If you are Catholic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we were married, I was Jewish and my wife was Catholic (years later she converted to Judaism). We were married by a priest (a long-time friend of my family) and a rabbi on Long Island. The rabbi was what I would call a "rent-a-rabbit" (i.e. a rabbi without a congregation). We did get some kind of dispensation from the diocese on Long Island, and attended a pre-cana class provided by the Church. The wedding took place outdoors under a gazebo. This all took place almost 30 years ago.

did you have to sign a document agreeing that your children would be raised Catholic?

I think we did. When kids came along (8 years after we got married), the same priest baptized them (and they both had a bris), but ultimately they formally converted to Judaism. (I still remember being petrified when the panel of rabbis asked my older son what his favorite holiday was. I was certain he was going to say "Christmas," but he came up with Shavuot (without any parental prompting!), which I think had just been celebrated at his preschool!). They both had Bar Mitzvah's, but we are essentially non-observant at this point.

Sounds like quite a religious journey -- parents and children making big religious changes along the way, and ultimately ending up non-religious! I wonder how something that was such a big, complicated part of your lives, ended up not being in your lives at all.

I still consider myself Jewish (and I guess I still am, by many/most definitions). I just don't to services very often (LOL). We both thought it was good for our kids to have a grounding in religion, in case it ever became something which would be important to them (or a potential spouse, for example). But religion has never "spoken to me" in the way that it does for so many. I always need to remind myself that for many people, faith is a central element in their lives and world. But it never felt that way for me.