Just Called My Priest

S+G

I just called my parish priest and set up our first meeting with him for next week. My fiance is mormon, so his baptism/confirmation aren't recognized in the church. We already had to fill out some basic information for the church and I'm pretty nervous about how this meeting will go. Has anyone heard of people in our situation not getting approval for marriage?  

bibliophile2010

Welcome and congratulations on your engagement!

There is no reason that you should not be able to be married in the Church so long as one of you is Catholic. Because your fiance does not have a valid baptism, it will not be a sacramental marriage. It will, however, be completely valid in the eyes of the Church. There might be some extra paperwork, as you will officially be seeking a dispensation, and a priest may ask some extra questions/require extra counseling/etc. to ensure that you're prepared for a mixed marriage (or he may not). You will be asked to promise to do your best to raise your children in the Church, and your fiance will be asked not to interfere and be informed of your promise.

Calypso1977

i thought the church recognized baptisms of other faiths?

Resa77

Calypso -- the church recognizes baptism in other Christian faiths.  The Church does not recognize mormons as being Christian, as they do not believe Jesus is God, just the son of God.  Also, they do not baptize "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit," as other Christian faiths do.  This is what I was told by a priest when my best friend was marrying a Mormon, and she had asked me tons of questions about the situation. 

OP -- just cooperate with the priest and I'm sure it'll all work out.  Although their is a dispensation needed for this situation, I've never heard of anyone NOT getting it, so there's no real need to worry yourself too much!  Also, I'm sure you've already discussed faith and raising your kids, etc., with your FI, but I'd recommend REALLY talking about this, as it's the biggest issue interfaith marriages encounter.  When you marry in the Church, you will promise (and your FI will agree) to raise your kids Catholic.  I'd just make sure you talk about this sooner rather than later, as it isn't the kind of thing you want the priest to spring on your FI in a meeting, you know?  I know other interfaith marriages where the non-Catholic spouse felt really "ganged up on" when they weren't informed of these things until  afew weeks/months before the wedding. 

Calypso1977

huh, i had no idea mormons werent considered christians.

bibliophile2010

Just to be clear, Mormons consider themselves Christians, but the Church does not, as Resa described.

Riss91

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_catholic-weddings_just-called-my-priest?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:615Discussion:8779d80c-1b2d-4c00-8287-479e3c2f9df1Post:bab01f25-84ad-4d18-9791-2314de56510c">Re: Just Called My Priest</a>:
[QUOTE]huh, i had no idea mormons werent considered christians.
Posted by Calypso1977[/QUOTE]

There is also a problem bc they aren't quite monotheistic. They believe there is one God for our planet, but that they become Gods of other planets when they die (if they are deserving).

elbow23

Just to weigh in, my fiance identifies as Christian and lives his life as such, but he has not yet been baptized into any religion/denomination, and we have had no problems whatsoever with the marriage process.  As PP mentioned, there is a dispensation that must be obtained, but our priest is handling that particular issue.  If you take the FOCCUS instrument, there is also a separate section on mixed-faith marriages, which can be great fodder for discussion.