Can a Catholic Marry a Non-Catholic?

The Catholic Church does not forbid Catholics from marrying people who are not Catholic. It has been the practice of the Church to marry non-Catholics and Catholics for quite some time. The Church refers to these types of marriages as mixed-marriages.

Sometimes a future spouse will choose to go through a process called RCIA to become Catholic prior to marriage, but it is not necessary to become Catholic before marrying a Catholic. However, express permission of the local bishop is necessary. The Catholic person must uphold the obligation to preserve his or her own faith and “ensure the baptism and education of the children in the Catholic Church,” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1635).

One of the reasons that the Church exists is to safeguard the souls of those in its care. If a Catholic insists 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.

man and woman wedding reception

Marriage to a Non-Baptized Person

The Catholic Church calls the union of a Catholic to someone who has not been baptized a disparity of cult. In the above example the two people are baptized Christians of different confessions (or denominations), but a non-baptized person is not a part of the Christian family. When it involves someone who has not been baptized then the marriage requires an express dispensation from the bishop in order for the union to be considered valid.

Scripture tells us that the unbelieving spouse is made holy through the believing spouse (1 Cor. 7:14). Sacramentally in marriage the spouses are the conduits of grace to each other and in a mixed-marriage of disparity of cult the Catholic is a conduit of grace to the non-believer. If this leads to a free conversion of belief by the non-believer then the church rejoices.

Concerns About Marrying Non-Catholics

For a mixed-marriage between a Catholic and a non-Catholic to work well it is important that the couple embraces what is common between their respective faith traditions and “to learn from each other the way in which each lives in fidelity to Christ,” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1634). This can be very difficult and trying, but can be overcome by mutual respect.

A marriage to a non-baptized person can be especially difficult because of the greater chasm in religious belief. In either case the disparities between faiths can lead to tension and gradually religious indifference. Attempting to convert one’s spouse can be interpreted as hostile and could lead to discord in the marriage. Humility and open and honest communication about expectations and the practical side of a mixed-marriage is important to making it succeed.

367 thoughts on “Can a Catholic Marry a Non-Catholic?”

  1. My husband and I have been married for almost 18 years. He has been divorced (once) after a brief marriage, prior to our marriage. We were both baptized Lutheran, but neither have practiced in many years. Our marriage ceremony was civil (not performed by a member of the clergy of any religious denomination, but we took our vows from the Lutheran church’s liturgy. I am now considering converting to Catholicism, and am wondering if I will ever be allowed to partake in the Eucharist once I join the Church since I am married to a divorced, non-Catholic.

  2. I am not catholic or religious of any kind, but my husband to be is a practicing Catholic. We would like to have a non catholic ceremony performed by my fiancé’s uncle who is not a priest but is a devoted catholic. We want to get married in the Grotto outside of the church, but the priest of our local parish says that is not allowed on church property? It’s not inside the church and it is not a traditional catholic wedding. We are getting mixed information about this and we think the priest doesn’t have accurate information either. We’ve heard from another priest that this is not correct. We don’t know who to believe. So, we basically want to use this piece of land outside the church, that is very special to my fiancé, for a small ceremony. Is this or is this not legal in the eyes of the church? If anyone can enlighten me, I would be extremely grateful. Thanks

  3. pls hlp. I am a Catholic and my partner is an Anglican it’s difficult to convince him we love each other and finally decide to get married but the problem is this: I recently found out from a friend of mine that getting married in the Catholic church is like a covenant that if we leave to another church it becomes a sin. I don’t know what to do. my question is how true is this please someone help

    1. Hello Sandra, here is some scripture that may help with your question.

      1 Corinthians 1:1-10
      I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.

      1 Corinthians 12:13
      What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

      1 Corinthians 12:31-
      For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. …

      Corinthians 12-13 honestly sums up to me that it does not matter who baptized you no matter man or denomination.

      As long as you and your fiancé profess Jesus as Lord and Savior, believe he died for your salvation, and believe in the resurrection, then you have been filled with the Holy Spirit of Christ. Therefore your salvation is secured as long as you are living in the word of God.
      Sandra I would recommend keeping in mind that man is flawed. Therefore not all information from man is accurate of course. That’s is why I will just say please read and meditate on The scripture I have sent you are The word of God himself. Please just read them over and I hope that the Lord shows you what you need.

  4. My wife is Catholic and I am Pentecostal. My wife wanted to get married in a beautiful catholic church in her country in Peru. But we live in Atlanta Georgia. We were already married in the court in Atlanta but to get permission to be married in the Church of San Pedro in Lima Peru we had to get approval from the Catholic Church. I would not agree to convert to Catholicism but we went through a lot of interviews and also had to provide numerous personal witnesses from different sides.

    In the end the Priests there finished all their interviews and sent everything off supposedly with their recommendations to the Archdiocese of Atlanta and from there I believe to the Vatican. In the end the process took a fair amount of time but the church approved everything and provided us with papers granting permission to be married in the catholic church of San Pedro. It was really an Interesting experience and after almost 9 years of marriage has become something of a fond memory.

    1. That’s incredibly interesting. I’m Catholic and my boyfriend who I plan to marry one day is also Pentecostal. I hope that our differences don’t affect us too much and that our shared faith in the Lord keeps us strong, as it does your marriage!

  5. Hi I need help

    we are married in a born again christian church 2 years ago. I’m a born again christian and he is catholic. he wants us to have renewal of vows in catholic church in our 5th wedding anniversary. are there any requirements for renewal of vows since we have different religion?

    Thanks

  6. Lh Lhunkhohao Khongsai

    I’m non-Catholic but I belong to Christian family. At the same time I fall in love with a Catholic girl. Here, my question is can I marry her? Please l really need help…

  7. Im Orthodox and my partner is catholic, my partner is not religious and does not want to be in a church, i however am not fully religious but would still like to have a priest at my wedding for my family. It has been quite rough with them.

    Is it possible to have a wedding outside with a priest there??
    Please help.

    1. Someone who cares

      If he really cares and respect u and ur family he will give u a valid orthodox marriage, since he is not religious it should make no difference to him. He gave u no choice so now he has no choice in this matter.

  8. I forgot to mention that the Catholic Church doesn’t demand that the non catholic person convert in order to get married by the church. The emphasize that a person should only convert when they freely choose to do so.
    On another note, my husband and I have had conversations on the similarities of the two religions rather than on the differences. I found recently that our Blessed Mother is mentioned in the Quran more than on any other religious book, including the Bible!
    Our children now adults, were baptized, did First Communion and were Confirmed. Miracles do happen!

  9. I have read all the comments and surprised to find that incorrect information is being provided. I’m a practicing born and raised Catholic and I have been married for 25 years to a non practicing Muslim. The Catholic Church does allow a marriage of a catholic spouse to a non catholic. The non catholic spouse cannot, however, practice the Sacraments.
    Through the power of prayer I have experienced miracles in my marriage. We got married in the Catholic Church thanks to my husband who secretly met with the Pastor of the church I was attending and arranged for us to get married. This took place after 10 years of being married!
    I have to admit that it is not easy, As I feel I’m the one that keeps God alive in the family. Through continued prayer, offering up my daily challenges, and leading by example, I Trust that God will one day answer my prayers.
    I pray for Holier marriages every day. May God and the Blessed Virgin bless you all!

  10. i belong to roman catholic im willing to marry a non catholic guy who is not willing to convert as christian whether it is possible to marry him in catholic church without converting and what are the procedures to be followed for our marriage

    1. hi Yes you can. You and your partner needs to attend the Marriage course. Talk to your parish priest and he will guide you thru.

  11. My wife was Pentecostal and I am a cradle Catholic. We always focused on what our faiths had in common. We also went to mass and her services every weekend. She had actually done her undergraduate work at a Catholic college and then worked for seven years in a private Catholic girls school before going to work at a public university.

    I remember going to my dad when my wife (girlfriend at the time) were getting serious. I wasn’t sure how he would react having been a deeply religious man. I told him we were in love but she wasn’t Catholic. He looked me straight in the eyes and told me, “If you love each other, nothing else matters, it will work”. He was right. We had nine (six married) beautiful years together.

    Unfortunately she was called home far too soon back in October at the age of 32, as a result of complications from cancer. She will always be my angel and my one true love. I just wanted to share though how a mixed marriage can be a blessing sometimes. I do believe I was truly fortunate to find someone like her. She really transcended many of the things that we worry about every day. She always saw the best in people and made the best out of every situation.

    1. Charla Bergstrom

      I am so happy that you found your true love and you shared your story with us! I am in love with a Catholic Man and I believe in all faiths. I am going to go back to the Catholic Church and learn more about the faith. God bless you!

  12. Hi..am a Catholic
    girl having a serious relation with a marthomite boy..for 7 years .We are planning to get married soon as we are now settled down
    with job ,If the boy do not wishes to convert will the church allow to conduct betrothel ceremony there?

  13. I’m not a 100% sure where to get help from so I assume here would be a good place to ask.
    I’m agnostic I have lost my faith and no longer want or need the help of a god. Weather there is or there isn’t is not my concern in life. My concern is that I have found the woman of my dreams who I cannot live without. I wish to marry her have children and live our lives together happily. I’m not hateful towards her Catholic religion I just want no part of it. From what I read it sounds like no matter what option I choose someone has to be indoctrinated or forced to convert and see this true religion scheme. The idea of weather me or my future childrens own ideas and beliefs are taken from them Is just appalling. She’s adamant about the church marriage, and frankly I dont mind it. But how can they expect me to belive their beliefs just like that. I feel if I did all this for the church for her and for God then I would be betraying my own personal ideas. If I choose to fake it for the ceremony I’d be betraying God in her eyes, and my own. I like the idea of our kids deciding there own faith, but that’s practically given up through baptism it seems. All of it sounds very zealous and forced and what gets me is why everyone’s totally cool with that. I want to know how to make this work without the loss of any side of our families with the church’s approval and our kids unbaptised.

    1. Hi, I am a random person who happened to come across your comment. Just to let you know, there are children who have grown up fine in Catholic families that aren’t really religious who have gone through the Sacrament of Baptism (whereas a person becomes a member of the Church), aka the First Sacrament of Initiation. In the Catholic Church Baptism usually happens when the person is a baby. However, this does not “determine” the faith of the child, as there are many ways he/she can grow up and have his/her faith go. Perhaps your wife will want the child to go through the other Sacraments such as Holy Communion, and learn more about Catholicism and such through CCD, Catholic schooling, or youth group, but by the time the child comes to the Sacrament of Confirmation, it will be his/her choice to make him/herself an official member of the Church, therefore “Confirming” themselves, as confirming the parents’ choice of baptizing them in the first place, and Confirming their faith and association with the Church.

      As a person who grew up as a Catholic and have recently been Confirmed my ‘expertise’ is limited to my experiences and bits of research here and there. I don’t remember anything about my experience as “forced”, but sometimes I actually wish my parish were more zealous in preaching so more kids could pay more attention to understand why all of this was important, or at least connect it to formulate their own faith. Many of the people who I went to CCD with were not “zealous” in their religion, and were disinterested to learn more or apply it to their lives, however they found the CCD programs to be fun. Today they have their own beliefs gathered and materialized, some from social media, evolving society, the Internet, etc., many contradicting the Church’s teachings. No one reprimands them for that or forces them to recant their beliefs (but that depends on the family). When we arrived at the Sacrament of ‘Confirmation’, my youth minister did interviews so that the kids who were being forced by their grandparents or whoever but were not willing to commit to the Church did not have to do it. Then again, I cannot represent the face of the Church as these are mainly my own observations. If I was not sure what was a sin, I had to look it up, as the difference between “wrong” and “right” is blurring nowadays and people are more lenient on their interpretations of the Bible. Again, my parish may be less proper than others or just less focused on religion/dogma/doctrine, and more on faith, and one’s own relationship with God. Again, it’s all for what one takes it.

      Anyway, as I went through religious classes we were mainly given moral lessons and taught about the fundamental parts of the Church, such as Sacraments. We learned about some stories from the Bible, and learned the Ten Commandments and some prayers but never were things forced on us, like the concept of ‘Creationism’ (which, again, is interpreted differently by many Christians/Catholics) and we were never taught to prove other beliefs as ‘evil’, neither did we focus on other religions as “wrong”, besides being taught the differences between a Catholic and another denomination of Christianity.

      Side note: I understand you do not want any part of ‘religion’ but IMO having shared beliefs is what will hold a family together when times get tough. In this situation I’d do a lot more research on your wife’s beliefs and planning for your future together. I think it is unfortunate that you feel Catholic doctrine is very controlling but in the end for any Catholic it’s up to each individual to determine how they interpret the Church’s teachings or the Bible’s teachings and how they will follow their moral compass and apply it to their relationships with God and the world. Whenever I go on Roman Catholic forums there are many different commenters on numerous topics, and a surprising wide range of distinct beliefs that lead people to disagree on various things and give completely different advice on common questions. If you are curious about how your wife’s beliefs will affect daily or life-changing matters such as celebrating holidays, taking sides in politics, dressing up, etc., ask her for her opinion on controversial things (unless it makes her uncomfortable, but then again it would be a helpful thing to know about a partner in a future situation) and look up topics like Roman Catholic Ideas on Love, etc. I wouldn’t rely on any one site to represent the entire Catholic Church, as again in religion literally everything is up to interpretation and one zealous man could have a different opinion from one who’s not, and they could both be right. … I’m rambling.

      Anyhow, I believe that as long as you allow your child to experience open-minded, perhaps philosophical discussions but most of all lots of love things will turn out alright. I wish you, your family, and your family-to-be the best and God bless you all :).

      1. Can’t be done sorry!

        All I heard was you talk about ‘you’ YOUR faith, and what YOU want. That’s not an appropriate attitude to enter marriage. No word on the desires of your future spouse either.

        You claim to have found the woman of YOUR dreams, whom you can’t live without (whatever that means) and wish to found a family with her, yet you’re not willing to sacrifice for her. You’re even willing to put her soul and the souls of your future children in peril, because you outright reject an integral part of her – her Faith.

        The fact is, if you don’t know her faith, then you don’t know her.

        Mixed faith marriages don’t work, but lazy priests and bishops allow it, even though such unions have resulted in myriads of broken families, where the burden of living in disunity and disharmony falls heavily upon the children.

        You will not be allowed to NOT Baptize your children if you wish to marry a Catholic within the Catholic Church. You will have to agree to raise any offspring within the Catholic Faith. No exceptions.

        Your claim that Baptizing children removes their right to accept or reject the Truth is false. God made man free. There are no chains in the Catholic Church. Your children can reject the Faith as adults if they wish. I think you are confused with Islam, where one cannot leave under penalty of death.

        It does appear to me this pending marriage is about you, and you only.

        Perhaps you should consider what marriage really is and whether or not you’re up to the challenge of a life long union founded on disunity and disharmony, and the damage that will cause.

        Regards,
        Lisa Marie

        1. To Lisa Marie, seems like you are the one who only thinks about your own perspective as a catholic. I can say the same for you where it’s only ‘you’ YOUR faith, and what YOU want.

          YOU want non-believers to just happily accept their child to be baptized when they are uncomfortable with it. It is selfish of you to only think of what you want and what your faith wants you to do.

          If you take away religion out of the equation, things would be a lot more simpler. Both parties can live their lives as a loving couple and bring their kid up with the correct values. Not everything is about religion.

          As a non-believer, i understand that catholics have their faiths and i respect that. But a relationship is about finding a common ground and making things work. As much as a catholic wants to enforce her religion on her child, a non-believer can want the opposite just as much.

          Ultimately, religion is something that helps and guide us through our voyage in life. It is ironic that it is causing us with such frustrations and dilemma. I do not have a answer for this issue because i am in the same predicament but i sure do hope that all couples face with such situation are able to brave through this rough patch together. Love transcends all.

          Peace out.

          1. The Catholic Church and all her teachings, is not ‘my’ faith. I did not found the Faith. Christ did. I accepted the Truth when I heard it, and I admit, some of it is hard to swallow, but you cannot cherry pick. It’s all or nothing.

            I’m not asking non believers to accept anything. Truth is not based upon feelings and emotions. It exists without any human input or output.

            All anyone gets to do (myself included) is accept or reject it.

            That said, the Catholic Church actually forbids marriage to a non Catholic because of the disunity and disharmony it puts between the spouses from the beginning, and the burden it places upon the children.

