I am participating in RCIA in Europe through an Army military installation. My husband, who is Catholic, and I married two years ago. I was previously married (however, not as a Baptized person at the time) and divorced many years ago. During my first marriage I was Baptized as a Methodist and my husband (who was previously Baptized) was as well. This is the second time I have attended RCIA with unclear understandings on this process. My priest told me that I could go ahead and get confirmed without the annulment but the RCIA director has now told me no, that is not true. I have watched the video and read the book, The Marriage That Was, but that only deals with people and divorce/annulments (nothing about confirmation). I understand that for us to receive the holy sacrament of marriage from the church that I would have to have the annulment first. However, do I truly need it in order to just be confirmed? I want to do all the steps, but as in the video states, it takes up to a year and a half for an annulment and that means taking RCIA five times prior to receiving the annulment and then being confirmed.

-- Jennifer (Jennifer.Fabrizior@eu.dodea.edu, AandJFabrizio@aol.com), January 04, 2005

Answers

Jennifer-- Go back to the Priest and talk to him so he can walk it through for your RCIA course so you can get confirmed. Too many of the RCIA "directors" lack...(well lets just say they are often glorfied secretaries) or they are wound up tighter then a Pentecostal in a bar. Hey look at the bright side at least your Baptism counts.

-- Michael G. (NoEmail@Nowhere.no), January 04, 2005.

You do need an annulment, or to be living chastely and without serious sin, before you can recieve any of the sacraments. If you are living as husband and wife, yet you are not married in the church, you are living in the state of habitual mortal sin.

The best thing you can do is to begin living as brother and sister with your husband, right now. The move immediately to having your prior unions considered for possible annulment.

-- Pat Delaney (patrickrdelaney@yahoo.com), January 04, 2005.