I have been raised Catholic however, I feel more at one with God outdoors than I do inside a church. For this reason, I would like to get married outside. Is it true that a Catholic priest can not marry me outside of a church? Can a Protestant minister, or another Christian religion, marry me outdoors? If so, why is this? Thanks.

-- alison chiappelone (mustanga75@hotmail.com), September 18, 2003

Answers

Hi, Alison.
Your question has been asked and answered several times at this forum. I think that you will get a lot out of reading some of the old threads in the "archives" -- especially this one.
God bless you.
John

-- J. F. Gecik (jfgecik@hotmail.com), September 18, 2003.

Alison,

You may feel closer to God's creation outdoors, but Jesus Christ is truly present in the Most Blessed Sacrament, the Host, which dwells in the tabernacle of the Church.

If you want a sacramental marriage that is valid in the eyes of God and the Church, you should speak to a priest and give serious consideration to exchanging your vows with your future spouse in the Presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

-- Anna <>< (flower@youknow.com), September 18, 2003.

Wait....so if she gets married outside...it doesn't count...and that means she's not married in the eyes of the church...and so if she has sex it's akin to murder? Is somebody going to tell me that makes any sense?

-- anti-bush (comrade_bleh@hotmail.com), September 20, 2003.

no anti bush, youve just twisted words that way because you are anti catholic and hear only what you wish. it is possible to be married outdoors, but it requires certain factors. second, a wedding performed outdoors is not neccessarily invalid. good Lord, if you dont understand something, ASK A QUESTION. dont make yourself look ignorant by blatantly attacking something you dont even know.

-- paul (dontSendMeMail@notAnAddress.com), September 21, 2003.

What about having the wedding outside as you wish, then having it blessed later by the Church?

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), September 21, 2003.

GT, that would be called cheating the system. if you deliberately disobeyed the law of the church, and then just confessed it later, would that be acceptable? no, because God would know the difference.

-- paul (dontSendMeMail@notAnAddress.com), September 22, 2003.

How did we go from "incorrect form" to a sin here? This is one of those policies that needs to be changed, like for example what our pastor wrote about this weekend, that suicides can now be buried in Catholic cemeteries. And what about those people who marry non-Catholics, and later on get their marriages blessed by the Church? When they have these at our parish, no one mentions that apparently they were living in sin all these years....

If someone goes through Pre-Cana, a priest should be allowed to marry them. God is present not only in the Tabernacle, but in all His creation.

And what about the large group wedding held OUTSIDE that I posted about earlier? It seems like a double standard is being applied here.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), September 22, 2003.

"What about having the wedding outside as you wish, then having it blessed later by the Church?"

LOL!

Why not have the Wedding IN the Church, and then have the reception outside?

After all - the Wedding (the important part) is only an hour. You'd have the whole rest of the day to be outside "close to God" (yet not as near to God as in the Holy Eucharist).

Just a suggestion.

-- Jake Huether (jake_huether@yahoo.com), September 22, 2003.

I couldn't agree more - I see no reason for not being able to have a priest marry someone outside of the church - other sacraments are performed in places other than church. And with the state the church is in today, I see no reason why it has to be so obstinate on this point of view - and the fact that you can kill yourself and be buried in the church - you must be kidding. The catholic church needs to get their priorities straight before more and more people leave the church.

-- Joanna Wandelt (wandeltj@taftschool.org), October 14, 2003.

When someone leaves the Church, the deficiency is in the person who leaves, not in the Church. Just ask any of the hundreds of thousands of persons who ENTER the Church every year, drawn to the fullness of truth from Protestantism, Orthodoxy, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Paganism, Agnosticism, Atheism, every possible background.

-- Paul M. (PaulCyp@cox.net), October 14, 2003.