            Unfortunately, these marriages laws have been relaxed since Vatican II, but a dispensation is still required from the local Bishop, as these marriages are not recommended due to the high rate of failure.

            It hasn’t got anything to do with being brave, but it has everything to do with Eternity.

          2. People with a similar mindset like you are the reason the reformation happened. Were it not for Protestantism we’d still be in Medieval tiems

    2. Hey Brandon , if you can find the time to educate yourself you may find that to be unevenly yoked in marriage or even a business partner ship rarely works out well. If you can find a Bible you can read about this 2 Corinthians Ch 6 V14. I hope you find your need of God ,with what is happening in our world today your going to need Him .

  14. Hi, i wasn’t born a catholic, but got converted to a catholic and that’s what i practice now.

    I’m getting married to a baptist and we are getting married in a catholic church.

    he wants me to convert to baptist after the wedding and I’m happy to because i believe we all serve the same God.

    will it be a problem if i covert from a catholic to a baptist after the wedding ?

    1. Yes. That will be a HUGE problem for you. You will be abandoning the One True Faith for heresy.

      Before the reformation, all Christians were Catholic. The CC is the only Church that was founded by Jesus Christ Himself. All others were founded by mere men who think they have a better plan than God.

      Do a history search and see for yourself that the CC is the only Church that can be traced back to Jesus Christ. All others only a mere 500 years old, and there are 40,000+ fractions to choose from.

      Just how many body’s do you think Jesus has? ONE. Within the Church HE founded.

      Q. Why on earth would you marry in the CC if you intend to abandon it? Make sure you inform your priest of your intention to abandon the Church after receiving the Sacrament of Marriage there. He might have some strong advice for you.

      Regards, Lisa Marie

      1. This person is not a Christian of any sort, as her attitude is an utterly blasphemous betrayal of the Spirit of Christ.

          1. Lisa Marie -Because you are closed minded, which is not supported in the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church doesnt preach that they are the one true religion, even the Pope recognizes other religions of the world, never condemning them.

          2. Dear Another Person,

            The Catholic Church IS the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic, Church that Christ founded. The One True Church, and she does teach that!

            Many have found the moral code to hard to accept, that’s why you now have over 40,000 different Christian denominations (who are referred to as our separated brethren) teaching their own doctrine, but are constantly invited to return to the One True Faith.

  15. Hi,

    I am a Hindu boy originally from India, and have been dating an Indian Catholic girl from India only, who is very spiritual, devout and law abiding, and very conscious in receiving the “Holy Communion” I am not very religious, but I don’t want to convert. However, I am open to go to the Church and masses with her. I have a few questions if someone can kindly answer:

    1. What is the Church’s stand on such a relationship? I am open to marry by Catholic Christian rituals or/and also Hindu rituals, one followed by the other. Does the Church allow this?

    2. She is ready in getting married but in the same time she wants to continue receiving the “Holy Communion”. Is it possible if yes how ?

    We also agreed it would be an interfaith home. Our children will be taught both religions and we will be by each others side for anything that involves religion. Has anyone else ever been in this situation and if so, how did you handle it? Does anyone know of a priest that would marry us in these terms or could someone else legally marry us other than a Catholic priest ?

  16. Hi, please help with this as this is urgent..

    I am a catholic getting married to a non-catholic.

    Is there a part of the signing that says our children have to be brought up as a Catholic?

    Thank you guys.

    1. Hi Sara,

      Yes. You are required to raise your children as Catholics, and your future spouse needs to agree to that.

      I married a non-Catholic 27 years ago, and I strongly advise you against it. You will be unequally yoked, with you bearing the burden of teaching your children the Catholic Faith ALONE. Even if your spouse is not hostile towards you doing that, later on, the children will see it, and as is mostly the case, the faith (or not) of the father is what directs the society of your children, regardless of what you teach them.

      It is a long, hard, road, with many seasons of sandpaper!

      I have lost my 2 sons to their father’s apathy towards God and the Faith. It’s heartbreaking.

      No one seems to realise any of this BEFORE they have children, but after they arrive, everything you thought would be ‘no problem’ becomes a ball and chain, and is an extremely difficult road to travel.

      Sorry to be the bearer of crushing news, but no one including the Church, informed me of the very heavy cross I willingly vowed to bear without knowledge.

      Since the highest act of love of the spouses is to get each other home to heaven, along with any offspring that come forth from that union, why put an obstacle in the way before you start?

      If you choose to go ahead, I invite you to befriend St Monica.

      All the best, regards, Lisa Marie

  17. Pls, am a catholic and I have a bf who is a non catholic and we agreed on getting married but all of a sudden he said its not gonna wrk out cos his parents wouldnt allow him marry a non catholic bcos his father is a pastor. And I love him so much nd dnt tink I cn love anyone. But dis recent devt has thrown me off balance. Pls wot shud I do.

    1. I don’t know the right answer, but you can show your love of Jesus with his father because Catholic or not Catholic Jesus Loves Us All and if both of your hearts are in the Lord then it’ll work out. My boyfriend is a Catholic too and what i noticed is that we all do simikar things, its just you have eatablished traditions:) Pray with your bf and just wait for the father to turn around. 🙂 Good luck and I hope everything works out:)

  18. hello, I have a question about marrying someone who has not been baptized. How far in advanced do I have to get a letter from the bishop? How do I go about doing that? We plan to marry in the church in May 2017.
    He is in full agreement that we should marry in the church but he has never been baptized.
    Thanks for any information you can give me.

  19. Hello,

    I am a non-baptized Christian, who got divorced (dissolution) 3 years ago. My ex-husband was a baptized Catholic, so not sure if that makes this marriage invalid, as we did not marry in a Catholic church (civil ceremony).

    My current fiancé is also a baptized Catholic, and we are looking at getting married in the Catholic church. I’m not sure what steps are required of me to make this happen, or if it’s possible.

    Also, we’d like to have our children baptized in the Catholic church one day. Is that possible if we do not get married in a Catholic church, if he is Catholic?

    1. Hello Michelle,

      As far as marriage, you could have a minister of your faith help with the ceremony or you could convert to Catholicism. Converting would take a couple of classes. You could definitely baptise your children in the Catholic Church without being Catholic.

    2. If you are getting remarried, it will not count as a valid marriage in the first place. You are, in the eyes of the Catholic Church, still married to your previous husband. I might be wrong but I don’t think you would be permitted to be married in the Church as it would be an invalid sacrament.
      Hope I helped! Feel free to ask any more questions.

  20. My boyfriend and I have been together for 18months. I am a confirmed Roman Catholic, and he was baptized in the Anglican Church but later his mother moved them to the full gospel church. I am part of a rosary group, fund raising and in our choir. He doesnt go to church every week and he prays with me because i lead (before we eat supper) we would give anything to be married, however he is pushing to be married in his church even though he does not practice. And I am fighting back for my faith. We had broken up for the same reason and later on reunited, and he agreed to marry me in the Catholic church and to have our children raised in the church… My question is, will our marriage be recognized in the eyes of the church?

    1. Please check with your priest for the best answer. My husband is Christian but not Catholic. He was not very religious due to life events before we met. I saw that he had lost his faith in God. I prayed that God would open up his heart and mind. Early on in our relationship, I told my husband that I am Catholic and will raise my children Catholic- that was my deal-breaker!!! I said that if he did not agree then we should not pursue our relationship further. As we dated, I invited him to attend mass. Then, we got married in the Catholic church. He was amazed by the significance placed on the marriage preparation. He willingly attended the Pre-Cana marriage classes. Now, after we are married, he asks me to lead us in prayer before meals and bedtime. His heart yearns to attend mass. I explained to him that because he is not Catholic he can participate in mass but not in receiving the Eucharist. However, if he ever decided to convert to Catholicism, I would support him and give him more information on how to do so. Recently, I learned that I am pregnant, and we look forward to growing our family in the Catholic church. From this experience, I realized the Holy Spirit is at work. I pray that you will find all the answers to that which you seek.

    2. I am a baptized Christian. My question is isn’t it more important for God to recognize the marriage rather than the church? I don’t understand the Catholic faith from the perspective that everything goes thru the Church and men rather than directly to God, the Father and Jesus, the son.

      1. Me too! My questions
        1. Where do they get these rules?
        How do they know that God will or will not recognize a marriage? Who did God tell this to?

        2. When a Protestant marries a Catholic ( mixed)
        A. They make sure the Protestant doesn’t interfere with Catholics faith and that the children WILL be raised Catholic? This is to “protect souls” ?
        a. I as a very Godky Protestant woman would never let someone tell me that my babies soul is in jeopardy without them! So when my child realizes one day, I go to daddies church but not mommies or I want to go to moms church because It seems spiritually right for me- I have to say no! You can’t because I told your dads church I would send you to Catholic Church. Child says why so I have to say- because they are assuring the protection of your soul? So they wonder why mom picks a church that could be damaging to her soul instead dads church where they “protect souls” ?
        c.The reason children would be stressed in this case is because of the strict rules implied this way and not because of the strain of two Christians raising a child together. It’s the fact Catholics believe they are superior to Protestants and do think they are the only true church and or way to salvation. Why lay all those uses out if not? I say denominations are just man made things all the time and believe True Christians are defined by spiritual means not labels that men made up.

        4. I don’t understand praying through Mary? Mary isn’t needed to have a personal relationship with the Lord. Why pray through Mary instead of talk directly to Him? Mary’s story is so special to me and Protestants hold her in High requard but can someone please tell me where I can find this as well, Biblically?

        1. Lisa a simple answer on the Blessed Mother Mary. Protestants show little respect for the Mother of Our Lord, so ask them If God chose Mary shouldn’t you? As far as praying through her, would not a son listen to His Mother? God didn’t need Mary to come to earth but He chose and was nurtured by Her.God made Mary important not the Catholic Church.

  21. The purpose of a marriage is to provide companionship. “And the LORD God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”” (Genesis 2:18).

    Later Solomon noted, “Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity; for that is your portion in life, and in the labor which you perform under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 9:9).
    Toward that end, when marriage was established, God said, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24).

    The Bible doesn’t agree with what men find acceptable today — the idea that multiple religions are acceptable to God. “Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (I Corinthians 1:10).

    The division in religion is a result of men refusing to be obedient to God’s teaching that He left for us in His Bible. There should not be Catholic or Protestant. Presbyterians or Pentecostals.
    There should only be Christians because that is all that Christ established really. “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Ephesians 4:4-6).

    When the Bible speaks of a husband and wife becoming one flesh, it is broader than a sexual union. When a couple marries, they become a new unit. They are a family where the husband is at the front leading the way the family should go (Genesis 3:16). If two people cannot agree, but marry anyway, their disagreement prevents them from becoming one as God desires.

    If you are a Christian, then understand that we all serve the same God even if we do it differently. As long as we are sincere about our faith to God, we’d concentrate in things that unite us, not to things that separates us.

    1. Unfortunately, though, those little differences and the “things that separate us” could send us to hell for all eternity. So yeah, they’re kind of important….

    2. Hi Anna, I can see that you are very sincere in your intentions or you would not have taken the time to post here. I’m just confused by what you said and wondering if you can please give an example of a little difference in Christian practice that would cause God to send one of His beloved children away forever if they loved Him, were honouring Him the best way they knew how, and the intention of their heart toward Him was good? I mean no disrespect; I’m just trying to understand what you mean. This does not sound like something our Father would do. I think of my own children and know that I would not banish one of them from me forever if they had been led astray but still wanted a relationship with me. And God loves us so much more than I love them. I’m a devout Roman Catholic, by the way. Thank you.

    3. Thank you says,
      Can you answer:
      Q1. why did Jesus separate himself from the Jews establishing a different movement?
      Q2. If we are serving one God, why did all these churches leave the catholic church (church instituted by the apostle peter) to form theirs?

      1. Michael Bazikos

        I am not sure I can answer your first question satisfactually. Jesus was the messiah, a rabbai(teacher), and God in the flesh. He was sent to the children of Israel. His followers were thrown out of the synagogues for believing he was the messiah. If there was any separation from those that sat on the seat of Moses, it was that Jesus pointed out their hypocracy and told his discipcles to obey them but not to follow their example. For Q#2: Jesus himself prayed that his followers would be one, as he and the Father were one. The Orthodox and Protestant Churches came about mostly because of political reasons. In countries where the rulers embraced Protestantism, they stole church property to enrich the state. Catholic evangelization, the Mass, public displays of faith, religious life and teaching were forbidden. So the ancient faith was not given the freedom to be embraced or survive on it’s merits in the public square. For a biblical foreshadowing of the protestant movement, read the ‘rebellion of Korah’ Num.16 and note that the arguments used by the rebellious Israelites curiously echoes those of the reformers thousands of years before they came on the scene.

  22. Malik Waqas Akhtar

    I am not a perfect person but i am a muslim i just replied on those comments in which the name of muslim involved nothing else because i don,nt have any knowledge about other religion very will but bieng a muslim i have knowledge of my religion not complete but enough to spend my life under islam. I just open this site for the sack of my knowledge to know about catholic nothing else.

    1. I was baptised in a Methodist and Presbyterian church and is planning to get married to my boyfriend who is a baptised Catholic and has done his holy communion etc.we are planning to get married in the Catholic Church. can we still get married if I’m not baptised Catholic and hasn’t done holy communion? But I would want to convert and has been going to Catholic Church services. Please help.

      1. If you are willing to convert, you should look into RCIA in your Church. These are classes that will prepare you with knowledge about what being a Catholic is all about and how to be ready to receive your sacraments. I’m happy you’re making the effort to be united. I ask for prayers so thay my boyfriend chooses to take that same step.

  23. i’m a very devoted Catholic nd would love to marry in the Catholic church nd grow old nd die as a Catholic but the problem is my partner isnt a Catholic and he is not willing to sign the oath of allowing myself nd our children to keep my faith…and my priest said we won’t be able to get married in the church if he doesn’t sign it…please what can i do…
    my partner suggested we go to the court..but i have dreamt of getting married in my church all my life…
    i am so torn nd confused

    1. If you are truly Catholic ypur soon to benspouse should respect that and go through the proper lanes for RCIA. I’m in your same situation without children, I will not marry a non-Catholic and the marriage would have to be in the church. Its not happening otherwise, so in my mind he doesnt respect my religion, so there for marriage isnt a topic.

    2. Matthew Mathis

      This is a way for the church to control you and to indoctrinate your children. They use the church marriage as a way to control you. Find a beautiful place and get married. Live without guilt and without being controlled.

      1. It is sad that so many people don’t understand the depth and richness of the belief and complexity of scripture that backs up the importance of knowing what you are doing in this type of union.

    3. The Catholic church is a very controlling institution. Believe me, I know because I married into a Catholic family. Fortunately, my wife has found freedom in Jesus Christ who released her from the shackles of religion.

      Let me just say unless you and your partner are united in your faith and convictions, it will not work. There will be pressure from the extended family which could drive the two of you apart. It will also get worse should you have children.

      But you will need to sort this out before you marry.

  24. Please I urgently need an advise. I am born in an Anglican church but my fiancee is a roman Catholic and we plan to get married very soon. I was told that her brother is in the seminary school to become a priest that if we get married in my church he will be dismissed from the seminary and will never a priest. So my family as an Anglican family are not in support of me wedding in any other church. Please is there any way we can have our weeding in Anglican church with out it affecting the young boy who is in a seminary school from becoming a priest.

    1. hi lawson, i havent heard of such in the Catholic church, each person’s faith is different. i do not thin it’s true that they will expel her brother just because of her decision to marry a non Catholic. i have seen situations where a priest’s sibling marries a non Catholic.
      it definitely not true. you can go to any Catholic church and ask the priest if you wish. they won’t refuse you annswer.

      1. Hey Martina I don’t have a any problems with your religious and you can continue your religion and I will support you also I am Hindu guy I wanna marry Catholic girl will you

    2. There is no way a seminarian would NOT be permitted to become a priest because of the actions his siblings are involved in, independent of him.

  25. Yvette Fernandez

    I’m not sure if my question has been answered in this thread but I am really confused about my situation. I am Catholic and my fiancé is a non baptized Christian who attends church every now and then but is not a specific member of any church. I wold love to marry Catholic and he is completely okay with it but would it be allowed of would he have to get baptized? I am definetly going to speak to my church and see what they tell me but does anyone know what would happen in this situation? Thanks you.

