Steve Doocey of Fox News, a Catholic, was on Fox this Wednesday morning, although in Florida on vacation. His daughter's wedding had been delayed by COVID-19 and after that the priest who was to preside died. Because of COVID-19, the wedding was a small affair with only immediate family members, although Fox and Friends crew were invited to the bigger event canceled.
The tease leading up to the story was that since the priest had died an ordained family member would preside at the wedding.
It was, get this, Steve's son Peter (who also works at Fox News) who got himself ordained on line to preside at a friends wedding a couple of years ago. He checked to see if he could still do the legal wedding in Florida and sure enough he could.
Thus, Steve's Catholic son was ordained on-line and presided at his sister's destination wedding in Florida.
Everyone on the show including dear old dad, gushed at how remarkable this was and such a wonderful family affair.
Catholics doing this, bragging about it on national TV and no remorse for simulating a Sacrament of the Church which in days gone by could have gotten you excommunicated.
I guess the Doocey Family thought they would give scandal to the secular world if they didn't gush over it on national TV this morning.
15 comments:
I naively thought Steve was a stand up guy. That this "folksy fake Catholic" would gush as you say, is sadly, no surprise at all. I have noticed some body language recently that points to him being very uncomfortable opposite Brian Killmeade. In the end, he's a NJ Democrat just like Cardinal Tobin. As for his son, a Villanova grad, well, I rest my case. Even my own Alma Mater, Providence College, has caved to the secular relativists, in and out of our church. In the name of $$, and not mine (cut them off last year), PC has taken the path of least resistance on their journey to what is now, "Catholic Light". Soon PC will be like all the others; BC, Georgetown, Villanova, Xavier etc.
Father you are 100 % correct. The only thing I can say in their defense is I think they have no idea how sinful this is and probably did this public sin out of ignorance. They are NOT married. Maybe a priest will get to them and tell them that they living in sin and need confession and marriage by a priest.
This should surprise no one. Isn't this the station with the ex priest, current Religion consultant having a very public wedding at Saint Patrick's Cathedral?
One can only hope for what Jacob said, that because it was widely broadcast a priest would reach out to let them know their marriage is not valid.
The Church gave up decades ago on scandal when they allowed Abortion Drooler Ted Kennedy to masquerade as a Catholic and then the Archbishop of Boston presided at his funeral.
Anonymous @1:57
You forgot about Mary Jo Kopechne.
Anonymous at 3:22,
Ah yes, Senator "Oldsmobile" Kennedy, the champion of womens' rights!
Well they're not actually married so they may want to sort that out with an actual priest.
Father McDonald,
Please help me with one aspect of this since it has been decades since I took theology. In my simple understanding, I thought we were told that the couple marries each other through their promises to each other but the priest officiates and blesses the union. So if a couple exchanges their promises without a priest officiating they are validly married but it is not licit because it was not blessed by the Church. Would you mind addressing this since I am more confused than ever after reading this article and the comments. Thanks
The Church of the west, not the east, sees the couple's public giving and receiving of vows as what is necessary for the validity of the marriage. The priest or deacon only witnesses this as the official witness, along with two other witnesses. A Catholic may be dispensed from the form of marriage by his/her bishop thus allowing a Protestant minister to officiate or a justice of the peace or whoever. A bishop may also delegate a lay Catholic to officially receive the vows if no priest or deacon is available, for example in a remote area like the Amazon.
However there are canonical considerations which affect validity. Unless the local bishop gave the Doocy family a dispensation from the form of Catholic marriage and to have it outside of a Catholic Church building, the marriage is invalid.
Another invalidating canonical consideration is the proper delegation a pastor must give to a visiting priest who witnesses a marriage outside of his parish of assignment. If the priest does not receive that delegation, the marriage is invalid.
I had a wedding at our Cathedral this past Saturday and received delegation from the rector. It was necessary for validity.
Who knows, perhaps the Doocy's receive a dispensation, but I doubt it and to have a Catholic get ordained on-line in order to witness marriages would be a sin I think and perhaps a mortal sin if not repented and renounced.
By the way, in the Eastern Rite of the Church, the priest's blessing of the marriage (I presume the Nuptial Blessing) is necessary for validity.
@Father McDonald. Well said. In these days of do it yourself theology, it is good we have a few that can and will set forth the facts.
Father McDonald,
Thank you for your thoughtful response. That clarifies things for me.
How different is this than marrying in a Protestant church? Or a second or third marriage for a certain president while his ex-wives are still alive? Marriage takes on many different meanings these days, unfortunately, but to suggest that only traditional Catholic weddings should be celebrated and honored is simply hypocritical. And if you're really that surprised that most Fox "news" people possess little more than scant association with religion, you really haven't been paying much attention over the years.
I think the point is that they have flaunted the "Catholic" son taking the place of a dead priest, telling all the Catholics that might be watching this is OK. It is NOT OK. No Catholic çan become an online ordained minister. NOT Catholic and NOT valid. Thats the point. A valid Catholic wedding must be presided over by a Catholic priest or Deacon.
And in A Catholic Church I might add.
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