(Death, Heaven, Purgatory, Hell)
Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults
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Question 27: Would you please elaborate on your answer to the previous question? Why can't a Catholic who marries a non-Catholic have a Catholic ceremony first and then be married be a minister to please the parents who are non-Catholics?
Answer: Canon law (Canon 1127 §3) expressly forbids a Catholic to give or renew his matrimonial consent before a non-Catholic minister. In doing so, Catholics incur "ipso facto" excommunication, for such action is, by the very fact, an open profession of heresy or schism. We must not sacrifice principle merely to please others. If, the first marriage is considered binding until death, why should a sensible person go through a second meaningless ceremony? In countries that insist that their citizens go through the formality of a civil marriage, a Catholic is bound to obey the law to insure their civil privileges. The civil marriage is then to be regarded merely as a legal formality; it has no religious significance whatever.