    1. yvette, he doesn’t have do anything out of force. so long as he is completely okay with you keeping your faith and doea not have any problem with your future children joining in that faith…then you are good.

  26. I am dating a man who is Catholic and I am not. He wants to get married in a Catholic Church which I am fine with. I can’t have children and since we are in our forties we dont plan on adopting. Since Children won’t be an issue will that make marrying in the Catholic Church easier?

    1. It doesn’t matter that you’re biologically infertile due to age, you just have to be open to children, even if the possibility is highly unlikely. Have either of you been married, even in a civil ceremony? If so, those prior marriages will have to be annulled through the Catholic Church. Yes, even if you are not Catholic, your prior marriage will need to be annulled. If neither of you have been married or if the prior spouses are deceased, then he can contact his priest and let him know you’d like to be married in the church. You’d need to go through some marriage prep. The pastor of the church would request dispensation from the bishop for you to be married. If you’re unbaptized, it would be for disparity of cult. If you’re baptized in a faith recognized by the Catholic Church, it would be for a mixed marriage. This is all part of the marriage prep and doesn’t take as long as it sounds 😉

    2. Larry Blue Eyes

      All religions strong arm all new comers. Sad but true. Where will you give your 10%? Simple question. Are you a Christian or a convenient Christian. I mean, do you follow what works for you? Or The Bible to the letter? I wish you peace and happiness. Just discuss these issues before hand. I think counseling with the priest and the ordained whoever is very helpful. If there is something smoldering, it will come to light. The Catholics have a lot of rules I have never seen in the Bible. I worship God, not a man dressed up for Mardi gras. Joke. I would never leave my children alone with a priest. Remember that anyone of the cloth is just a man or a women.

  27. Hai everyone.
    My name is Gloria.. its nice to saw all of yours comment nor opinion…its makes me want to ask about it.
    im was born and baptized as roman catholic…and i have friend that also christian. he is seventh days adventist..
    ive search about it differences…so, let say if i im getting married with him…im i wrong to choose his religion as seventh day adventist or should i stay with my roman catholic?…

    1. Hi Gloria, congratulations on your engagement!

      I am a former Seventh day Adventist and converted and was received into the Catholic Church 2 years ago. If you were baptized into the Catholic Church, you were baptized into the true Church. Some might say “It makes no difference what religion a person practices so long as he leads a good life,” is deceptive because it attaches the same importance to the teaching and practice of a false religion as it does to the teaching and practice of the one, true religion revealed by Christ and taught by His Church. No one can be saved without sanctifying grace, and the Catholic Church alone is the divinely established means by which grace is brought to the world and the full fruits of Our Lord’s Redemption are applied to men.

  28. Hello Everyone,

    i am a catholic, raised with catholic values.i love a girl & she too loves me. she was born, catholic, but got converted into born again & is a strong believer. As per the guidance of her pastor she says if we marry, we may face lot of problems in future. i do not wish to get converted & wish to stay catholic. we do want to get married with an amicable solution. what problems will we face with regards to different denominations & how to overcome them ?
    your valuable comments are highly appreciated

    1. Your children. What faith they will be raised in. Should one of you die, then who keeps the children going to the Church they’ve been attending. You stayed that neither of you wanted to change your faiths, which stands to reason that your beliefs on worship, laws, etc are different. This will become an issue once children come into play. If she’s against converting to your beliefs and you hers, then you wont honor her by keeping the children going where she went and vice versa should you be the one to pass and the children had always attended with you. Unless you or she decides to change your beliefs. Love comes in different forms. And that sometimes loving someone enough to let them go so that they can find a partner that shares not just their heart, but most importantly their true faith and beliefs. It just simply makes for a happier fulfilled marriage and family..best of luck

      1. Thank you Melissa for the advice.i had never thought that this will matter at all, while we were dating.
        Its 2016 & i feel very sad that even today ,its an issue. The same religion will separate us rather than unite us, esp after we have bonded very well except for this one issue, which is now turning this upside down.

        I will lose faith in religion after this. Not any anger against God, just this man made religion.

        1. Joel, please don’t lose faith. However, I would pray that you get your Bible out and search for yourself what God teaches us about loving Him, how we are to worship, how we are to put Him first, having no idols, no creeds, no man made additions to the examples that have been clearly laid out for us in both of Pauls letters to the Corinthians, books one and two. Leave all catechism books, all literature that was by men as a rule book aside. The Bible, which is Gods binding, unchangeable law, tells us plainly the rules for life,worship, marriage, how we are added to His Church, by baptism, not by men, some group of men or a church, etc. No man on this earth has the authority to forgive sins, change Gods law, etc. We are to work out our own salvation, as God has told us. If you truly liv this woman, then take the time, the effort to study with her. Study the Bible together, leaving the man made rules out of it. There is nothing wrong with traditions, however God has clearly stated that to observe the traditions of men over following His law is wrong. Christ died for us. All power on Earth and in Heaven was given to him. We have been told it is wrong to add to or take away from.Gods word. When you decide to start studying for yourself, along with her, please keep in mind that if you can’t find it in the scriptures, then it shouldn’t be added to your life or your worship. I do wish you the very best. Love and marriage are wonderful..but they are both a work in progress each day and without common ground and stability, which should begin with your faith, it will be a constant struggle. When you put children in the middle, it can quickly become an all out war..

          1. Hello,

            Thank you all. After a lot of thinking, I decided to let go of her & this was the best decision for both of us. I am now happily married to another woman who shares the same faith as mine. Yes there was a lot of pain initially, but not anymore. I just met my present wife at the right time & she proposed to me. I consider this as Gods planning & just went with the flow. Everything feels right now.If i had gone against His will & married the former lady, there would have been a lot of problems regularly.

            Thank you Jesus !!!

        2. Hi Joel,
          I too am in the same situation. My boyfriend and I have been together for over 4 years- he is Catholic and I am a born-again Christian. We too want to get married however we too can’t agree on very important issues like baptism, what church to get married in etc. I have studied catholicism inside out for the last 2 years and I have found nothing but false doctrine and pure and utter lies. He now is an ‘a la carte catholic’ and what I mean by that is that he is reading the Bible for the last year and can’t find purgatory. praying to the saint, praying to mary, confessions etc in the Bible. He is distraught and very confused. His family and community are a stumbling block. I pray that you seek God with all your heart and that he will show your the true way, as he says in his word ” THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE’ . May God bless you and keep you.

          1. Hello Mary,

            Thanks for your valuable inputs. Your suggestions are valid but I see it very simply, in many families kids ask their mothers to ask their dad to buy them something. There is nothing wrong or criminal in asking your mother though your father may be the earner. So then why are people having so much hatred towards mother Mary. Sometimes you may ask for help from your uncle or aunt, why see saints differently. If person has slightly different beliefs it’s alright ,but why hate the others belief and keep telling you always that you are wrong.I didn’t do any wrong being Catholic.

            Well I am too exactly in the same situation, and don’t say anything clear ahead. Perhaps its better like Melissa said, if you truly love someone, better to let them go. I will be eager to know what you people concluded.

          2. This is why the Bible says “You must be equally yoked.”
            This isn’t to be taken lightly. Don’t compromise your beliefs. How can this be God’s will? You better get on your knees and pray hard before you make a major mistake!!!
            All the answers are in God’s Word.

    2. Hi Joel,

      I am a devout Carholic and very involved in my church. I teach the Confirmation class and am the coordinator of the program. I’m also a youth minister. I only say this to say that I’ve heard this question many times, and have had to make sure I have a response. Please do not let “rules of religion” interfere with your faith or spirituality like so many other people. You can most certainly have a mixed marriage – I’ve seen it work – but you must know when to compromise. Are you willing to worship with her and her with you? And as for core beliefs, are they the same? The problem is that we get caught up in rules and that’s wrong. If she has truly found a relationship with God in her religion, don’t change that. Pray together. And allow God to work. This is where real faith comes in. If you love her, and the two of you can worship together, if through her you can get closer to God and she can get closer to God through you, then go for it. Keep God a part of your relationship, respect each other, don’t argue over it, and it will work. He makes all things possible. 🙂 God bless you and her.

      1. I am married 29 years to a (now) strong Catholic man and I have always been a strong Protestant Woman. We have had many struggles in the past and were not married in the Catholic Church until our fifth anniversary when we renewed our vows. Our Daughter was baptized Catholic but has not followed the Catholic religion, she has found for herself the truth of God in a Protestant faith. I didn’t want to go against The Word of God and not allow my husband to lead our family so I allowed her to be baptized Catholic. I was the main faith influence in her life and would to honor him take her to both services so she could see what they are like and as she got older choose for herself what she wanted. She has followed the bible teaching as well as what’s taught in both Catholic religion and Protestant faith and in the end choosen for follow a non denominational Protestant faith.
        That said its not been easy, we have just in the past 3 years been able to speak on our differences and not end in a fight. I love my husband dearly but to do it all over I don’t think I would. It’s caused so much hurt and damage to our marriage that it’s only through God that I stayed.
        In the long run, I am so happy that we did stay together. It’s been a learning experience for sure and givin me opportunity to open my husbands eyes and his heart even a little bit to understand that’s it’s not so much about how we get there it’s more about “that” we get there that’s really important. We are both believers but don’t really get to much deeper when it comes right down to it.
        I am Bible taught and my faith is based on the Bible teachings of The Lord Jesus and my husband is more religion taught then by the Bible. He is growing and started reading his bible over other religious based books. We both spend time now in The Word and are able to see both sides of things where in the past it was all or nothing for him. His priest was very vocally against any other religions teachings and for about 3 years really put our marriage in a downward spiral. Since the priest left this Church things have changed for the better.
        I wish you nothing but the best, I do pray you will open your heart and mind to what God has planned for you. Remember God will always see you through the hard times and He will never forsake you. Pray and follow His word, ask The Holy Spirit to show you the way of The Lord.
        Remember “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” Philippians 4:13

        1. Hello,

          Thank you all. After a lot of thinking, I decided to let go of her & this was the best decision for both of us. I am now happily married to another woman who shares the same faith as mine. Yes there was a lot of pain initially, but not anymore. I just met my present wife at the right time & she proposed to me. I consider this as Gods planning & just went with the flow. Everything feels right now.If i had gone against His will & married the former lady, there would have been a lot of problems regularly.

          Thank you Jesus !!!

  29. Toluse Francis

    I have a Catholic lady I want to marry but she’s insists I convert. I don’t have a problem with her going to her Church but why insist I convert?

    1. It’s not okay to force someone to do anything involving faith. Good gave us free will and he wants us to come to him freely and of our own accord. Faith can’t be forced, it just doesn’t work that way. Is she making an ultimatum? Have you gone together and talked with her priest? He would clear things up.

  30. Toluse Francis

    I love this site. This is very educative
    I have a Catholic Lady whom I want to marry and I really want to marry her. She doesn’t want to marry me even after telling her she doesn’t have to convert. She’s insisting I convert.
    Is this fair?
    How do I convince her to come with me in terms of marrying me

    1. Then sadly, she just doesn’t want to be married it seems…perhaps your devotion should be spent on somebody who truly loves you and wants a lifelong commitment to you. If your faiths are diverse, then you will have to decide on how your children will worship as well. Keep in mind, we as parents are responsible and held accountable for what our children at taught and exposed to until they reach accountability and faithful maturity to understand on their own..best wishes for you

  31. What if the Non-Catholic doesn’t want their child(ren) to be raised Catholic? if he or she is Seventh Day Adventist and yet they so much love the Catholic spouse.

      1. Sickofnazicatholics

        No way! Everyone has th ed right to choose what they want to do raising their children. I married a Catholic non practicing as it’s called (sounds like witchcraft). We agree there is ONE holy Father and that is God! We go to a Christian Church.

    1. If you don’t want your children being raised Catholic, then I don’t see the point of getting married in a Catholic church. Obviously this is something you and your spouse must figure out.

  32. If your not babtiset are you catholic?and if your not babtiset can you do the other step of sacraments?
    Plz can someone tell me

    1. It’s baptized**. If you were not baptized in a Catholic Church then you are not Catholic and cannot receive the other sacraments until you are baptized.

  33. Good day

    I am a female catholic in a 8 year relationship with my partner. He however, is not baptised nor catholic but has been dedicated into his community faith church. We are planning on getting married next year, God willing. We have agreed that in future our kids be baptised catholic as he is not ready to convert to catholic as of yet. I would like to know if it would be possible for him to be baptised in the catholic church till his ready to take on the sacrament of rcia-confirmation. I however, refuse to go to his church. Please help! Lizelle

    1. Hi Lizelle!
      I’m Catholic & my husband was Southern Baptist. We married in the Catholic church 15 years ago. My secret wish was for him to become Catholic but the differences of our religious backgrounds restricted our conversations. I prayed silently for years that he would convert. Then our children were born, baptized Catholic, received their First Holy Communion and now about to be confirmed. They too had begun to pray for him to convert. He had left his Baptist beliefs and had nothing. He seemed unhappy all of the time, which made us pray harder. Inviting him to every Catholic occasion. He accompanied us to mass sometimes. But began attending mass weekly with us and becoming more involved as our children are preparing for their next sacrament.
      Now after 15 years of marriage he has come to us saying he is converting! He started the classes and will become Catholic this spring.
      My advice is this, your future husband doesn’t have to be baptized to marry you in the Catholic church. You do have to live by the Catholic church and raise your future children Catholic. Since you already have decided to do that, then you can go forward.
      I would not pressure him. I didn’t with my husband. All I needed was patience and prayer!
      Good Luck and congratulations on your engagement.

  34. i got married to a Catholic and im a buddhist and marriage was a buddhist marriage and not in a church.then we had a baby and my husband wanted to baptised her.he did it with out my concern and due to that reason we got separated.can i reverse baptism of my child ?

    1. nope. baptism is a permanent thing. No ceremony, piece of paper, or clergy member of any faith can undo it. Try raising your child with respect for both religons

    2. Reverse baptism? Is this a serious question? I’m not sure how your baby was baptized without your consent because there needs to be consent from both parents before the child is baptized.

      1. Anybody can take holy water, use it to make the sign of the cross on baby’s forehead, and say “I baptize you in the name of the father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.” Insta presto. Baby baptized. Big deal. Do it secretly. Baby will select his or her own religion if given the freedom to do so. No harm, no foul.

        1. Baptism by this means is only valid if the one being Baptized is in danger of death. If not, then a formal Baptism still needs to be done.

  35. Dear father, I am a Hindu and married to Catholic girl and recently we had a child. my wife wants him to grow as Catholic, I too doesn’t have any problem. We enquired a priest for giving baptism to our child. He said that first I should convert then only they can give baptism to my child. Is there any other way I can give baptism to my son without converting from my religion? Please help me father

    1. This is absolutely ridiculous! One has nothing to do with the other. You should never have to abandon your religion to have your child baptized. That church is backward. I hope you find a solution.

    2. Hi Rajalingam,

      You don’t need to convert in your order for your child to be baptised. However, if you baptise your child, you promise that you will raise him/her in the Catholic faith. So if you have no problem with your child being thaught these things, this shouldn’t be a problem. If your local priest has a problem with you not being Catholic, explain that you have no problem and you will help raise the child in the Church. If he still has a problem, it might be an idea to go to another priest or to the bishop, to explain what has happened.

      I hope this helped, God bless.

    3. This is not true, please find another Catholic Church to have your child baptized in. As long as one parent is Catholic and both parents consent, you can have your child baptized. I don’t know why on earth they would tell you something so untrue. Don’t give up!

  36. Hello,
    I am a catholic girl studying in university. I have been dating a Muslim guy who doesn’t believe in God. And I have no issue with the whole converting thing because I will always be catholic. He is not asking me to convert but his father has a slight issue with this and my mother is worried that I wont be accepted by his family and I know her worries are just any thing a mother would worry about. and I know all she want is me to be happy. He doesn’t seem to have an issue of raising kids in both the faiths and when they turn 18 we let them decide. I want to bring them up catholic and im sure if I talk to him he will let me . anyway people have said we wont work because of the different faiths thing and I was thinking what if in the near future he would be willing to convert. (this is all before maariage but it isn’t certain.)

