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Catholics getting Ordained for non-religious ceremony?

josephin9josephin9
First Anniversary
in Wedding Customs & Traditions Forum
We want a friend of ours (who is a practicing Catholic) to perform our non-religious marriage ceremony. Is it allowed by the Catholic church for someone to be ordained by one of the online sites -- even the ones that seem to accept all religions -- without getting in trouble with the Church?
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Re: Catholics getting Ordained for non-religious ceremony?

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    GoodLuckBear14GoodLuckBear14 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Combo Breaker First Comment

    If this were true, then no practicing Catholic could be a judge, mayor or Justice of the Peace and perfrom ceremonies.  

    I would, however, check with the Clerk of Courts in the county where you are planning to marry to make sure that your friend meets all of the requirements.  My brother and SIL went this route and wound up having to go to a Judge's chambers to be legally married the Monday after their wedding because it turned out Georgia did not recognize their "minister."

    Proud to be an old married hag!! image
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    calliopeia2013calliopeia2013 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper First Comment
    Well, Catholics can certainly perform civil marriages if they are judges or justices of the peace.  But getting an online ordination involves becoming a "minister" of a different religion (the most common is the Universal life Church), which I'm pretty sure Catholics can't do without it being a problem for their own faith.  When you get ordained online, you're not just getting the power to perform weddings, you're actually becoming a memebr of a religion's clergy.  He should check with his priest to see what the Catholic Church would think about it, but my guess is that they would have a problem with it.
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    Riss91Riss91 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    I believe that a Catholic that is qualified by the state (because they are a judge, etc) to preside over civil ceremonies may perform a ceremony for two people that were never baptized as Catholic. A Catholic that does not have those qualifications would not be able to accept ordination as an officiant from a mail order minister mill as that would give the appearance that they had joined a non-Catholic church. There may be some states where a one-day officiant license may be obtained directly from the state, which would be acceptable.

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    ElisabethJoanneElisabethJoanne member
    5 Love Its First Comment
    callipoeia and Riss are correct. Moreover, the one-day license Riss mentions is available in California, but I'm not sure it's available in every county.
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    jenjlgsingsjenjlgsings member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    they could do a civil ceremony - like at a courthouse if they are a judge.  But they could not get "ordained" by another faith or belief and still be considered in good standing with the church.
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