those in it’s care. If a Catholic inisits on marriage to a non-Catholic, the Church allows it, but wants to protect the soul of the Catholic in the marriage by making sure the Non-Catholic understands the moral teaching and obligations of the Catholic party, and assure that the Catholic is not in a position hostile to his or her faith.

The Church can do nothing more than try to remind the Protestant party of their promise. But then again this is one of the reasons many religions discourage intermarriage, it can cause either the loss of faith of one or both parties, or even worse the breakup of a marriage.

Here is a sad example. I know a man who was raised and still believes in the teachings of the Catholic Church. He married an Episcopalian. Early on they raised the first two boys Catholic, then she became pregnant when the youngest son was 16. She wanted to abort because the baby had a higher chance of being born retarded or deformed due to her age. Thank God he was born with no issues, however because she so protested the Catholic teachings about abortion, and felt put upon by the Church and her husband, she insisted the boy be raised in no religion, and now none of them attend any Church, and the boys get no religious formation.

This is an extreme example, but unfortunatly not an uncommon one.

I have been married for many years now. I am a Catholic married to a non-Catholic. My husband doesn’t have any religion. His parents are Buddhist, but he doesn’t do as his parents do. After Sunday mass today, the priest asked me to talk to him. He asked about my religion and my husband’s. In that conversation the priest told me that “I cannot have communion because of my situation.” I was shocked and very depressed. Being a Catholic, communion , receiving the Eucharist is very important to me. I feel that attending mass is complete when I can have communion. Now that this priest told me that I CANNOT HAVE COMMUNION because I married a non-Catholic. He said I should ask permission from the Bishop where I was born (in another country because I migrated to another country). I said that why can’t I just ask Jesus’ approval in my prayer. He said no, but who is higher , Jesus or the Bishop? To get the bishop’s approval, I have to spend lots of money , time and energy to go to the place where I was born, which is in another country, thousands of miles away ! I was devastated. I cried on my way home after mass. The priest kept on saying I can’t have communion because of my situation. I felt I was condemned for marrying a non-Catholic. At home, I kept wondering if I can’t have communion, then what’s the purpose of attending mass. It’s would be better to just stay at home and pray, as the same as going to church without communion. I asked the priest many questions, but he never gave me any answer , hoping he could help me understand:
1. Where is it found in the bible that I should ask for a permission from the Bishop to marry if I marry a non-Catholic ?
2. Today’s mass, the priest mentioned about the 10 commandments, so I asked him which of the commandments that says I have to ask the bishop for his approval?
3. If I want to ask for approval to marry a non-Catholic, can’t I ask Jesus for it instead of the Bishop? Jesus is higher than the Bishop.
4. Jesus died for me, and if I go to take the communion, will Jesus forbid me saying, you can’t have communion because you married a non-catholic?
5. Being married to a non-Catholic, will it be a sin if I take the communion?
6. If I don’t get the bishop’s approval, will Jesus death be in vain, because I married a non-catholic?
I raised my children about Jesus and Mary, and how to trust God. After this incident, I don’t know what to teach my kids about communion because I myself can no longer have this. ” title=”Sad” />

I believe I am being called to the Catholic Church and am learning about it right now.
I have been married before but not to a Catholic and not in the Catholic Church. There was abuse involved, but that need not be discussed here. What I want to know is how difficult is it to obtain an annulment or is one even necessary. I may want to marry in the future and want to make sure I do the right thing.

There are any number of things that would make a marriage simply a natural union and not a sacramental union. Among them if one or both of the parties was not validly baptized at the time of the marriage. If it was done by a Justice of the Peace, or at the County Courthouse etc. If one of the parties was underage or not free to marry, (if one of you had been married before or other reasons for not being free to marry).

As Jon wisely advised, you can discuss all of these issues and the circumstances with the parish priest prior to your reception into the Church, and if there seems to be grounds for a delclaration that there never was a sacramental marriage.

Sorry I missed the last question. Valid baptism according to the Catholic Church is any baptism done with potable water, not rose water, or rose petals, or other elements. While the person is being immersed, or the water is sprinkled or poured on the person, the person immersing, pouring or sprinkling says, “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Ghost)” and has the intention of doing (at the very least) what the Church intends. There are those who baptize in the “Name of Jesus” or the Creator, Word and Mover, or other words who do not baptize validly.

Another consideration is if the person has reached the age of reason, then they need to have the desire to be baptized, if not then the person responsible for them (parent, godparent, etc should desire that they be baptized, and wish to raise them in a Christian home. although the second part is not required for validityl.)