    1. He’s Muslim and doesn’t believe in God? Muslims believe in Allah, a higher power, the creator of everything. Just as Christians worship one God and one God only, so do Muslims. That being said Muslims and Christians “Gods” are very similar.
      My best friends boyfriend is Muslim and she is Catholic. They both respect each other and each other’s beliefs. They would never ask each other to convert or pressure them to do so. Her boyfriend found Allah later in life, he was raised Christian. On the other hand, my best friend knew little about his religion and was happy and eager to learn more about it. She didn’t do this to convert, but because she wanted to know more about his beliefs.
      My best friend told me in most cases when a non-Muslim woman has a child with a Muslim man the children are raised Muslim. I’m not sure if this is tradition or in the Korean.
      You asked if in the near future if he’d be willing to convert… do you want him to convert or has he mentioned it? Not to say that this is true for all Muslims, but the Muslims I’ve known have dedicated their lives to Allah and won’t covert just as you said you wouldn’t convert and you’d remain Catholic.
      His family shouldn’t not accept you because you aren’t Muslim just as your family shouldn’t not accept him because he isn’t Catholic. I was raised Christian and always taught to accept everyone.
      What do you mean when you said “I have no issue with the whole converting things because I will always be Catholic”? Also, has your mom asked you to think about converting? How much have you talked to him about his religion and these issues? How long have you been together, long enough to discuss marriage and children?
      I’m just asking these questions to better understand your situation and possibly offer you some insight based on what I know.

          1. Sorry, this is not factual. Linguistically, Allah is a name that means “God” but they are not referring to the same God Christian’s believe in. The Christian God is a trinity (God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit) all ONE God. Muslims do not believe in the Trinity, and therefore their Allah is not referring to the God we follow.

            God is a trinity of persons, Allah is not.

    2. Malik Waqas Akhtar

      being a muslim he must be belief on oneness of God as in Quarna Surah Ikhlas, And Kalma Tauheed in which we promise and belief that Allah is One and Hazrat Muhamad SW is his Messenger. So If you Want To Marry you can Accept Islam Other wise You can,t.Our faith is that Hazrat Esa AS is a messenger as Hazrat Muhammad Sw and Bible i Reveiled on him but After Quran Bible is Cancelled by Allah And The Only Quran is Complete book of Islam.So you are wrong that he Did,nt Believe on God.

  37. Melissa Gonzalez

    I married my high school sweetheart in 1997 through JP… And we renewed our vows in 2007 in Catholic church.. In 2012 we divorced due to circumstances. Can we get remarried in Catholic Church if it’s to the same man?

    1. Dear Melissa,

      You say that you divorced your husband. Did you have an annulment or only a separation of bed and table? In the second case, you are still considered married in the Catholic Church, so you don’t need to remarry. You can have a special Mass though to celebrate you coming back together. If you had an annulment, you basically said that your marriage never really existed. In this case, you will have to get married again, but this is also possible. I would recommend you speaking to your parish priest, he will be able to help you.

      God Bless

  38. My husband is not sure if he was baptized. They used to attend Episcopalian Services when he was a child. I am Catholic and our kids were baptized Catholic. We started going to church (my husband too) on a regular basis for over a year now. I just recently found out that the Catholic Church does not recognize Civil weddings. What do I do to make the Catholic church recognize our marriage? Does he need to convert or be baptized Catholic? Do we need to get married by a priest? I’m trying to research but I’m so confused.

    1. Why does the “catholic” church have to recognize a marriage in the first place. If the catholic church did not want to be recognized as some sort of cult or different, then it should be not different any other church or religion. If one is married, one is married PERIOD; civil or otherwise as long as the person overseeing the marriage was ordained or given the authority by law (i.e. a judge).

    2. Your husband doesn’t need to convert, but for the Church to acknowledge your marriage, you need to get married in the Catholic Church. I don’t really know much about the Episcopalian Services, but you can check with your priest, he can help you. If your husband is not baptised, you will need to ask permission from the bishop to get married.

    3. Speak to your priest about a sanation of marriage. This is something that the bishop can grant that heals the marriage in the root, meaning that it makes it valid in the eyes of the church. You do need to speak with your priest asap as you should not be receiving the Eucharist if you are in an invalid marriage.

  39. I am a baptized & confirmed Catholic, I’m engaged to a non-catholic (Agnostic) man who loves me dearly. We are planning to get married next year and I was wondering if its possible to marry in a catholic church? he respects my beliefs and we have agreed to to raise our children in the catholic faith. Would the church recognize my marriage?

    1. Hello, so happy that you have chosen to get married in your Catholic Church and have chosen to raise your children that way ?, I hope all goes well God willing in your future life together. Let me try and shed some light on your question. According to Canon law, as long as you get a dispensation from the local Bishop. You can get married in the Catholic Church, a requirement is that you raise your children Catholic, which you two have seemed to agree to. Go see your local Bishop, explain your situation to the Bishop, and that you intend to raise your children Catholic. Say if your husband use to be Catholic, or another Christian denomination and then became agnostic later. It is advisable to do this before making dates and plans. I hope you and your husband are very happy together, congratulations and my prayers ?.

    2. Is your fiance baptized (even though he is now agnostic)? You need to make an appointment with your priest to discuss this. The quick answer is yes, a Catholic can marry a non-Catholic and even an unbaptized person in the Catholic Church. During the required pre-cana classes that you’ll need to take before the marriage, your priest or deacon will advise you what needs to be done. The only thing is, you cannot have a wedding Mass, meaning no communion can be served.

  40. I’m a baptized & confirmed Anglican, I’m in love with a catholic lady who also loves me dearly. Do I have to become catholic before I can get married to her?

    1. No you do not, however, it is recommended so that your children share the same faith. After you have completed all required paperwork and required courses, her pastor may request a canonical dispensation from the bishop for you to marry her.

      Best wishes

  41. I am Catholic, my boyfriend of 6 years is not baptised but attends mass with me and is open to my beliefs. However, he feels he isn’t ready for baptism. We would like to marry in the church; how difficult is it to recieve approval from the bishop?

    1. Dear Anne,

      Depending on the diocese, each has their own requirements and checklist. I would check with your pastor and see. The requirements are there to ensure that you’re ready for marriage. It’s not difficult getting the approval from the bishop but your pastor must do it for you. Once you have fulfilled all requirements your local parish and the diocese ask, then your pastor will file a canonical dispensation for you. Some basic requirements may include: baptismal certificate, freedom to marry, marriage preparation, family planning classes, and etc….

      Best wishes

    2. I really do not understand this Catholic stuff when it comes to marriage; no one should have to “approve” a marriage as long as you love each other and want to be married. If your faith base is the same or different, it is up to you to get married. The only one you should want to approve of your marriage is God.

      1. Why are on this site if you don’t agree with Catholic teachings of marriage and aren’t willing the commentors on this site that have legit questions?

  42. I am jay and i love a girl. I proposed her and still waiting her reply. I am baptized. Is it right for me to love a girl and marry her, as i am baptized. Really wanna love her and marry her and no one else. Please reply. Furthermore, i heard that she was planning on getting baptized. Can two baptized persons marry eachother please reply. I really need your help. My love is at stake here. Seriously. Please reply.

    1. Dear Jay,

      Perhaps you should consider enrolling in a faith formation class to strengthen your knowledge of the Catholic faith. The simple answer to your question is yes, the church will allow you to marry. However, if you don’t for sure if she will be baptized nor will she marry you, you may not be ready for marriage.

      Best wishes,

  43. Hi My name is nagarajan. I am in love with a christian girl. We have a good understanding with each other. I went to her home and spoke with her parents about the marriage. They are fine with me. But my parents not agree since my 2 brothers not yet get married. But her parents are not keeping well. So we want to get marry now. Now i want to convert as a christian to marry her. Since i studied in christian schools , i am ready to convert as a christian. But i do not know how to proceed. Can anyone help me what should i do to become a christian. One more thing my native is madurai in tamilnadu. But i am currently staying and working in bangalore. Who should i approach ? Please help me as soon as possible.

    1. It doesn’t matter how urn born or what religion who have been made to follow since birth. If u have the true belief that god exists and don’t consider any other idols as god, just get baptized and lead a peaceful life. Then u can have a peaceful wedding without spoiling the purity of marriage according to the Bible. Just follow the 10 commandments and you will know for yourself. Don’t do it for girl, do it in real sense and believe in Jesus for your whole life…that’s the deal

    2. Dear Naranajan,

      Do not feel afraid to call or come and speak to a priest at any Catholic Church near you. Tell them your dilemma and they’ll be able to help you. If you are already enrolled in a faith formation class, your instructor may help you answer most of these questions. If not, speak to any priest you feel comfortable with and they’ll help you.

      Best wishes

  44. Hello there,
    I am a confirmed Catholic and my girlfriend is a babtist and I was wondering if we could still get married in the Catholic Church? I haven’t confronted her with if she wants our future kids to get raised in the Catholic faith. Could I still get married otherwise?

    1. Yes, you can marry in the Catholic Church, but you will have to get permission from the Bishop of your diocese for a “mixed marriage” before having the ceremony.

    2. Canonical dispensation for mixed marriage can only be filed by your priest after both of you have fulfill all the requirements which include both of you signing stating that your children will be raise in the catholic faith. Your first step would be to see where she stands in regards to this issue.

      Best wishes,

  45. I am a baptized Presbyterian, my fiancee a confirmed catholic. I understand that I am allowed to marry inside the Catholic church. My question is if I am swearing to raise my children in the catholic church by being married in the catholic church. I simply don’t know if I can commit to that exclusively and falling short of a promise I made to the church and to god isn’t something I’d like to commence on my wedding day.

    1. I don’t know if you have to swear to do your best to raise the children in the Catholic faith since you’re not Catholic, but your fiance does have to make that promise since he’s the one that is Catholic. You should ask the priest about it to make sure.

    2. you do have to swear. if you were to later change your mind or refuse to raise your kids catholic, then your marriage could be annulled easily

    3. Yes, you will be required to state that you will raise your children Catholic. They will ask you and have you sign a paper before the marriage and then the priest or deacon will ask you to verbally agree in front of him and everyone during the wedding. If you say that you will do this but know that you will nit, you will make your marriage invalid in the eyes of the Church.

  46. I am married lady my husband seperated me 3 years back i.e. 2013. Will the church except re=marry with my fiancee without divorcee, also i have 2 sons.

    1. Want to get married to my fiancee without divorcee Can the church give annulment without my husband physical presence. Please guide me.

      1. What is your question? Are you saying you want a plural marriage? If you marry anyone without divorcing your spouse, you are a bigamist. That’s not acceptable in any Christian church.

      2. No, you cannot marry anyone if you’re already married, not legally and not in the church. If you’re asking can you get married in the Catholic Church if you are divorced, the answer is no, you would have to have all marriages annulled, both yours and the person you marry will have to do this, even if they are not Catholic.

    2. Dear Twinkle,

      Neither a judge nor the church can marry you unless you are officially divorced. You may file for divorce through the court without your husband. Once you’ve completed that, you may file for annulment with the church through your priest. They will investigate thoroughly to determine if your previous marriage has ground for annulment. If an annulment is granted, you may be married in church. If it is not granted you may not marry in church but can only do so through civil marriage.

      Best wishes to you.

  47. Hi guys,Happy to meet people in similar situations.Am catholic and recently got engaged to a man who was Born and raised catholic baptised and received comfirmation.issue is he doesnt believe in God anymore but wants us to get married in a catholic church.I really Love him.Will the catholic church accept this?The other issues is my parents ,they are staunch catholics but havent brought myself to telling them the truth,i think they Will freak.What if They say no and church says Yes?am in a dilemma.help

  48. Catherine jennings

    Can I a catholic marry my fiancé who is Jewish and divorced can we marry in the Catholic Church . Please help me if you know or have any information?

    1. I believe you would have to get permission from the Bishop of your diocese for a “disparity of cult” which would grant you permission to marry a non-baptized person. The issue with his divorce, I believe he would have to have his marriage annulled by the Catholic Church before marrying you. That would also be done through the Bishop of your diocese.

    2. Your fiance would have to have his previous marriage annulled through the tribunal at your diocese, even if he is not Catholic and even if it was a civil marriage. Once that is completed, you then would have to get permission from your Bishop (your priest has to request it) to be married in the Catholic Church.

  49. Hi I need a help. Me and my boyfriend are planning to get married next year. I am a roman catholic and my bf is a Taiwanese and he is Buddhist. I want to have a chruch wedding. Will I have the chance to have a church wedding? If yes, what are the requirements do I need to prepare?

    1. I believe you would need to have the Bishop of your diocese approve the marriage by filling out a “disparity of cult” form which is a form for catholics who marry non-baptized christians. Then work with the priest on any further requirements.

  50. Hello good evening i have a question, my boyfriend is atheist and i am a Roman catholic , now he plan me to get here in the philippines and marry in USA OMG, what should i do? i love my bf but i don’t like to convert to any religion.

    1. Pray. Marriage is about the end goal, Heaven. Only one person praying for that end goal makes a God-centered relationship incredibly difficult. Pray and look into St. Rita. Best wishes.

  51. Hi,

    I was wondering if me and my fiance can get married in the Catholic Church. WE are botth babtised catholics since we were little, but he was previously civilly married to non-believer and then divorced. Can we get married in the CC?

  52. “When it involves someone who has not been baptized then the marriage requires an express dispensation from the bishop in order for the union to be considered valid.”
    I’m a non-baptized atheist married to a Catholic and I can assure you our marriage is legally valid. Me being atheist and unbaptized didn’t cut it with her parish so they refused to marry us. As a result we got married at the local city hall which didn’t please my wife but I have no problems with it. Being an atheist I was never comfortable taking religious vows. Whether or not various clergy of the church considers our marriage valid I don’t care. What matters is what we think and what the law where we live says.

    1. I don’t think legal validity was the issue this article was addressing, and I don’t think anyone doubts the legal (civil) validity of your marriage. The question was is it considered a valid marriage according to the Catholic Church. Since your wife is Catholic, the answer is no. Interestingly, if you had both been non-Catholic, the Catholic Church would recognize your marriage as valid, should either of you seek to convert in the future. That seems rather unfair to me, but no one asked me!

      1. And I think i said we don’t care if the church doesn’t consider out marriage valid. It only matters that we think it’s valid.

  53. I am a Roman Catholic. My boyfriend is a Born Again. We respect each other’s beliefs but decided on getting married in the Catholic Church.

    He is baptized in his church, under his beliefs.

    Will the Catholic Church want my boyfriend to convert into a Roman Catholic before oyr wedding?

    Or will our marriage be considered as a marriage in the Roman Catholic Church?

    1. I am a Methodist married to a former Catholic for almost two years. He refused to seek permission from the Bishop to marry me. After being involved in RCIA for several years, he realized he was not really Catholic. He doesn’t believe in purgatory and other Catholic beliefs. He has now left the Catholic church with no prodding from me but of his own free will. We went to Mass and services at my church for 9 months prior to our marriage. The Catholic church will not leave him alone and continues to hound him to return and repent. My question is what do you have to do to leave the Catholic church? He was not a cradle Catholic.

  54. hi..i’m a lady of 21years old.really need advice from you.i’m a catholic in a relationship with a muslim.i love him with the whole of my heart and he loves me crazy too.we want to spend the rest of our lives together by getting married but the issue is our ‘big’ religious difference.my parents are Knights and he is from a strong muslim family as well..pls talk to me cos we’re really depressed.

    1. Your story really touched me. I would suggest you seek out an interfaith minister who could provide both spiritual counseling and, in the event you need an officiant–marry you by incorporating both of your faith traditions in the ceremony. I am finishing my last ordination class and will be ordained an interfaith minister in November of this year. This is exactly why this kind of ministry is so important. L-O-V-E is L-O-V-E, and it should be celebrated. On that most faiths should be able to agree. Blessings to you, and I hope you feel better about your future together.

    2. Wrong and wrong. Love is not Love and unequally yoked love is not the true love that God intends for us to have. God wants the BEST for us but we choose to do things our way in our time ex. Mixing faiths in the sacrament of a catholic marriage. Theres not such thing as a peaceful or fruitful interfaith marriage! This is where temperance, patience, self-control and rational thinking helps us wisely discern the husband God intends us to have. Sorry to tell you hun but Id advise you to put the emotions on the side as hard as it is and offer everything up to God and ask HIM what his will for you is. The number 1 goal and only purpose for you and your husband is to bring eachother to heaven and holiness, a catholic man can help you do that but a Muslim cannot. Pray to Padre Pio, ask him to intercede for you, to protect your heart and to show you the way.

