Is it just me or is there a growing trend in the number of Catholics falling in love with Protestants(or vice versa). Just look at the number of people posting in this board on whether they can marry a Catholic or not, because they are themselves - Non Catholics... a worrying trend.

-- Andrew (andyhbk96@hotmail.com), June 27, 2004

-- David Ortiz (cyberpunk1986@hotmail.com), June 27, 2004

Answers

I believe it's because opposites attract :-)

-- David Ortiz (cyberpunk1986@hotmail.com), June 27, 2004.

Uh.....a 100% Catholic and a 100% non-Catholic probably will not marry. But, if you fiddle with the percentages, you may get Catholics and non-Catholics together in Holy Matrimony or Marriage. The 100% belief in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit seems to be the bond between the two, which obviously, is enough to keep a marriage. Doctrine and theology can be worked out.

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-- rod (elreyrod@yahoo.com), June 27, 2004.

No, "doctrine and theology" cannot be "worked out." Doctrine comes from God and is infallible. Christ did not give us an open-ended creed that one can twist into anything one wants. Instead, he gave us unity in doctrinal matters--because he loves us and wants us to be one--but that is compromised whenever someone joins a Protestant sect. Either you accept everything taught by proper authority, or you filter everything through your own subjective evaluation. In the latter case, you make yourself your own Pope, and effectively, your own God; this is what Protestants have done. That is why becoming a Protestant is actually a sin against the First Commandment, and why the modern world is in such chaos. We are told by our Protestantized culture that we can define truth for ourselves.

So marriage between a Catholic and a non-Catholic is impossible, as the unity upon such relationship should be founded is nonexistent. The Church wisely established this as one the 6 Precepts of the Church which must be followed under pain of mortal sin.

Granted, liberal post-Vatican II priests routinely allow intermarriage. They, and those they marry, will be judged.

-- JC (euthyphro9999@yahoo.com), June 30, 2004.

I agree with you JC. Eventually, the married couple will become one in faith. The doctrine/theology will work out to settle nicely in the true faith. Uh.....I'm Catholic.

But, you must remember that the Catholic Church believes that some other denominations do have some of the truth. So, there has to be some common denominator in the union of a man and woman in regards to faith. The woman must submit to the man, so if he is Catholic, she then will become Catholic. It also works the other way. If he is non-Catholic, she must submit. If she doesn't, the marriage will have problems that may end in seperation; that's if they are true to their faith. "Un-evenly yoked" kind of thing.

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-- rod (elreyrod@yahoo.com), June 30, 2004.

What? If the woman is Catholic, she must apostasize from the faith b/c she wants to marry a non-Catholic? No. This is why there is a precept of the Church against intermarriage.

You are relying on a Protestant conception of authority, one in which the woman's submission is unqualified. In Catholic theology, the submission is limited by the Divine Law. If a husband commands a wife to reject the Faith, she must resist. This has been confirmed by centuries of Fathers and Doctors. The husband's authority over the wife is subordinate to God's authority over all. Where they conflict, we must follow God and the teachings of his Holy Church.

-- JC (euthyphro9999@yahoo.com), June 30, 2004.

Well, that's exactly what I meant with the 100% Catholic and 100% non-Catholic not marrying. But, if either one is weak, they'll get hitched. St. Paul encountered the same issues. His idea was that if the pagan didn't interfere with the Christian's faith things will work out. I think the word "work" has some significance. A true Catholic woman would not go in search of a Protestant man for her husband.

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-- rod (elreyrod@yahoo.com), June 30, 2004.

Interesting note:

If Protestants/non-Catholics have the truth, how can one explain the diversity in doctrines and theologies maintained by those non-Catholics? Logically and obviously, there can never be any reliable sense of certainty that the Protestants have the absolute truth. I have heard Protestants proclaim that they do not posses the truth, as being the only true church. It sounds political and respectful of other Protestant churches to make such a statement. So, to imagine that Man is capable of surmizing the truth all on their own is rather blind sighted. Just have a look at the different denominations who make the claim of having the truth.

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-- rod (elreyrod@yahoo.com), June 30, 2004.