Question Archives
(Answered by Reverend Daniel J. Jordan - Judicial Vicar for Diocesan Tribunal)

1)Can we be married in the Catholic Church as we are?
2)What steps are required to become Catholic?

1)Can they marry in the Catholic Church in an interfaith wedding? 

2)If they cannot and decide to marry outside the church is my brother still Catholic and can he receive communion?

3)Can a priest preside over the ceremony with his fiancee’s minister outside the Church?

I am from Melbourne Australia. I am planning on getting married to my girlfriend sometime this year. 
I am a Catholic while my girlfriend is a baptized Anglican.  Can we get married in a Catholic Church?  What would need to be done?  Could a priest hold a wedding ceremony not in a church?

I am a practicing Catholic.  I plan to marry my girlfriend.  I want a priest to preside over the union.  She is a Mormon and has agreed to raise the children Catholic.  She also wants to get married on a beach.  I am a member of the US Military based in Georgia.

I am a Catholic who married a non-Catholic 17 years ago.  We are divorcing as he has been adulterous on a couple of occasions.  If in the future I wish to remarry, can I marry in the Catholic Church?

I am a Catholic.  I was divorced 3 years ago.  I have not done the paperwork to get my marriage annulled.  I wish to marry in the eyes of God, and due to severe financial stresses, not in the eyes of my state.  (No marriage license).  Can we do this?

When an adult son wishes to marry a divorced non-Catholic in a non-Catholic ceremony, how do I handle the situation without alienating my son?

I am from Chicago, and I am planning a wedding in Central Park, NY.  I heard that Catholic priests are not able do celebrate a wedding outside the church.  Is that true?

Also, my fiancee was married previously in the Greek Orthodox Church.  Does he have to go through the annulment process?  He did not receive a dispensation from the Catholic Church to get married.

I was married a year ago by a JP for immigration purposes to my husband.  Would it still be possible for us to marry in the Church with a nuptial mass.  We do not nor ever have lived as man and wife.

My fiancé and I are planning on getting married in November 2004. I have been divorced from a previous marriage.  A Methodist minister did the previous marriage in a Methodist Church.  I did NOT receive a dispensation from the Catholic Church for this. I have been told that this makes the marriage invalid in the eyes of the Catholic Church and therefore will be able to marry in a Catholic Church next fall. Can you tell me if this is correct?  Am I allowed to get married in a Catholic Church?  And if so, do I need to fill out any official forms of any sort?  Your help is greatly appreciated in this matter.

My Fiancé and I would like to have a Catholic Wedding.  The Chapel that we liked (close to the reception area) is an Episcopalian church.  Can we use this church for a Catholic wedding?  There are family concerns due to the age of some family members and that one of my family members is in a wheelchair. 

I am a Catholic.  My fiancé is a Methodist.  He has been married and divorced after 5 years.  We would like to get married in the Catholic Church.  His Methodist pastor said he could remarry.  My Catholic Priest thought that his divorce would not be an obstacle to the marriage, as he was never married in the Catholic Church.  Could you advise me? 

I am Catholic.  I was married by a justice of the peace to a Mormon.  I have returned to practice my faith and am quite happy.  I know the Church does not accept Mormon baptism.  I now know about the Church’s teachings on marriage.  What should I do?

Can a Catholic marry during Lent? 

Can a Catholic marry a divorced non-Catholic in the Church?

My fiancée and I are getting married in a civil ceremony in another country.  What do I need to do to get my marriage recognized by the Church? 

I plan on getting married in Vermont in May.  I am Catholic and my fiancé is Baptist.  I want to get married in the Old Round Church in Richmond.  Can our family priest marry us in this Church building?

My child wants to get married in a meadow in Stowe and we want her to be married in the Church.  Can she be married in a meadow in Stowe?

What is the Dissolution of the Marriage bond?

What is the “Pauline Privilege?

What is a “Petrine Privilege (or the Favor of the Faith)? 

My boyfriend and I are planning on getting engaged.  I was raised Catholic, he is unbaptized.  We have discussed our differences and my desire to raise our children as Catholics.  He does not want to become Catholic.  When we go to speak to our priest, how hard will he try to talk us out of it and how do we get the dispensation to have our wedding outside of Mass?

I married a Jewish woman.  The Rabbi and my Priest married us in reception hall.  The marriage didn’t last and we are divorced.  What do I need to do to get remarried? 

My son was abandoned by his wife of 5 years so she could live with her lesbian lover.  My son did not know that she was an active homosexual.  Does the fact that she withheld the fact of her homosexuality nullify the marriage?

I am a woman that has been married several times.  Only one marriage was celebrated with the blessing of the Church and that husband is dead.  My present husband wants to be married in the Church.  Is there any hope?

Does the Diocese of Burlington allow outdoor weddings between 2 Catholics? 

My fiancée and I are both Catholic.  She has not been confirmed.  Can we get married in the Church?

My fiancée is a Methodist.  We are getting married in her church.  I am Catholic.  What do I need to do to get a blessing from the Church?

My fiance and I want to be married in the Islands in December by a Justice of the Peace. We wish to have our marriage in the Church in April. What does the Church think about this?

I am a Catholic who was married in 1980 to an Episcopalian woman in the Episcopal Church. I have divorced and wish to marry an unmarried Catholic woman. Can I?

What are the requirements for obtaining an annulment?
What are the grounds for a declaration of nullity?
Can Catholics be married by a priest outside a church? Can a priest become a justice of the peace in order tomarry two Catholics in an outdoor setting?

Must Catholics be married at Mass?

I am engaged to a Jewish man. It is important to me to have my future children baptized. My fiancé and me have talked about this but we are unsure what I am required to do as the Catholic party. The other question I have is I want to have a church wedding and mass. Can I?

My fiance is a baptized Catholic but because of her parents divorce was confirmed as an Episcopalian, would she need to complete RCIA in order to be married in the Catholic Church?

My husband and I are both Catholic, but we were married in the Episcopal Church (We wanted an outdoor wedding and the diocese we were in did not allow it). (Many Dioceses including Burlington do not give a dispensation from place for two Catholics). We now have a baby, which we would like to baptize Catholic. Can she be baptized Catholic even though we did not get married in the Church?

Why is marriage a sacrament?

Why must Catholics marry in the Church?

Must Catholics marry on Saturday only?

Can Catholics marry people outside the faith?
What is a dispensation?

What is a "mixed" marriage?

Can divorced Catholics ever remarry?

What makes a marriage valid?

When is a wedding Mass allowed?

What are "Banns of Marriage?"

Can my uncle, a deacon, officiate at my wedding?