    3. Malik Waqas Akhtar

      My Advise is to Read Quran and Understand Quran You will find your answer for any question which you have in your mind what ever your religion you have but Quran is Complete book of Allah for Humanity.Catholic beliefs is near to islam but Consider hazrat Essa Alaisalam as a messenger of Allah not Son.Faith on oneness of God and Hazarat Muhammad is the Last messenger of Allah.

  55. hi,m daisy born nd brought up in c.s.i family.nw m n love wit a catholic boy.he s so loving nd caring to me.m also fling tat he s my lyf…bt the pblm s m nt interestd in rc.i fl its nt the r8 way to proceed.my boy hav no comments on these things,bt his family vil expect me to convert to rc.my family wnt accept it. M realy confusd wt to do?can v get married witout geting convertd n church

    1. I’m not sure exactly what you’re asking because your post has lots of abbreviations. You are not required to become Catholic if you don’t want to and his family has no right to expect it. If you want to confirm this you can confirm this with a Catholic priest. A force conversion is NOT a valid conversion. So if the two of you decide you want to get married, you can as long as you have discussed all facts and circumstances with the priest.

      The bigger question is…do you want to marry into a family like this? They clearly are not aware of the rules and are placing an unreasonable expectation upon you. What does your boyfriend say? All matters must be settled before even deciding on a marriage.

  56. Hello, I would like to know if you could give me some advise.
    Few months ago I met a girl, we had amazing connection, we care about each other, we have great communication… it is going really well.
    My family didn’t raise me with any religion, they always allow me to choose by myself.
    This lady I’m seeing is catholic and believe I’m a good man whatever my religion. She sees I have good value and respect.
    Her mother doesn’t accept me at all and it put my partner in a really bad situation. It is really our beginning and I feel to be judge and rejected by her mother without taking in consideration if I’m a good or bad person and if I can make her daughter happy. Her mother believe I’m not a good guy because I’m atheist.
    I’m not sure what should I do. I don’t want to stop seeing this person, it’s really recent but we both feel so great together.
    I’m not talking about marriage but trying to find a solution how to be accepted by her family and mostly be sure that her family won’t judge her because of seeing me.
    please help me.

    1. I’m no expert, but I think in order to get married in the Church, both individuals must be baptized Christians.

      Even if you decide to get married civilly, there are other issues. Are you sure they just don’t like you because you’re atheist? Are you going to let your wife raise your children Catholic? Whichever way you decide to raise them, will that cause resentment on the part of one or the other of you?

      The bigger question is…are the two of you willing to stand up against the wishes of family if you determine that getting married is the right step for you?

  57. I am a middle-aged Catholic woman who has never been married. If I were to marry, It would be very important to me to marry in the Catholic Church. I know that marrying a divorced man would make that impossible unless he were to obtain an annulment. I try to avoid dating divorced men to limit the temptation to make life choices that go against my Catholic values, but I have many questions. In particular, are there some marriages that the Catholic Church would not recognize? If a man’s prior marriage would not be recognized, is the divorce that ended such marriage an obstacle to our future marriage in a Catholic Church? I don’t know if there is a clear cut answer that applies or if the answer depends on the specifics of each situation. Where can I find guidance about this issue.

    1. The best person to ask is your local priest. He should know the answer.

      As I understand it from what a priest told me 20 years ago, a marriage in a registry office would not count as a valid marriage in the eyes of the church and nor would a marriage by someone not baptized. There may be some other marriage rites that the church would not recognize.

  58. Am Catholic and getting a civil marriage to a divorced Hindu guy.I understand that if the divorced preson was married in a non Christian faith (buddhism, judaism,, etc) than that is not considered a marriage and there is no problem in future to him converting to Catholicism and marrying a Catholic in the Church. But in the meantime am i allowed to receive holy communion?

    1. In my understanding, he has to get an annulment through the bishop and these are not easy and no, if married until you get his annulment, your marriage is not valid until his is annuled only through the church. Mine was not annuled, we did all we were suppose to do, even though theirs was by justice of peace, Catholic church said not enough evidence as to marriage not working. So, good luck to you. Im still lost and have tried other churches, but all I could do I guess is divorce my husband now. So I go to church occasionally, last time the sermon was about couples marrying divorced people and how I am going yo hell. So, good luck. My whole life decisions I made and not made, the catholic church was in the middle of, even not divorcing an abusive alcoholic for 13 yrs.

  59. Hi my partner and I have lived together for nearly 30 years and have 4 grown up children. I am currently taking RCIA classes and my partner is catholic. We are getting married in vegas on his 50th birthday. Can I complete my conversion before we get married or do I have to be married before I can be baptised , confirmed and receive communion.

    1. You should probably ask the RCIA director, or the parish priest if the RCIA director doesnt know, or the Diocedan office for marriage and family life. My friend was baptized and everything at the Easter Vigil this year and her husband was Confirmed and received Communion. Their marriage was convalidated first.

    2. I’m no expert, but I’m pretty sure your priest will tell you that you can convert as soon as it is deemed appropriate for you to do so. I’m sure this is independent of your marriage…since you really should be converting because you want to be Catholic anyway:)

  60. I am a catholic but my fiance is not a catholic and he is willing to get married in the catholic church but my priest said he can not conduct the marriage in the church because I told him I will be joining him in his church. What should I do? I really want to get married in the catholic church

    1. John Agnes, I need to ask why it is important for you to get married in the Catholic Church if you are not planning on continuing with your Catholic faith? In my opinion (and I am facing similar circumstances) if you are planning on leaving the Church (as you say you are) then it would not be correct to be married in the Catholic Church, nor should you desire to.

    2. I agree with what Cat says. I feel that you should make a decision in which faith you wish to continue. I am somehow getting the feeling that you are trying to appease others in the family(?). It this is the case, this is not the correct decision. If you really wish to have a Catholic wedding it would seem to me that you’d want to remain Catholic. If you plan to join your husband in his church, hopefully it is a true desire on your part…and not because he has something against you remaining Catholic:)

  61. Am a non-catholic nd my bf is a catholic.He insist on getting married in catholic church nd i dnt believe in their doctrine nd i dnt want my child to b raised in d catholic faith.We are kinda addicted to each other..What can i do plz

    1. Been There Done That

      I wish you the best but in my situation, we failed. I really thought we would make it, but for me, the pressure to convert was there and I refused. I’ve been Hindu and I can’t turn off the religion. My ex-inlaws constantly insulted my religion, diet, customs and refused to acknowledge we were an interfaith home. I even went to Catholic school, attended Mass, agreed to baptize the kids and all. I have many Catholic friends who are so much more tolerant so it is an individual thing. There are extremists in all faiths. My family supported the duality but his family refused to appreciate that another religion existed. I was devastated our marriage failed but know that the refusal of one family to acknowledge the other’so religion and respect it , is a big risk. I know how it is to love somone so much it hurts! You need to be accepted by one another’s family because if there is not mutual respect, it takes a toll after some
      Time.

      1. my son married a catholic and her family constantly puts down our baptist faith when we are around them so we do not go around each other. However, our family does not get to see the grandchild in the marriage much. It is almost like they dont want her to know us and my son does not see it.

    2. Jane, Your boyfriend needs to consider your faith needs and what you want for your child (is it your child only or yours together?). I would put off the wedding until you can come to terms with your religious differences. Speak to a priest and speak to a marriage counselor. Religion is a very big issue within a marriage when there are differences like the ones you speak of. I wish you luck. (and I truly wish you would consider the Catholic Church for yourself and your child — on your own terms, though, not because someone is forcing you.)

    3. I don’t mean to sound negative, but if you don’t believe in Catholicism and don’t want your children to be Catholic, I see little sense in your boyfriend insisting you be married in our Church. If you cannot come to a serious agreement about where you will be married…and most importantly…how you will raise your kids, I see little hope for this relationship. If your boyfriend absolutely insists on a Catholic wedding…most assuredly he will insist upon the same with your children. And in any case, a priest will not perform a Catholic wedding unless you at least learn about Catholicism and agree to raise the kids Catholic. At least those were the rules when my father (non-Catholic) married my mother (Catholic). If the rules have changed since, I have not heard so.

  62. Okay. I am rather confused. It doesn’t take much these days. Bear with me as I try to explain all this. I was born and raised Baptist. Baptized in that belief in 1999. Get married to my first ex husband who was an athiest in 2000. He divorces me in 2001 because he would rather see someone else and marriage was not what he thought it would be. That union ended in 2001 by the divorce decree. I meet and remarry my current husband who was also divorced in February 2002. Now I am still Baptist and he is Pentecostal. His wife left him (she was baptized Pentecostal) because she wanted to be with another man. Now both of those religions are against divorce as well, but as long as we are the “victim” we are allowed to remarry in that denominations eyes. Neither one of us were brought up Catholic. Because of this, I cannot open up the painful past with my ex husband because there was also abuse and alcohol. I cannot visit that again. So would I have to pay for this tribunal to investigate my old marriage and my current husbands marriage???? My husband is not interested in joining the Catholic church but will visit with me. He is a truck driver and hardly home. I don’t think it would be fair to pay money for a tribunal investigation to determine the validity or nullity of a painful marriage that lasted less than a year anyway. My ex husband divorcing me and a complete stranger having access to his information and bringing this back up is bringing up all these emotions that I buried 14 years ago.

    1. Hi i’m a non-catholic and my fiancee is catholic. she wants me to marry in catholic church. we are both christian and my question is, is it possible we get married in catholic church? how? and please help me because our relationship is getting worst now.

      1. Hi Myco, To us catholics, its very important to have a sacramental marriage. Sacramental marriage to us means, being able to have God’s blessings, live in a state of grace which will allow us to participate in the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist. Not being married through the church can really have an impact emotionally on a person who feels that need to follow the church’s teachings. If that’s all you need to make her happy, it can be done. Both of you just need to speak to a priest and he will help you get organized for all the things you need.

      2. Totally possible, very common actually! Just need permission from the bishop. Go to your fiancee’s parish and ask the priest or whomever does marriage prep.

    2. As your first marriage was not in the church, I dont think it counts with the church and there is nothing to look into.

      1. It doesn’t matter if you weren’t married in the church and got divorced…you still need it annulled even though they didn’t recognize it if you want to get married again

      2. Jake is wrong. The church does see other denominational marriages as legit. Why is it so hard to just go and talk to a priest. So often I here I think. There is a difference between I think and I know. I you don’t know say so .
        Recently my niece was married. She and her new husband decided to get married outside the church.( she is a confirmed catholic) . This is a sin in the church. It is also a sin for any catholic to participate in the ceremony.

        1. No, the church does not see other marriages as “Sacramental” and, therefore, they are not valid in the eyes of the church and do not need to be annulled. The only marriages that need to be annulled are Catholic/Sacramental marriages. Please, Please, Please talk to a priest. He will clear up any questions you have and tell you what you need to do to set things right.

          1. I am a practicing Catholic and recently married via a civil marriage. I asked my Priest what to do before hand, now married with no answers from Priest I cannot receive communion until we get a blessing from the priest. This is reason many are leaving the church. I bet our Pope would bless us!!!! I just do not understand why it is so hard for the Catholic Church to accept interfaith relationships. I am in my fifties and not planning on having children my children were all raised in the Catholic Church. All I need is a blessing to continue in my faithful journey however, I cannot get that therefore I am saying my only option as leaving the church.

      3. Wrong, you better check, an annulment must be done before the catholic can participate in any sacraments, no receiving communion, no confession. Better check, people want to believe this, from one who divorced abd married a divorced man. When my ex passed away, I thought I could receive sacraments, no he still had to get an annulment as in catholic church, even though he married by justice of peace, no go, annulment denied, not enough evidence to the validity or non-validity of their marriage.

    3. Wow, things sure get complicated even when we try our best don’t they?
      You say you are still Baptist? Are you just visiting the Catholic Church, or going through RCIA? If in RCIA, maybe the director could help you. You could also try the parish priest or whomever does marriage prep. There is also the office for marriage and family life in your Diocese.
      God bless you. Pray, hope, and don’t worry, as Padre Pio would say.

    4. Wait, who is Catholic here?? I am not getting that anyone is. As I said below (awaiting moderation) the Catholic Church does not see other marriages (outside of the Catholic Church) as valid and, therefore, they would not need to be annulled. Please speak to a priest. You need the facts!

    5. Donnie – First of all…most of the responses below are definitely inaccurate. Secondly, consult with a Catholic priest for clarification. Third, the Catholic Church definitely recognizes marriages whether they were in or outside of the Catholic Church. Example: When my aunt got engaged, her fiancee was a non-Catholic divorced person. In order for her to marry him, the Church told him he had to get his first marriage annulled. They asked why he got a divorce. He said it was because his first wife didn’t want kids. They told him he’d have to contact her and get her to come forward to confirm this….which he did…and which she gladly complied. The annulment was granted and he was free to marry my aunt in the Church.

      In your case, the religions you mentioned don’t matter. The Church only recognizes ONE marriage, so if you and your current husband were married to others before, EACH of you will have to have your marriages annulled if you wish to marry in the Church. HOWEVER, this is just a very GENERAL rule. Not everyone will even QUALIFY for an annullment!

      So definitely..you will have to discuss this with a Catholic priest….before you start worry about paying for things:)

  63. I was born and raised Catholic but was never confirmed. 9 years ago I married my husband in a Las Vegas wedding chapel. He was born and baptized Catholic but when he was very young, his dad became a born again Christian in the Baptist faith and my husband was subsequently baptised in that faith. Neither my husband nor I currently go to church on a regular basis. I have been away from the church for quite some time and have been mulling over returning. I do not have a priest that I can ask these questions of but I was wondering if my marriage would cause issues with me being able to rejoin the church. My husband has no problems with me doing my own thing and if we have children, he agreed that I would be able to raise them in the Catholic faith but he absolutely refuses to have anything to do with the church including participating in any kind of ceremony for a catholic priest to bless our marriage. Furthermore, would this also effect any children that we have being able to be baptized? I have not joined a parish yet so I do not have a priest that I can talk to about this.

    1. I am in a similar situation as you. I was baptized Lutheran and my “civil” husband was baptized Catholic. But his parents later joined a Baptist church and we were unaware that he was baptized Catholic. We both have not attended a church since we were children. I had a calling to join the Catholic church and have been taken RCIA classes since August. My husband is fine with me joining and even raising our kids Catholic but is not interested in attending or becoming a member. I meet with the priest in Oct and at this time I did not know my husband was baptized Catholic. I was told that we could rectify my marriage situation by writing a letter to the Bishop requesting to be married in the church shortly after the Easter Vigil and after the marriage I could be in communion with the church and receive the Enthusiast. I had to find baptismal records for our next visit with the priest. (Which is when we discovered my husband was baptized Catholic.) And once the priest found out my husband was baptized Catholic he will not be allowed to marry us in the church unless my husband attends RCIA to bring him up to date on his sacraments because he is not a confirmed Catholic and therefore can not be married in the church. So without him attending RCIA I can not be married in the church and therefore I can not be in communion with the church, become a member or receive the Enthusiast. The only way it would be different for you would be that the church you married in would have to be one that is recognized by the Catholic church as providing a sacramental marriage. But from my understanding that is not common. Good luck…I have no future in the church without my husband. Which is shaking up everything I believed in the Catholic church. Please pray for me.

      1. Hi Tiffany, just recently spoke to one of my friends I had not seen in years. My friend has been married by court about 17 years and in all this time her husband did not want to marry her through the Catholic Church. After talking and catching up, she told me about her situation and I suggested to her she start praying the rosary daily. She started praying the rosary for about two or three weeks and the next thing we know he starts talking about going to church and he has now accepted to marry her through the church after 17 years. There is a novena called the 54 day rosary novena which the mother of God says many graces will be granted to those who pray this novena. Look it up, its all over the internet. God has given us a mother to intercede for us. I must testify that I have been a luke warm catholic until my mother prayed these novenas for me. The next thing I know, not sure how, but I wanted to be with God, go to church, pray for my brothers and sisters. There is a change in the way I see the world. I feel as if many blinds have fallen off my eyes. I strongly encourage you and everyone to pray the rosary as it only gets us closer to God and his great love for us. Also read on the green scapular which they say its good for conversion. May you receive many blessing through the rosary. Also make sure you pray to St Michael the Archangel.

