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Thursday, June 16, 2011

A BLAST FROM THE RELATIVELY RECENT PAST

Getting ready for post-Wedding photos around 2006. Wedding at St. Paul Episcopal Church, Macon, home Church of Debra who married Mike Wisdom, our parishioner, but she and Mike traveled with our choir to Rome. Mike is a member of our choir and his wife a member of the choir at St. Paul's, but sang with us in Rome. The female Episcopal minister is the Rev. Camillie Hegg. It is good to be able to get a dispensation from the form of Catholic marriage in these sorts of situations. In the old days when a Catholic married a Protestant (up until the 1940's or so) they could not get married in the Church but in the rectory. Many of my older parishioners were married in our rectory because they were not allowed to be married in the Church due to them marrying a Protestant! And they followed the rules and are still good Catholics to this day. That needed to change and thank God it did!

A more formal shot of the post wedding photos:

Our Choir visited Rome in late October of 2006 I believe. A candid shot that was just sent to me by Debra Wisdom, whose wedding to our parishioner Mike is above. I was less gray back then! I wonder why?

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Father, I'm assuming that you were there as an official witness from the Church, but there was no mass celebrated, right? I think it's great that people of different faiths come together to celebrate this beautiful sacrament. Don't you think that participating in this ceremony as an ordained miinister would encourage those female catholics who want to be ordained?

Fr. Allan J. McDonald said...

Once a Catholic receives a dispensation from the Form of Marriage, the wedding ceremony is that of the denomination where it takes place. This was not an Episcopal Eucharist, but rather a Liturgy of the Word. After the dispensation, it is not even necessary for the Catholic priest/deacon to be there as the Church delegates the Protestant minister to be the official witness for the ceremony. Custom and etiquette does allow for the priest to be invited. However, the Catholic priest/deacon should only do what is requested and might even pray one of the prayers from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer. Obviously if the Eucharist was celebrated, the Catholics there present should not receive as we have not yet achieved full communion with the Episcopal Church. Two weeks ago, I participated in a Methodist wedding with a Catholic groom. The female minister allowed me to say a prayer at the end and gave me the flexibility of praying the Catholic nuptial prayer--that was her call though, not mine.

Templar said...

is it safe to assume The Church still requires a commitment in these mixed marriages to raise the offspring as Catholics yes? i really can't get my head around how any Catholic who takes his faith seriously could consent to anything less than receiving the Sacrament from The Church.

Fr. Allan J. McDonald said...

The couple who receives the Church's dispensation from the form of marriage is still prepared for marriage in the Catholic Church, i.e. pre-Cana workshop, etc,and the Catholic must still promise to have their children baptized and reared as Catholics. The pre-nuptial file including the promises to respect each other conscience is kept in the Catholic parish in which the wedding takes place, although the wedding is in a Protestant Church.

J. Prudence said...

"I reaffirm my faith in Jesus Christ and, with God's help, intend to continue living that faith in the Catholic Church. At the same time I acknowledge the respect I owe to the conscience of my partner in marriage. I promise to do all in my power to share th faith I have received with our children by having them baptized and reared as Catholics."

(Declaration required of the Catholic party in a Mixed Marriage - Diocese of Savannah, Form D)

Is this a statement that the Catholic party WILL have the children baptized and reared as Catholics, or that he/she will do all in his/her power to have this done? I think there is a difference... Where is my copy of Huel's Pastoral Companion....?

Fr. Allan J. McDonald said...

That's a good point. It is "all in my power." Of course if there is resistance and the Protestant spouse is adamantly opposed to the Catholic upbringing of the children, a Catholic spouse may have to capitulate to this for family harmony. I think though, it could lead to grounds for an annulment.

Gene said...

Well, you can bet the Episcapostate Sheist (that's a she priest)viewed the whole thing as an ecumenical triumph. Ignotus should be turning flips...

J. Prudence said...

What might those grounds be, canonically?

J. Prudence said...

Seriously, FrAJM - what canonical grounds might be used to seek an annulment in this circumstance?