- Feb 5, 2002
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We’ve become so used to Catholic priests and influencers telling us that we may go to these invalid “weddings” that we’ve forgotten to question the premise: What is the authoritative source for that advice?
You know how we’ve all been told in the last few decades that we may attend a Catholic loved one’s invalid “wedding” as long as we discern and pray? Turns out, that advice is not connected to any Catholic teaching or moral principle.
Before I rebut the arguments used to justify attending, I want to clarify that I will be discussing baptized Catholics only and their canon-law obligation to marry in the Church. I hope it goes without saying that no Catholic may ever attend a “gay marriage” (sodomy) or a “marriage” where the party/parties were married previously, without nullity (adultery). Attending a “wedding” in either of those situations does not require even a moment of discernment—it is morally wrong, period. If a priest says you may attend either a homosexual “marriage” or an adulterous one, run away, and do not trust him again.
Now, let’s get to the issue that is a stumbling block for even fervent Catholics: the case of a man and a woman who are free to marry, in which either or both had a Catholic baptism, and who are getting “married” outside the Catholic Church without a dispensation from the bishop. This includes lapsed Catholics and “ex-Catholics.”
Prior to the 1970s, no faithful Catholic would dare risk his soul or cause scandal by attending such a “wedding,” and no priest of Jesus would give permission to do so. Today, however, it happens all the time. What changed? Nothing changed, except our modern unwillingness to do the hard thing and to suffer for fidelity to Christ.
Continued below.
You know how we’ve all been told in the last few decades that we may attend a Catholic loved one’s invalid “wedding” as long as we discern and pray? Turns out, that advice is not connected to any Catholic teaching or moral principle.
Before I rebut the arguments used to justify attending, I want to clarify that I will be discussing baptized Catholics only and their canon-law obligation to marry in the Church. I hope it goes without saying that no Catholic may ever attend a “gay marriage” (sodomy) or a “marriage” where the party/parties were married previously, without nullity (adultery). Attending a “wedding” in either of those situations does not require even a moment of discernment—it is morally wrong, period. If a priest says you may attend either a homosexual “marriage” or an adulterous one, run away, and do not trust him again.
Now, let’s get to the issue that is a stumbling block for even fervent Catholics: the case of a man and a woman who are free to marry, in which either or both had a Catholic baptism, and who are getting “married” outside the Catholic Church without a dispensation from the bishop. This includes lapsed Catholics and “ex-Catholics.”
Prior to the 1970s, no faithful Catholic would dare risk his soul or cause scandal by attending such a “wedding,” and no priest of Jesus would give permission to do so. Today, however, it happens all the time. What changed? Nothing changed, except our modern unwillingness to do the hard thing and to suffer for fidelity to Christ.
Continued below.
Nine Bad Arguments for Catholics Attending Invalid “Weddings”
We’ve become so used to Catholic priests and influencers telling us that we may go to these invalid “weddings” that we’ve forgotten to question the premise: What is the authoritative source for that advice?