      2. Oh my heart breaks for you. Just grasping at straws here, there may be a way, but basically your husband needs to either get in or get out, but not impede you by having one toe in the door. If he formally renounces the religion, which has to be done in writing to the pertinent pastor or bishop, then he would no longer be Catholic and wouldn’t need to be confirmed right? Could you then be married with dispensation for disparity of cult? Ask your priest. Obviously this is not ideal because you would prefer him to be fully with you on this. But patience in that, and this step would be more honest than the way he is living now, sorta in, sorta not. Also, he could always come back even if he did this, right? Maybe being forced to be hot or cold would help him take things more seriously and who knows, he might choose to go through RCIA after all. Nothing is impossible with God, but we have to cooperate and sometimes that takes time.
        Even better is the 54 Novena and hoping he comes back to Our Lord.
        Even if you can’t resolve this because your husband won’t cooperate, don’t give up on the Church. You can still attend Mass, get a blessing in the Communion line or make a spiritual Communion, and enjoy all you can for the time being.

        1. Just to clarify, because it seems so wrong to suggest that someone renounce the faith: you might want to check with your Diocese’s office for marriage and family life. This is not an unheard of scenario to them i am sure. Parish priests are awesome, but someone at the Diocese might know canon law better and be able to resolve this for you.

  64. I’m a catholic girl from a diehard catholic family. My boyfriend is from a diehard Jehovah’s witness family. We have plans of getting married but the problem is our religious differences. We’ve tried to end the relationship on several occassions but still haven’t been able to because we are too attached to each other. Its the third year running in this relationship and I really don’t know what to do anymore because I don’t want to convert to his and he doesn’t want to convert to mine.

    1. Hi Hossie,
      Really the only issue si whether your fiancé woudl be willing to marry in a Catholic church, or maybe in a ceremony co-officiated by both a Catholic priest and someone representing the Jehovah’s witnesses. The bishop of the Catholic Church would give you a dispensation (permission) to marry a non-Catholic and even in some cases to marry in a place other than a Catholic Church as long as the bare minimum of the Catholic requirements were met (the form of commitment, etc.) and witnessed by a Catholic priest, possibly along with someone else.
      The deeper question will be of cousre to what extent your faith and his create differences in your day to day lives, the way you would want to educate children, celebrations (I believe jehovah’s witnesses oppose celebrating Christmas or birthdays, for example, would taht bother you?). Even if your wedding were celebrated in accordance with both traditions, the rest of your lives you will see issues arise, especially if your faith is important to both of you, as you imply. That is best addressed before you marry, but where there is love and good will/tolerance and openness to the adventure of each other’s faith traditions, it is far from impossible. Good luck!

      1. Co-celebrating with a priest and non-Catholic minister is forbidden, but under canon law 1127.2, you can, with dispensation from the Bishop, get married by a non-Catholic minister.

    2. Why does the church make it so complicated , why can’t you just get married for love and serve god
      I know of catholics that are just catholic by birth but don’t practice the faith but they can freely marry in the church let god be the judge

  65. I married a non Catholic and then we divorced. Our marriage was never annulled, and he has since passed. Would I need to go through the annulment process before I would be able to return to the Catholic church?

    1. No-NO-no——-you are considered a widow already. NO annulment necessary.
      Go back to your Church, and make new friends. 🙂

      1. And even if you were not a widow, you do not need an annulment to return to Church, receive the sacraments, etc., in every way that anyone else does. The issue would arise only if you wished to enter a second marriage while your first, divorced spouse was alive. Most people don’t realise the issue is not divorce, but the remarriage. In the case of a widow, though, as the previous respondent noted, there is no problem as widow(er)s are free to remarry in the Church;

  66. I’m getting married soon we have a concern since by birth i am a catholic by faith and also my fiancee` i know her since childhood we grow up together. to make the story short wen i meet here again she is no longer a catholic but a born again christian. as a confirmation is needed to get married the question is can we still pursue our plan to get married on catholic church?

  67. I have a question about what needs to happen in this situation.
    Woman: Catholic, married/divorced outside the Catholic church; has an adult child by a man she never married.
    Man: non-Catholic, married/divorced twice outside the Catholic church
    What needs to happen before these two can get married in the Catholic church?

    1. There is no issue with regard to the adult child. The intended being a non-Catholic is not a big factor. Divorce is the issue. Talk to your local Pastor. I don’t know how high up you need to go for an approval. Marriages were consummated, so idk if it’s even possible. It won’t hurt to ask, however.

    2. Ask the highest Authority, Jesus. Here is what he said on the matter:

      Matthew 19:8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

      Don’t listen to your priest unless he agrees with Jesus. Jesus said nothing about annulments.

      1. What most people don’t understand is that an annulment is not a “Catholic divorce” or a way out of the marriage. It is simply stating that the marriage was never a marriage, without certain conditions, those people were never actually sacramentally married. That is why if someone who still wants to be married gets an annulment they usually go and get remarried with the right conditions and then they are truly married.

    3. Well, you have to get an annulmrnt from your first marriage and he has to get two annulments and then it would be like your first marriage, Good luck, Catholic church makes it difficult as the ones getting an annulment does not understand and usually will not fill out paperwork. Without it, you lose, no annulment, no catholic marriage, no sacraments, I have no church I can feel comfortable with except catholic, but I married a divorced man and no paperwork would be filled out, so no go for me. I pray, but goung to church without sacraments makes you feel blah, way we were raised. Yeh for us. So, I have no where to go to church where I feel. Good luck, hard to get done.

  68. Hi,me and my fiance planning to get married.we hve different belief..i am a catholic and he is Apostolic..i want we marry in catholic church and its ok wth him..but my question is he is divorce man…can we allow to get marry in catholic church even he is apostolic and divorce man?

    Please help me and thank you

    Jean

    1. In my opinion, unless your fiancé gets an annulment of his previous marriage you can’t marry him. I would recommend you go to your local Catholic priest and ask him for guidance.

      1. Nancy,
        Follow Jesus, not your heart. Your heart may tell you what you want, not what Jesus wants.

        Matthew 19: 8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

        1. proverbs 18-22 – he who finds a wife, finds what is good and receives favor from the lord. Also read 1 corinthian 7: 1-16. It doesn’t matter what your religion is as long as you both believe in God and Jesus Christ. If any church does not allow a marriage between couples they the church and the priest or pastor is doing an injustice to both couples and to their faith

    2. Hi all, from what I know about my Catholic faith, marriage is between two people and God seals the deal. Being divorce is not a sin. Please talk to your local priest whom I am sure will be able to advise you on what should be done before you commit yourself again after you have gone through a divorce.

      1. Jesus said the following…

        Matthew 19: 8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

        1. Oh please! Your argument is that it’s not okay because of one set of verses. Jesus came to offer forgiveness for our sins. In Psalms 51 the bible says: “1Have mercy on me, O God,
          according to your unfailing love;
          according to your great compassion
          blot out my transgressions.
          2Wash away all my iniquity
          and cleanse me from my sin.
          3For I know my transgressions,
          and my sin is always before me.
          4Against you, you only, have I sinned
          and done what is evil in your sight;
          so you are right in your verdict
          and justified when you judge.
          5Surely I was sinful at birth,
          sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
          6Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
          you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
          7Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
          wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
          8Let me hear joy and gladness;
          let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
          9Hide your face from my sins
          and blot out all my iniquity.”

          Divorce doesn’t make anybody a sinner. We are born into sin and the only way to be freed from sin is through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And even of you do get divorced, all sin is equal in the eyes of the Lord, you can be washed whiter than snow!

  69. Even though we are both very young, my boyfriend and I have decided that we will get married in the future. I have told him that I want to us to get married in a Catholic church and that I want to raise our kids as Catholics. He is fine with all of that. He doesn’t believe in any religion and I thought getting married in a church would be impossible, especially since I do not want to convert him. When I was taking classes for my Confirmation, the class teacher told us students that it was impossible for a Catholic to marry a Non-Catholic. She said that if our partner truly loved us, he/she would convert. My boyfriend was baptized when he was younger but he doesn’t know into what specific Christian branch (lutheran, baptist, etc). Is its possible for us to marry without him converting? I really need some advice.

    1. Your teacher is so wrong. Catholics marry non Catholics in the Church all the time. If he is not Baptized, you need a dispensation from the Bishop. If he Baptized non Catholic, you need permission from the Bishop.
      You need to tell your pastor this teacher is making stuff up.

  70. Hi
    I am hindu guy and my girlfriend is roman catholic to whom I want to marry we had 1st only decided that we won’t get convert until any1 of us wants to get convert on our own free will and regarding children I have told her that I don’t have any objection if they to follow mother’s religion
    Although I have read regarding what Bible says for such kid of marriage I still want to know whether is it a sin for girlfriend to marry with me and also will there be any difference to my girlfriend in church or to perform any catholic function as I am not going to get convert

    Please help me out I dont want her into any sin coz of me

  71. Further more in continuation to this existing issue, I am worried if it is right to stay with my husband, I am afraid that he will try and instil his belief in the child and not allow me to teach the child Catholic faith and prevent or child from receiving the other sacraments. I feel it is wrong for the child to practice that faith as well. He calls me a religious phanatic. Please advice. I have a baby now and unable to enjoy the gift as am worried about these things and also that am away from my husband and our child’s future in all aspects,

  72. Hi sir, I am a Catholic married to a non Catholic. He accepted to all the rules of the church, the prenuptial agreements signed before marriage and that our children can be brought up in the Catholic faith. Now we have a child and he refuses that our child be brought up in the Catholic faith. However I got our child baptised and he is very upset about it and we are having problems between our families and staying at from each other. I really miss my husband who is otherwise a very nice person but I am upset that he had not kept his promise made. Please advice.

  73. I am a Catholic and my fiancé is Nazarene. We both want to be wed in the church but I don’t know if this is possible as my daughter was Baptized Lutherian as her godparents are Christian and Lutherian and the Catholic church refused to allow them as her godparents in a Catholic baptism without them converting to Catholisim so she ended up being Baptized Lutherian as they weren’t demanding that anyone switch their faith. What would we need to do to get married in the eyes of the church? I will not force anyone to switch their beliefs and if that is what will need to happen I’d rather not be married in the eyes of the church.

    1. Hi Sarah. You can marry someone of another faith in the Catholic Church. What is needed is a dispensation, or permission, from your bishop. Start the conversation with your parish to get into the details.

  74. Hello,

    I am not a Catholic but have faith in Church and my wife is a Catholic. We got our civil marriage done just two months ago. I am taking the RCIA program and I hope get baptized next year. After that we want to have a wedding in the Church and our marriage be blessed. That’s our plan. However, the Church where I am taking the RCIA program told us that our marriage needs to be blessed before I can get baptized. They said that without our marriage being blessed, I cannot get baptized. I don’t know why is that. Can’t I just get baptized normally as a single person then after that we can have a wedding in the church and get our wedding blessed ?

    Could you please share us your thought about this ?

    Thank you very much

    Best regards,

    L. Hong

    1. Hi Hong, I am Catholic and my fiance is Non-Denominational Christican. We went through some issues with the Catholic church marrying us. Normally in the Catholic religion, you can get baptized before the wedding, but you can also get baptized after the wedding as long as you promise the bishop or prist that you will follow the catholic faith. Not sure why you cant get baptized before the wedding, my pastor tried to get my fiancee baptized before but because of the time restraints of the wedding, she will do afterwards. When you get baptize you need to do it for you, not just for the wedding, that could be a issue that your bishop maybe having with you. I would talk to your bishop and ask him why you cant get baptized before the wedding.

    2. Hi Hong,

      Normally, a Catholic who has not received all the sacraments (eg Confirmation) will be asked to receive them BEFORE being married. This would seem all the more logical for baptism since the Catholic Church teaches that the only way a marriage can be both valid and sacramental in the eyes of the Catholic Church is if the spouses are baptized Christians (of any denomination). So it would be only logical for you to be baptised first, so that you can then enter into the marriage as a baptised Christian with all that that entails, namely, that you both receive the sacrament of marriage.
      The issue here may be that you are already married in a civil ceremony (and presumably thus living together). Since your wife is a Catholic, she should have been married in a Catholic church (even though you are non-Catholic, that doesn’t matter). In a strange twist of logic, if your wife were a non-Catholic Christian, her marrying ouside the Catholic church would of course not be a problem and so your marital status would not be problematic or an obstacle to your being baptised.

      But as it stands, the priest may feel that since you are living in what is not a valid marriage in the eyes of your wife’s (and soon your) Church, you need to get your marriage situation sorted out in the eyes of the Church before you can receive the sacraments of initiation into the Church (baptism, communion…) and become a member in good standing. What would you say to the option of having your marriage blessed by a Catholic priest already, given that your wife is Catholic (and she would get a dispensation from the bishop for marrying a non-Catholic) and after that your marriage would be 100% ok in the eyes of the Catholic Church and you could then be baptised whenever you want as the RCIA programme runs its course.

  75. Hi…i m Catholic n I have been in relation wid a divorced women n she as a 12yr old boy I Want To Marry Her What Will Be D procedure Is It To Difficult Or Complicated.
    Plz help
    Regards
    Wilson rodrigues

  76. Im a Catholic and my boyfriend is a Baptist. We have been talking about marriage and we both recognize that we would have to settle matters first before we do so, most specially with respect to the issue of what religion the would be children will take after.

    Just last night he proposed a compromise that the children will not be raised as Catholics and instead, we would let them choose when the time is right. I am not comfortable with the idea because of any eventuality that may, heaven forbid, transpire in the years that they are neither baptists nor Catholics. He mentioned that in case i would insist on affliations for the children, he would insist that they be dedicated to being baptists and not Catholics.

    This honestly breaks my heart and I dont think I can agree to either situation… Any advice/s?

    1. Catholics serve mass Saturday nights and Sunday mornings. One way is to go to a Catholic mass on Sat nite and a Baptist service on Sunday morn. Then when they are old enough they can choose. OR one wk you go to Mass next week Service and when they are old enough they can choose. Each of you can teach what you believe independently as they get older so they understand. Key word here is INDEPENDENTLY so there will be no arguments. When questions arise from the children each parent gives their own beliefs to the child as long as the child is old enough to understand. It doesn’t hurt for a Catholic to go to the Baptist Church or vise versa.
      So you should always go to church together. Worked for us.

  77. I am from a Catholic family. My mother is an active Roman Catholic believer. My boyfriend is a Baptist. His family converted from being Catholic probably 15 years ago. We are currently in a long distance relationship. He goes to their church service on Sundays. But when we see each other, he goes to Mass with me though not openly participative which is just fine because I respect his religion.

    I am certain I won’t be converting. I will live and die as Catholic. He knows that. He seems sticking with his religion and does not consider converting too, and I don’t want to convince him either.

    We have light talks about marriage and somehow ended up planning to get married in both churches. It won’t be financially easy. Geez. However, issues arise when both our mothers (at different occasions) mentioned their concerns. My mom wanting him to convert to Catholic; and his mom wanting me to convert to being a Baptist. They believe that a family should choose a common religion or belief to follow.

    Now, if only the two of us would decide, we would live happily respecting both religions. But we respect our parents so much that this becomes an issue for us. Any comment or advice is appreciated. Thank you.

  78. Hello,
    I am Catholic and my fiancé/children’s father is not. Two of my three children have been baptized in the Catholic Church and my third will be this month. My children’s father and I have been together for 16 years and engaged for most of that this time. We didn’t marry due to financial troubles, (debts student loans etc)- I wanted a small but decent celebration which was impossible without any hurt feelings as his family is very large. Recently some of my fiance’s family, including his mother have done and said some unforgivable things to us and our children. Given this I do not want these people in our children’s lives. I refuse to allow my children to be raised thinking it’s acceptable to be treated by family and anyone the way they treat them and us. I don’t expect my fiance to never speak to these family members again- but I refuse to give any more chances as this last time was very hurtful emotionally mostly to one of my children and us. My fiancé tried to explain to these family members how hurtful these things were and they just pushed the situation further and went as far as to threaten me physically for speaking up when they were emotionally attacking my our son for something he didn’t say (the only family member present was the brother who started this and he was plastered and high- at a child’s birthday party!)
    Shortly after my fiance and I had our first child his mother decided she was Christian and mentally attacked me several times for not having the same religious beliefs even after I respectfully asked that we not speak about religion as I don’t impose my religious beliefs on her. She continued to speak negatively about Catholics and even told me my children and I were going to burn in hell if I didn’t convert and participate in some religious seance. Now of days she’s still referring to herself as Christian and is one of those people who want people to believe she is Christian more than she follows the Christian way and the scriptures she posts constantly on facebook.
    I apologize, this has been built and bottled up for a very long time. I strongly feel no one should force their religion on anyone. I also feel that constantly quoting the bible does not exempt you from following it.
    Any how, given the past few months as mentioned in the beginning, we have decided we would like to schedule a wedding date at my parish’s (Catholic) small chapel followed by a small dinner at home for close family members given our financial situation. My concern is that I am having difficulty getting information the Monsignor told me to get. I asked the sister of my fiance who is not involved in the recent events, if she knew if he was baptized and if not if she could please ask their mom and where do I could get the information from that church. She responded that they don’t know what type of church baptized him and that they don’t know which church it is and that it may not even exist anymore. The sister(unknowingly)went on to tell me that the only thing the mother was sure of was the name of the Godparents which she referred to as “Mr and Mrs. (my last name which is in no way common). CLEARLY the mother is refusing to give me the information I need(I was just looking for the name and type of church he was baptized in).

