My fiance and I are planning on getting married in the Church since we are both Catholics and come from very religious families. But due to some legal issues want to speed things along by getting married by a Justice of the Peace, quietly and beforehand. Would the Catholic Church view our wedding ceremony as a renewal of vows or the real thing? P.S. We would not be living together as "man and wife" until after the Catholic ceremony - if that were a concern.

-- mary laura (lhargrove@mail.com), August 18, 2003

Answers

I don't know the answer. Depending upon how friendly you are with your pastor, he may be able to marry you in a simple ceremony without the 20 bridesmaids and so forth, but that would be your real wedding. In other words, I believe a priest can perform weddings more or less at any time he wishes (except for Holy Days, etc.), but it is the scheduling of certain resources (the church, hall, etc.) that requires the long wait time. I am assuming here, of course, that you have gone through Pre-Cana already.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), August 18, 2003.

As Catholics you cannot "get married by a Justice of the Peace". You could go through the motions, and that might solve your legal problems, since you would then be married in the eyes of the state, and have a state-issued marriage certificate. But you would not be married in the eyes of God or His Church. Consequently "living together as man and wife" would indeed be a concern, since you would not in fact be husband and wife until your actual wedding.

-- Paul (PaulCyp@cox.net), August 18, 2003.

Paul, now that leads me to a question. Can a Catholic priest perform weddings for those not Catholic (that is, act as a JP, considering that he has to say "by the power of God and the (US) state of whatever" or however the language goes)? Don't all ministers also have to be licensed by the state?

How do Catholic military chaplains handle rush weddings (due to imminent deployment, for example)? I can't imagine them making couples waiting the usual 6 months.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), August 18, 2003.

A priest cannot officiate at a wedding of two non-Catholics. A Catholic can of course marry a non-Catholic with a priest officiating, proper permission having been obtained and proper arrangements made. A JP can say whatever he wishes to say at a wedding, but he does not possess any special "power" from God. He is a civil servant licensed by the state, nothing more. A priest does have specific divinely ordained powers, but presiding at a wedding is not such a "power", strictly speaking. It is the couple entering marriage who have the "power" to confer the sacrament of matrimony upon each other, and it is their exchanged vows, not anything the priest says or does, that effects their marriage. The priest or deacon is the official witness of the Church, and may also confer a blessing upon the couple and offer special prayers for the success of their marriage; but he does not "marry" them. They marry each other.

No responsible priest, chaplain or otherwise, will officiate at a wedding where the couple is obviously not ready for marriage. That would include couples who have only recently met, and have not had a reasonable length of time for courtship. On the other hand, if a couple has been courting for a year or more, and plan on marrying in another year, but wish to move the date up because of sudden deployment or other good reason, there is nothing wrong with a priest trying to accomodate them, provided everything else is in order.

-- Paul (PaulCyp@cox.net), August 18, 2003.

Thanks Paul.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), August 19, 2003.

Jmj

Paul, you wrote:
"The priest or deacon is the official witness of the Church, and may also confer a blessing upon the couple and offer special prayers for the success of their marriage; but he does not 'marry' them. They marry each other."

You are correct if speaking about the Sacrament of Marriage in the Latin (Western) Church. However, in the Eastern Churches (Byzantine Catholic, Orthodox, etc.), the terminology used is different. The Catechism says this:

"1623 According to Latin tradition, the spouses as ministers of Christ's grace mutually confer upon each other the sacrament of Matrimony by expressing their consent before the Church. In the tradition of the Eastern Churches, the priests (bishops or presbyters) are witnesses to the mutual consent given by the spouses, but for the validity of the sacrament their blessing is also necessary."

For this reason, Easterners speak of the priest "marrying" the couple, and refer to the priest as the "ordinary minister" of Marriage.

God bless you.
John

-- J. F. Gecik (jfgecik@hotmail.com), August 19, 2003.

Right John - my Western heritage was showing through there.

-- Paul (PaulCyp@cox.net), August 19, 2003.

There is a custom in some Latin American countries. Couples marry in a civil ceremony, then are "married in the Church".

Does anyone know if this is for legal reasons or if it is a hold-over custom (i.e. marry in a civil ceremony, then marry when the priest is in town or is available)?

God bless,

-- john placette (jplacette@catholic.org), August 19, 2003.

Some countries require a civil ceremony in order for a marriage to be recognized by the state, just as the state here requires a marriage license and a blood test. In such cases, the Church "renders unto Ceasar that which is Caesar's", and complies with the legal requirements. Similarly, the Church requires a civil divorce before it will begin an annulment proceding - not because the Church accepts or believes in divorce, but simply to avoid unnecessary conflicts with civil law. Where the state requires a civil ceremony, the Church allows it to occur, but does not recognize it as a valid marriage. Typically, both the civil ceremony and the Church wedding take place on the same day.

-- Paul (PaulCyp@cox.net), August 19, 2003.

Actually, a friend of mine had a similar situation and the church would only allow them to have a blessing not a full mass.

-- tara (howlinghoyden@hotmail.com), September 10, 2003.