345. What is required when one of the spouses is not a Catholic? (part 1)
(Comp
345) A mixed marriage (between a Catholic and a baptized non-Catholic)
needs for liceity the permission of ecclesiastical authority. In a case of
disparity of cult (between a Catholic and a non-baptized person) a dispensation
is required for validity. In both cases, it is essential that the spouses do
not exclude the acceptance of the essential ends and properties of marriage. It
is also necessary for the Catholic party to accept the obligation, of which the
non-Catholic party has been advised, to persevere in the faith and to assure
the baptism and Catholic education of their children.
“In brief”
(CCC 1664)
Unity, indissolubility, and openness to fertility are essential to marriage.
Polygamy is incompatible with the unity of marriage; divorce separates what God
has joined together; the refusal of fertility turns married life away from its
"supreme gift," the child (GS 50 § 1).
To deepen and explain
(CCC 1665) The remarriage of
persons divorced from a living, lawful spouse contravenes the plan and law of
God as taught by Christ. They are not separated from the Church, but they
cannot receive Eucharistic communion. They will lead Christian lives especially
by educating their children in the faith.
Reflection
(CCC 1634) Difference of confession between the spouses does
not constitute an insurmountable obstacle for marriage, when they succeed in
placing in common what they have received from their respective communities,
and learn from each other the way in which each lives in fidelity to Christ.
But the difficulties of mixed marriages must not be underestimated. They arise
from the fact that the separation of Christians has not yet been overcome. The
spouses risk experiencing the tragedy of Christian disunity even in the heart
of their own home. Disparity of cult can further aggravate these difficulties.
Differences about faith and the very notion of marriage, but also different
religious mentalities, can become sources of tension in marriage, especially as
regards the education of children. The temptation to religious indifference can
then arise. [IT CONTINUES]
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