    What should I do? I want to marry in the Catholic Church but don’t want my fiance to feel like I am forcing him to become Catholic if he needs to do anything(such as being baptized again) since his mother is refusing information that can lead to the documents we need acknowledging his baptism.

    Thank you for your time.

    1. *Melissa Says*, for entirely different reasons, my fiancé also didn’t know when and where he has been baptized (non-Catholic). In a nutshell, contact the archdiocese of the city where he was born. If no such entity, start with a nearby church of where his family used to live at that time. Usually that string will lead you to find an answer to locating records. It did for us.

      If I may, please allow me to also call you to one of the basic religious liberating responsibilities: forgiveness. Please pray for your own family and both your extended families. Pray that God helps you have forgiveness in your heart for his family and work thru the hurt that you are feeling. Forgiveness does not mean that you stand there and let a person(s) hurt/injure you, and that you must just accept it. It means that even without the physical closeness, you liberate yourself from that hold in your heart and on your soul. God asks that we be merciful with our feelings as he showed us. Pray, a lot….it works. God bless!

  79. Extremely worried

    I am a Hindu in love with a non believer Catholic. We have been together a little over 3 years. My boyfriend’s parents are extremely controlling and they were always against our relationship. Its just been a recent development that they accepted us but only on one condition that I convert. All this while during our courtship my boyfriend and I go to attend the mass as well as he accompanies me to the temple. He is extremely understanding but because of his parents and certain circumstances he goes to the church to not hurt his parents but he is actually a non believer. He tried telling his parents but they shut him down by threatening to break all ties with him when he tried to tell them how he feels. I like going to the church but I think of Krishna when I m praying there. Why can’t we be both and live in harmony.. It’s so sad to have come this far but being honest with them would actually mean calling the wedding off.. I am really worried and I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to convert and my boyfriend doesn’t want me to give up my faith either but now the parents have started planning a wedding and they already objected to the Hindu wedding and also very firmly said I have to convert and baptized. They seem to be loving and kind only till I said I would convert. As we started going to the church a lot more and knowing their oppositions towards my customs and beliefs I am extremely taken aback and do not wish to convert as that’s not who I am. I have the rosary and Bible just next to my Hindu God S picture where I pray everyday. If I can be respectful of their culture and beliefs can’t I expect the same? And they seem to make it such a big deal as if it’s their wedding and they haven’t really bothered to ask either of us how we feel. Please help us

    1. Hi
      You should reconsider marrying this person. Love should be above all. Obiviously these people want only religion and not love. Good luck

  80. I was previously married in a civil ceremony to a divorced Catholic man. We were divorced about 15 years ago due to physical abuse. I am not Catholic. I remarried a Lutheran man some years later and now I would like to convert to Catholicism. My current husband is not sure yet if he wants to convert. What would be the process for me to pursue my conversion? Thank you so much for any information you can provide.

  81. Merlin Rodrigues

    Please help me.. just wana know …
    As I m a Catholic n my spouse is a non Catholic .. we haven’t married in the church yet.. but as per Catholic belief.. if I am getting married in the church I have to baptise my 1st baby.. but unfortunately my spouse is not ready for same.. he is fine with me following my religious belief but do not want his kids to follow the same.. hence just wanted to know if it is possible to get married in the church in this scenario.. or I will not be able to marry him in d church..

    But we have already legally married in the court, but not yet married in Church.. so what should I do in this case..

    Plz help

  82. Merlin Rodrigues

    Please help me.. just wana know …
    As I m a Catholic n my spouse is a non Catholic .. we haven’t married in the church yet.. but as per Catholic belief.. if I am getting married in the church I have to baptise my 1st baby.. but unfortunately my spouse is not ready for same.. he is fine with me following my religious belief but do not want his kids to follow the same.. hence just wanted to know if it is possible to get married in the church in this scenario.. or I will not be able to marry him in d church..

    Plz help me

    1. About Catholics

      Perhaps you should reconsider your potential marriage to this man if he is not respectful of your own faith which requires you to raise your children as Catholic.

      1. Jon,

        Happily Married for 40 years to my Non-Catholic Spouse.

        I am a Catholic and married a Non-Catholic when I was 22 years old in a Civil Cermony.
        My Mother who was a devote Catholic died of Cancer when I was 18 and my father was
        around at the time of my marriage.

        We had no children, if we did, we always agreed we would have raised
        them Catholics, but we both got involved into our careers.

        My spouse ( wife ) let me go to Catholic Church Daily and been happily married for about 40 years !!!

        We were marriage in a Civil Ceremony 40 years ago, for all these years my wife allowed me
        to go to my Catholic Church.

        At the time we got married, no one objected, relatives that were Catholic.

        Any objections to this, seems old school pre Vatican II folks seem to
        frown on couples like us, but younger couples do not.

        At my Catholic Church, if you push out all the Couples when one was Catholic
        and the other was not, the Church would be driving away lots of Catholics
        away from the Church.

        When it come down to it, God is the only Judge and not a Human Being.

        I think the Catholic Church and Pope Francis believes that it strives to keep
        it Catholics rather than drive them into running away from their Church.

        Any comments appreciated – Should I feel guilty or Damned all of a sudden after
        having 40+ years of a happy marriage, having a spouse ( Non-Catholic) that respects
        my Faith in the Catholic Church and allows me to practice my Faith. If she ever wants to
        come to my Faith, that is her choice, but I be Damned if I let the Catholic Church, person or
        Priest ( old School Pre Vatican II ) condemn me for marrying a Non-Catholic in a Civil Ceremony
        40 years ago and drive a wedge between myself and my wife and destroy our happiness
        that we have shared and plan to stay together till Death do us part.

        Should feel guilty by peer pressure from others ( Old School Pre Vatican II Catholics )

        Will leave the Catholic Church before I leave my wife !!

        1. I too was married, in a Civil Ceremony to a Non Catholic 30+ years and go to Church daily
          No Children and age 64 and also, like you, been happily married for 30+ years. If we
          ever to have children, my wife agreed they be Catholics, so same situation here !

          I feel I am no less a Catholic and my wife (Non-Catholic) let’s me practice my faith. So you should
          have no shame ! If they drove up away, the Catholic Churches would soon be empty, that what
          Vatican II realized !

          My Guess is that there are some ( Catholic Priests ) that like Vatican II and others Did not like
          Vatican II and the old school priests seem to never like change in the Church, even when it is
          really for the best interests to keep existing Catholics in the Church and not drive them away !!

          Maybe Don will chime in here if he brave enough to respond to us. !

      2. Merlin Rodrigues

        We have already legally married in the court, due to passport reasons, but not yet married in Church.. so what should I do in this case..

  83. Hi. Im a catholic girl and wants to marry a muslim man. Its hard to get married at catholic church so we decided to go civil wedding first. He promised that if we will have children he will let me raised them as catholic. Is this a right choice? Thanks for reply in advance.

    1. Malik Waqas Akhtar

      no it is not a right choice muslim man never let you do like yhis that your children grow like catholic bieng a muslim i am sure that it is impossible

  84. Hello,
    I am a Catholic and have a few questions concerning my sister who is in limbo.
    My sister, Trish, married a Jewish man, Steve, 13 years ago in the Catholic Church.
    During their marriage they never had any children.

    After 10 years of marriage, Trish converted to Judaism and got remarried to Steve under the Huppa (in the Jewisg rite), a year later they divorced- civilly and in the Jewish faith, but never annulled the marriage.

    Trish has since gotten remarried (2 years ago) with a Christian man named Paul from Haiti and they have had a son, Joshua. Joshua is 1 month old and they have just circumcised him for health reasons.

    Here are my questions:
    1. Can Trish and Paul baptize Joshua within the Catholic Church? What about the divorce and lack of annulment?
    2. Can they seek an annulment within the Catholic Church? And then have validation and then can baptize?
    Thank you for your time and response and if you know any priests to assist us with these matters in the GTA, Ontario, I appreciate your suggestions.

    May God Bless you,
    Pat

  85. My daughter is Lutheran, her fiance’ is Catholic. They are undecided on if they will marry in our church or his church. He is saying that if they marry in a Lutheran church their marriage will not be recognized in the Catholic church and they will have to have a separate service (even just the 2 of them) in front of a Catholic priest in order for it to “count” – is this true? – Or could they marry at our church and have our Pastor and his Priest officiate at the services? – They are both Christians, baptized and confirmed – I don’t see the issue!

    1. About Catholics

      The main difference is that the Catholic Church views marriage (matrimony) as a sacrament and the Lutherans do not. Lutheran churches do not perform valid sacramental marriage rites and thus any marriage performed outside of the Catholic Church does not “count” (with some limited exceptions I think).

      More on how the Catholic Church views marriage: http://www.aboutcatholics.com/beliefs/catholic-marriage/
      More about the sacraments: http://www.aboutcatholics.com/tag/sacraments/

      1. Thank you for the response to my question – and the 2nd part of the question?? – Could they marry at our church and have our Pastor and his Priest officiate at the services? Would this be viewed acceptable under the Catholic churches views?

        1. About Catholics

          Potentially, but unfortunately I do not remember the particulars on this one. It would be a good question for the priest.

  86. Hi, I am a catholic and my fiancee a Hindu. She is ready to be baptized, but for he parents who doesnt want her to. We are thinking of getting a permission from the Bishop for a mixed marriage. I learn that this will not be a sacramental marriage. But, is it possible to have a normal Holy Mass after the actual marriage ceremony This is for my family memebers who would like to see me getting married in somewhat a proper catholic ceremony.

  87. I was born a catholic and my fiacee’ is not, but we are planning to get married soon, so what we did was, she took the course to become a catholic but will be finish and baptism is on september, the problem is our wedding is at August. We try talking to the priest and they all say no, because my fiancee is not baptist yet, my question is…asking the local bishop to have full permission is the only hope to have this wedding in the church?

    1. About Catholics

      Hello! Yes, that would be the course of action. I would think that considering your circumstances, the likelihood of the bishop granting the exception is very good. Please let us know how it all turns out.

      1. billie copeland

        my bf is catholic and I am not catholic I am non demonltion will I have go through 6month of classes to get married in a catholic that what my bf is be in a catholic church

  88. Hi there. I am catholic, but my fiance is a non-catholic christian. We are getting married in a catholic church. Can her minister say some words (prayers, blessings, etc..) at the wedding? She is ok with marrying in a catholic church, but really wants to have her minister have some part in the wedding.

    Thanks

  89. PLEASE ANSWER ME. I’M A CATHOLIC. BUT I BARELY GO TO CHURCH. HOWEVER I TRUST IN HIM, JESUS CHRIST. I LOVE MY RELIGION. BUT I FELL FOR A MAN. HE IS MUSLIM. I REALLY DO LOVE HIM. BUT I DON’T WANT TO CONVERT TO MUSLIM.

  90. I am a catholic and my fiance is a baptist. We are both baptised and even underwent the catholic wedding preparation because at that time he was willing to marry in the catholic church. But sadly something happened and he changed his mind, although he would still let me baptise the chidlren catholic, he doesnt want to marry in the catholic church anymore.
    What can do so that our marriage, even if in a baptist church and by a baptist pastor, would still be valid in the eyes of the catholic church?
    ( Also i need to mention that once we will marry i will be living in an other place and register in a new parish since i am leaving my country to marry my fiance and live with him in an other country)

    1. CAN I A CATHOLIC MAN MARRY MY NON CATHOLIC CHRISTIAN GIRLFRIEND BRIDE TO BE IN ST JHONS CATHOLIC CHURCH ?

  91. My fiance is Catholic and I’m a non practicing protestant. My Fiance is dedicated and practices her religion. I agreed that we shall get married in a Catholic church. I love my fiancee so much that I can’t allow religion become an issue. My Dad disagrees and his rationale is that a woman should take on a man’s religion, of-course I don’t feel like that. I want my fiancee to have a wedding she has dreamed of since growing up. My worry is that my Dad will refuse to attend our wedding. He is so stuck in the old way of doing things. Please advice.

  92. I was Catholic for three years when my wife and I met. After 1.5 years or marriage I have returned to being a Buddhist/Taoist. She says without sharing beliefs there is no marriage and I believe she will leave soon. I will not be bullied into pretending to believe things that I don’t. I understand her feeling deceived but that was never my intent. When we met I was convinced I was Catholic but I now know better.

  93. I’m a 70 year old man, widowed, Catholic. I have been dating a 67 year old divorced woman who was baptized and raised a Baptist. We she married a Methodist. They were married in the Methodist church. Their marriage lasted about five years. she has been divorced for thirty years. She is not an active member of any church and has not been for many years.
    is it possible for us to be married in the Catholic church? What would it take?

    1. About Catholics

      Hi Chuck. I know I give this response a lot, but the best course of action truly is to get in touch with your parish priest to discuss the matter in more detail. That conversation should be much more fruitful for determining a specific course of action since it should go more in depth with the specifics of your two lives.

  94. Hello I need help, My first marriage had major issues, we got married in Catholic, the person abondend me and escaped not be seen for 4 yrs and atlast we got divcored, I am looking for annulment and also I got a non catholic person, who wants to marry me and want to bring up the children in Catholic way, but doesnot want to convert till he gets to know the religion more and his heart to accept Jesus. So kindly provide me help, we want to marry in Catholic church, but we have no support from our priest.

    1. About Catholics

      Celena, I am sorry you are having difficulties and that you have no support from your priest. It might be helpful to reach out to another priest to start the annulment process which would need to be completed before you could marry another person.

      1. Quick question: a Catholic is marrying a non-Christian. They have agreed to a non sacramental ceremony before the “big” wedding, which is not a Catholic ceremony.

        The question is, if they are doing this in order to silence the Catholic family and have no intention of raising their children in the Church, is this scandal to the Church? There is no question that the one who was catholic is no longer practicing and won’t be returning to the Church other than the non sacramental wedding.

        1. About Catholics

          Yes, I would consider it a scandal. When getting married in the Catholic Church both parties are making a significant pledge to each other and to their future children to raise them in the faith. In a sense it would be a lie to have a Catholic ceremony with no intention of following through on the duties of Catholic marriage.

  95. My fiancé is a non-practicing catholic and I’m not baptized under any religion but was brought up Christian, she wants to be married in a catholic church but do not know the steps needed to take since we do not go to church and we are going to get married in another state where all of our family lives. If you could help I would appreciate it, thank you.

    1. About Catholics

      You would start by getting in touch with a priest at your local parish who will initiate the process.

      1. Not in the Catholic Church. Further, the Catholic Church will not accept the children of the union, denying them baptism and education in Catholic schools. I write from personal experience. Catholics therefore are not Christians and the Catholic Church is simply are large cult. Go to a Protestant church where the whole family will be accepted. It is a total waste of time talking to the bigoted parish priest.

  96. Shannon Downey

    My husband and I were married in the Methodist Church 38 years ago. I converted to the Catholic faith 7 years ago, but my husband did not although he goes to mass with me occasionally. Can we renew our 40th wedding anniversary in the Catholic church and does the catholic church recognize our marriage in the Methodist church?

    1. My husband and I were married in a Methodist church 38 years ago. I converted to the Catholic faith 7 years ago but my husband did not. He occasionally attends mass with me. Does the Catholic church recognize our marriage & can we renew our wedding vows in the Catholic church or have our marriage blessed in the Catholic church?

