A family in my parish has had an unpleasant few months. One of the grandchildren, who was baptized a Catholic, but not raised as one, was being married outside the Church. My parishioners are faithful Catholics. They were at a loss about what to do. Should or shouldn't they go? They asked for my advice. I told them not to go as the attempted marriage of a Catholic outside the Church (without the permission of the local ordinary) is not in reality a marriage. If they went, their attendance would say the exact opposite that yes this is a marriage. You may disagree with me, but that is my opinion. We should witness to the truth by all that we say and do even at the cost of precious personal relationships. This is not a moral judgment on the couple. The uncatechized fellow didn't know any better, but the reality remains the same: it is not a marriage. What we do means something. What we do needs to reflect the reality of our beliefs. The family ended up not attending the wedding. They have received a lot of flack from some other relatives, but I am confident they did the right thing.
Recently some have expressed shock that Burke the Magnificent placed a PPCP, Sr. Louise Lears, under interdict for participating in the simulated ordination of a couple of Water Witches. Her participation in this event was a very public up yours to the Church and Her teachings. She and her friends should not be surprised that she is being held accountable for her actions.
Friday, July 18, 2008
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3 comments:
I agree with what you are saying Father!. It's exactly the same thing if pro-abort politcian by voting for them.
Several years ago I was put in the same predicament when one of my nieces (raised Catholic) decided to get married to her live-in boyfriend at an outdoor ceremony by a J-o-P. I wrote her a letter explaining why I couldn't attend, wished her well, said I wasn't judging her, and received some flak but not much. Would do it again in a heartbeat, but it doesn't make it easy. What's the point of having faith if it isn't put to use?
I was afraid I would have to do this for my dear friend's wedding this fall. He and his fiancé were both baptized and raised Catholic (he nominally, she more so) but have been away from the Church in practice for...um, well, quite a while. ;-)
When he told me they were considering an outdoor ceremony, I talked to my confessor, who told me that I should tell him I couldn't attend if he did that. I did tell him (nicely, I hope), and they ended up deciding to have the wedding in church. Which is quite a relief, because I had already asked him to stand up for me, and I would've felt like a total jerk for not going to his wedding when he was standing up in mine... :-p
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