Married outside the Catholic Church- can I come back?

[Anonymous]

DH and I were married outside of the Catholic Church due to some issues I'd had with my local church (Arlington diocese). They had kept reiterating that DH needed to go through RCIA to get married there. I know we could have just had a Catholic ceremony even though he was Protestant, but the church kept pushing RCIA.

Anyways, it's been a decade now and I miss the Catholic church. 5 years ago I started attending my local Catholic church weekly for several years. I wanted to baptize my baby there when she was born, but was told I could not because we weren't married in the Catholic church. They then sent me a letter telling me I wasn't welcome to take communion or participate until I had my marriage blessed. DH agreed, but after meeting with the priest the "blessing" sounded more like a marriage ceremony with witnesses even. We also had to have many meetings with the priest and they pushed RCIA again.

So is this just how it is? If you're not married in the Church you can't attend/register? What if I just wanted to attend without DH and wanted my kids to attend with me?

[Anonymous]

Check out Holy Trinity in G’town.
You can do just about anything there.

[Anonymous]

Find a different diocese. My twice-divorced Jewish DH and I had no trouble having our child baptized in the Catholic Church. I promised to raise him Catholic and we had two Catholic godparents.

[Anonymous]

Why would you go through such hoops? Jesus’ standards are simple.

The Catholic church is a corrupt organization that wants you to grovel your way back in so you can be held to filling their coffers. That’s not a relationship with God; that’s just joining a snobby and sinister club.

[Anonymous]

My husband is not Catholic and we were not married in the church. We are registered members in the Arlington diocese.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Find a different diocese. My twice-divorced Jewish DH and I had no trouble having our child baptized in the Catholic Church. I promised to raise him Catholic and we had two Catholic godparents.

OP here. I can't choose a different diocese. I was told you could only register or have children baptized at your correct parrish and church. I also was not able to be a godparent to my best friend's child because of this.

I'd like to become Catholic again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My husband is not Catholic and we were not married in the church. We are registered members in the Arlington diocese.

And our kids were baptized there.

[Anonymous]

“They then sent me a letter telling me I wasn't welcome to take communion or participate” .. What?! Why do you want this so badly? They’re human like you. No more, no less. Look elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My husband is not Catholic and we were not married in the church. We are registered members in the Arlington diocese.

OP here. How?! My husband is protestant and we wanted to be married in the Catholic church originally and we weren't able to make that happen. DH would not agree to converting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Find a different diocese. My twice-divorced Jewish DH and I had no trouble having our child baptized in the Catholic Church. I promised to raise him Catholic and we had two Catholic godparents.

OP here. I can't choose a different diocese. I was told you could only register or have children baptized at your correct parrish and church. I also was not able to be a godparent to my best friend's child because of this.

I'd like to become Catholic again.

This is not true. Go to the church recommended.

I was not married in the church and all my kids are baptized.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Find a different diocese. My twice-divorced Jewish DH and I had no trouble having our child baptized in the Catholic Church. I promised to raise him Catholic and we had two Catholic godparents.

OP here. I can't choose a different diocese. I was told you could only register or have children baptized at your correct parrish and church. I also was not able to be a godparent to my best friend's child because of this.

I'd like to become Catholic again.

PP here. Yes, I was told that too. I ignored it and went elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Find a different diocese. My twice-divorced Jewish DH and I had no trouble having our child baptized in the Catholic Church. I promised to raise him Catholic and we had two Catholic godparents.

OP here. I can't choose a different diocese. I was told you could only register or have children baptized at your correct parrish and church. I also was not able to be a godparent to my best friend's child because of this.

Because of dollar bills, y’all. God doesn’t care about that. He also doesn’t care about their canon law and all the other made up rigamarole. Read a bible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband is not Catholic and we were not married in the church. We are registered members in the Arlington diocese.

OP here. How?! My husband is protestant and we wanted to be married in the Catholic church originally and we weren't able to make that happen. DH would not agree to converting.

The Arlington diocese is among the most conservative in the country.

Look in adjacent dioceses. Seriously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband is not Catholic and we were not married in the church. We are registered members in the Arlington diocese.

OP here. How?! My husband is protestant and we wanted to be married in the Catholic church originally and we weren't able to make that happen. DH would not agree to converting.

The Arlington diocese is among the most conservative in the country.

Look in adjacent dioceses. Seriously.

Is there any movement to changing the Arlington diocese to being more welcoming? Seems like it's driving people away

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband is not Catholic and we were not married in the church. We are registered members in the Arlington diocese.

OP here. How?! My husband is protestant and we wanted to be married in the Catholic church originally and we weren't able to make that happen. DH would not agree to converting.

I have no idea. I just registered us and then had my kids baptized. We had to do a class that all new parents have to do to be baptized. And one of the godparents had to be Catholic (the other is not; technically just a Christian witness). Try a different church. It is probably just that priest being nuts. They all pretty much decide how to handle their own churches. Which church did you have the problem?

Also - when we had the kids baptized, they asked if we wanted to get our marriage blessed. Said it was our choice, but that way I could be a godparent for other people. Otherwise I cannot.