  97. Hi..im a roman catholic and single..im now engaged with a divorced non -christian (buddhist) and we are planning to have a church wedding..Is it possible?..does my fiance need to be converted to catholic? Thanks so much

    1. About Catholics

      Hello. You would need what’s called a dispensation from your local bishop to marry a non-Catholic.

  98. Hi,i am a catholic but in love with a non-catholic and he wants to marry me..we are. currently courting and i love hum so much.the truth is that i can’t stop being a catholic.he dosent hav any problem with my prayers,mass and confession.he’s a good christian and we pray together most times.but he can’t give up his faith and i can’t give up mine.am so scared because i really love him and i really want my kids to grow up in the catholic faith.i need your advice

  99. I am not catholic and attend non denominational churches. I am a devout christian and am continuously growing in my faith and walking in the way Jesus calls us to act. One problem is that the girl I am dating is a catholic and very firm on the fact that she won’t marry a non catholic. She has actually even asked me if I would become catholic! I actually never even attended a catholic service because there was not a catholic church in my small hometown. (I went to a lutheran church as a child and then a non denominational through high school and college) I understand and really respect much of the catholic beliefs but really don’t know everything that I should about it. Reading info from this website has been helping my understanding of the catholic beliefs. Throughout all of this I have actually asked her before if I could go to a catholic service with her and she didn’t seem to be too interested so I am going to go with another friend of mine when she isn’t there. My intent is to do this because I want to learn more about it on my own not because she wants me to.

    Overall I know that God is telling me that for our relationship to build we both need to continue growing in our faith and that I need to know more about her beliefs to fully understand her and what it means to her. My beliefs are that all Christianity is good and that it is completely impossible for us to understand his wonder. (Differences between belief about purgatory) Though also understand and really respect much of the catholic traditions. (Sacraments etc) For now I do not want to be catholic, I love my faith and want to continue growing in it although I do want to consider this change due to the importance it has to her. My intent is not to change for her but that I actually believe that all Christians live a very similar life and can co-exist but I also don’t have a problem acknowledging the potential that there is purgatory and that confession is needed. (I confess my sins to close friends and believe that confessing with others that I respect spiritually is just as important!) Anyway how is it possible for her to understand my intent that I want to learn more about the catholic faith yet also allow it to happen as I feel God leads me?

    1. If you truly would like to learn about the faith, ask the deacon or priest about the R.C.I.A program. It stands for the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults. It is traditionally for converts but there are people who go to the classes simply to learn more about Catholicism. I have been married for over 6 years to a Catholic and I am attending it as soon as the next set begins in my parish. I was never baptized and my husband got away from the church for a long time. I have been struggling with belief in God for the last 3 years. My attendance has actually started to bring my husband back to the church as well. I think that you are doing the right thing simply by learning more about her faith so you can better understand her. I wish I had as much sense as you. And her beliefs aside, the Church does not prevent Catholics from marrying someone of another denomination. It just has to be approved by the Bishop since the Catholic member must understand the potential difficulties that may arise and be sure they are strong enough to endure them in their faith.

  100. I am Catholic and my partner is non catholic. He respect and accept my religion. We agreed to stay with our religion. Now, the matters that keep worrying me if we have children, am I responsible to raise them as Catholics. I love to raise them as Catholics but I’m afraid that my partner disagree with it and saying I am selfish.. please give some advice.

  101. hi..im catholic and my boyfriend is baptist..were planning to get married but the problem no one will give way in our religion..he asked me if can i convert to baptist but i said no,also he don’t want to be convert to catholic..our best option is to get civil wedding..but i want catholic church wedding and raise my children in catholic..he told me that if we just get married in civil ,he want me to go with him in baptist church and raise our children in baptist..but i don’t..our both family don’t want us to be convert in any religon..but we love each other ,religion conflict..
    please help me,what we should we do to overcome this conflict..please ,thank you..

    1. In short – consider not getting married until this is resolved! This could be a significant source of tension for you both during your marriage. Share the truth of your Catholic faith with your fiancé – don’t leave the church founded by Jesus Christ for a man. It’s great that the both of you are talking about this. I encourage both of you to pray and I will pray for you as well. God bless.

  102. My ex husband and I, both catholic, were married in the Catholic Church. We divorced after 17 yrs due to his alcoholism. I was only 18 and pregnant when we got married. We have been divorced 12 yrs now. He has been remarried now for the last 7 yrs. I am very active volunteering in my Catholic parish. I am also engaged to a wonderful non catholic and also divorced man. I am having a very emotional and hard time with even attempting to get a annulment as it would really be too much on my daughters and my Ex himself. Also, if I read right my fiancé would have to also get an annulment even though he was not married in the Catholic Church ? We have been together for 10 yrs living apart, and are truly in love, but neither one of us would wish the annulment emotions on either family. What are the consequences if we married outside of the church? Am I banned from all sacraments ? I have been raised catholic all my life, and if I really want a catholic funeral when I pass too.

    1. Hi Andrea. I am sorry to hear of the emotional pain of your past. These situations are never easy. If your fiancee is not Catholic I do not think he will need an annulment. I recommend you meet with your parish priest to discuss your specific situation. God bless.

  103. I have a born again girl friend and we so far have a one year old son together. I am still confused on whether we should get married because of the differences in faith. The most fatal issue being that she criticizes the Catholic way of prayer,
    1. That we worship Idols when we kneel in front of Mother Mary’s sculpture.
    2. That Mother Mary is completely irrelevant in Christian life and praying through her is devilish.

    With all the above and many other criticisms, she has vowed never to convert. This wouldn’t have been my problem, but the mockery and insults about Mother Mary is a pain in my heart. Advise please.

  104. My wife and I were of different religions–I Roman Catholic, she Church of God. We were married in the rectory of the catholic church instead of main alter because of mixed marriage. Our daughter was brought up as a Catholic. My wife went through RCIA over 40 years after marriage and she converted to Catholicism and we have now been married over 55 years. On our 45th anniversary our marriage vows were renewed on the main altar of the Catholic church by our Bishop. A GREAT DAY FOR BOTH OF US! I believe we had the same kinds of problems any other couples had. We had few confrontations about religious differences. She read the St James version of bible and to her saw few differences with readings at mass. She attended mass with me (when I went) from day 1 of marriage. This is our story of mixed marriages–and have no idea how applicable it is to other peoples lives.

    1. Thanks for sharing your experience Frank, I am currently in a 3yr+ relationship with my girlfriend who is non denominational Christian and I am Catholic myself. We would love to one day get married but have many questions about the easiest way to do so with a mixed marriage. Your experience gives me a lot of hope. God Bless you.

  105. Hi there,

    I am Catholic myself but my partner is a Sikh. We would like to get married in the catholic church without my partner changing his religion. Is that possible or does he have to be Catholic to marry me in the catholic church?

    Other thing is we already had a Court wedding 2 months ago. Will this affect us from having a church wedding as well?

  106. Hi,

    I am Catholic, but for the past 3 years, I have been going to an evangelical church. My boyfriend is not a believer. However, I would like to get married in a Catholic church. Is this possible?

    Thanks!

  107. I am a non catholic- non denominational christian, my boyfriend is catholic, to be married in the catholic church I know he/I must vow to sustain his catholic faith and raise our children as well in the catholic church. But referencing the requirment to provided a baptismal certificate. Do catholics not consider a non- demoninational baptism valid? I have been baptized just not in the catholic church.

  108. I’m engaged to a non catholic who has been studying our religion and our prayers for some time now. We find ourselves in a tight spot due to the fact that he wants to convert so we can marry and have a traditional catholic wedding but he is in the millatary he is gone for 5-6 months then visits for about two weeks. Is there a faster or easier way to convert him? HELP!!!

  109. Hi, i m a non catholic married to a roman catholic. We have done a court marriage 2 yers back & we are planning to get married in church. Can you please guide me how to go about. My husband is quite tensed due to not havind his parents support. It would be great if you can help us out. Thank you.

    1. About Catholics

      Hello Aarti. The first step is to contact your parish priest. He will be able to discuss the particulars of your situation and give you good direction on how to proceed. God bless.

  110. I’m a Catholic. But I have a born again christian boyfriend and we are planning to get married sometime next year. Can we pursue our marriage despite of being in different religions? I do not want our religion to become a hindrance. He asked me if I am willing to convert into their religion, I said no but I’m willing to get married in their church and raise our kids as born again christian. Is my decision wrong?
    I have strong catholic faith and I will not turn my back from it. I’m afraid that our plans would shut down just because of being in different religion. Help!

  111. Does a non believer who was married to a Catholic believer in a church but now divorced need a declaration of nullity/anullment in order to get married again in a Catholic church to another believer?

  112. Hi,

    I am a catholic and follow my faith religiously. But I am set to marry a non catholic (hindhu). As per my talk with the parish priest, he says that a normal mass cannot happen.

    I am terribly upset and would like to have a wedding mass. Its a personal choice. I am ardent follower of Christ.

    Please share your advice.

    1. He believes in cows, dont u have respect for your faith? He will control u, u will see. Stay with Catholic lady.
      Why do u want mass? Why is it so important to u if he doesn’t believe in Jesus? I jave seen miserable Catholic women marrying other pp.

      1. Sarah, that is incredibly disrespectful. There is an old Jewish saying that springs to mind: “Do not profane the name by which another man knows his god. For if you do it in Allah, you will do it in Adonai.”

        I hope it works out for you Natasha. As a Catholic-college educated person (who majored in Eastern Religions), I truly wish the best for you. Those of the Hindu faith can be incredibly respectful of religious differences and, as they call it, the many paths to God. (Thinking of Sri RamaKrisna here.)

        And in case some want to disparage my comment, yes, I am a Catholic and yes, while I would prefer to marry a Catholic myself, I don’t think it’s anyone’s place to judge whom God calls us to love.

  113. I am a non denominational Christian and my girlfriend is Catholic. We would like to marry. I would rather my children be brought up non denominational until they are old enough to choose. What would be the church’s view on this?

    1. Make them Catholic, way more humble than others. I work with Protestant pp, but have been friends with many Catholic long before , I swear to God, I cant handle PROTESTANTS. They talk too much, wrong teaching from what they are told.bad.

      1. Dear Sara,

        You are so horribly judgmental. Even you uttering the word humility is laughable. If you want to evangelize for the faith you should do it with love, not criticism and hate. You should tell your priest what you just said about protestants at your next confession. Hopefully, the holy spirit will enter you and you can stop being so critical.

  114. Me and my girlfriend are planning to get married, I’m catholic she is from a different church as well and none of our parents want us to leave our respective churches… I need some advice please!!!

  115. My wife to be has been working as a music teacher for 20 years at a catholic elementry school. We are getting married next month, I am a Christian man and belong to a non-denominational christian church. Basically she was told by the priest that if she doesn’t get married in the Catholic Church she would loose her teaching position. What are your thoughts ? To me I feel she is being discriminated against because she is marrying a non catholic.

  116. I want to marry a Non-Christian (Hindu) but is it necessary that our children have to baptized and raised as Christians; can’t they take their own decision of their faith.

    1. About Catholics

      Yes, as Catholics we believe that Jesus Christ is the one way to heaven, that he established the Catholic Church, and that the Catholic Church contains the fullness of God’s revealed truth. Since the Church cares deeply about the salvation of all the people of the earth, including your children, it asks its members to raise their children Catholic. Wouldn’t you want your children to have the same gift of faith that you have been given?

  117. Hello ,I’m married to a Catholic man (civil wedding)I am not baptised and would like to be baptised. What are my options or what steps should I take to get baptised. I understand that our marrieage is not valid based on Catholic norms. Kindly assist. Thank you.

    1. About Catholics

      Hi Julia. Typically you would go through a process where you take some classes to learn more about Catholicism and become baptized at the Easter Vigil Mass. However, there are exceptions to this process. Please speak to a priest at your husband’s parish to get the process started.

  118. Kathleen Hicks

    Please settle a discussion I am having with a widow friend. I am divorced and have an annulment and know I can marriage again. If he remarriages a divorced non Catholic he is commenting adultery. I say he is wrong. The other person only needs to get an annulment.? Who is right?

    1. About Catholics

      Hi Kathleen. I assume when you refer to “he” remarrying you are speaking of your former husband. If this is the case, then no, he would would not be committing adultery if he remarries since your marriage to him has been annulled. However if he remarries another person who is considered married by the church then he would be in a sinful relationship with another married person. The other person would need to seek an annulment. I hope this helps.

  119. Can a catholic man born in korea but lived in america for a long time marry a non-baptized woman without a religion from South Korea?

    1. Malik Waqas Akhtar

      Yes you can but better to change your religion its better for your future for your children and no too much difference in both religions. bieng a muslim i suggest.

  120. My fiance is an austrian baptized catholic but has not been paying church tax thus he cant be issues his baptismal certificate.. i am a filipina and we want a church wedding here in the philippines.. is this still possible?

    1. Yes, it might be possible. I am not familiar with all of the details of the church tax, but you will want to check with your priest to see what, if any, possibilities there are of getting married without your fiance’s baptismal certificate.

  121. Can a married person who is not married in the Catholic Church marry a person who is Catholic and had their marriage anulled?

  122. This issue of Catholics insisting of obtaining the permission of the Bishop prior to a non catholic marrying a lady from catholic has caused a lot of havoc in my town, Nanka, Nigeria. It breeds strive and bitterness among the catholics and non catholics. Just yesterday an Orthodox young man wedded a lady from the catholic church in the orthodox church. Many of the relations of the lady were absent at the wedding, because th local priest threatened to expel any catholic found at the wedding in orthodox from the catholic church. whats your stake on this? Secondly, the catholics in my locality sees and treats anyone who is not a catholic as an infidel, and those doomed for destruction.

    1. I find this hard to believe, as my parish priest just told me that, any thing the Orthodox church does is permissible for Roman Catholics to do… such as the Nativity Fast. He said that since the two are so closely related, that if an Orthodox person converts to Roman Catholicism, they would not have to be baptized again. Surely he isn’t a liar. If those priests are acting that way, report them. The deacon, at my church, just told a story about when he went to a Baptist church.

      1. Yes, but different cultures behave different regarding these issues. Not every diocese follows or interprets the same rules similarly.

      2. The traditions are close together, but it’s not the same. The Church allows you, for example, to visit an Orthodox Mass on Sundays (and it is valid as your Sunday obligation), but ONLY in case there is no Catholic Mass in a range that you can reach.
        Baptism, be it done in the Orthodox Church or in a protestant denomination is always valid in the Catholic Church as well. So even protestants do not need to be re-baptised as their baptism is valid(they will receive first holy Communion and Confirmation when they convert)

    2. A Catholic cannot be expelled because they visited another wedding, even when the wedding was not permitted by the Church. I personally find the sayings of your parish priest quite dangerous, as have nothing to do with the faith and could cause harm to many people (I can imagine that the bride was very hurt by the event).
      Also to say that non-Catholics are doomed is not in line with Church teaching. Please read Catechism of the Catholic Church, numbers 842-848.

  123. stella orefuwa

    Can I conduct marriage in catholic church with someone who is married but not in catholic church. But not divorced

    1. About Catholics

      Yes, you can marry someone who is not Catholic, but the other person could not be married already. If you want to marry somewhere other than a Catholic church building you would need to discuss that with your priest.

  124. What is the catholic view about a catholic marrying an Adventist in the Adventist church?
    Does the catholic stand to loose any rights or relevance in his/her Catholic Church by virtue of marrying outside the church?

    1. Your marriage will not be valid in the eyes of the church. Thusly, if you do not get a special dispensation to marry outside of your church you will be considered “living in sin.”

    2. You will have to ask for permission from your bishop. If he gives the permission, your marriage is also valid in the Catholic Church.

  125. It depends on what faith the “divorced” person was married in and I’m sure someone here more knowledgeable about Canon law can offer feedback. Generally speaking, only a Catholic marriage is valid. i the divorced preson was married in a non Christian faith (buddhism, judaism,, etc) than that is not considered a marriage and there is no problem converting to Catholicism and marrying a Catholic in the Church. If the person was married as a Christian you may (may..check with a priest) need the approval of the Catholic Bishop as protestants do have a valid sacrament of marriage. If the divorced person was married as a Catholic, FORGET IT, unless a valid annulment is in place.