Go to Myra in Los Angeles, California, listening on
I think it's Immaculate Heart Radio, it says iHeartRadio, maybe she's
listening on iHeartRadio. Myra, you are on with Tim Staples. Hi Tim, happy Lent
to you guys. Thank you. Thank you, Myra. And to you as well. Thank you. My question is: can a
marriage be blessed through the Catholic Church if one of the spouses is Catholic
and the other is non-Christian? Yes it can--yes, yes it can, Myra, but okay, and
what's the follow-up? The follow-up would be, if so, if it is blessed, then would the--
if a divorce would happen, would there be a need for an
annulment or anything like that? Right, great questions, Myra, and the
answer the first part of the question is yes. You have to get a dispensation, you
have to get permission to marry someone that is not baptized. But it--the
permission can be granted. Now, if you do in fact marry someone that is not
baptized, then that marriage would not be Sacramental. In order for a marriage to
be sacramental, both spouses--husband, wife--must be baptized. If one is not, it cannot
be sacramental. However, it would be valid, Myra. So if you are married with
dispensation in the Church, even to someone that's not baptized, that is a
valid marriage, and that would be indissoluble. We make the distinction in
Catholic theology: that which is intrinsically indissoluble, and that which
is intrinsically and extrinsically indissoluble. What that means, Myra, is: a
sacramental and consummated marriage is both intrinsically and extrinsically
indissoluble. That means no power on Earth, no power at all can separate that
couple. Once you are validly, sacramentally, and you've
consummated that union, that is indissoluble in a strict sense. Now, a
natural marriage--though as Pope Pius XII taught, and I'm trying to remember
which encyclical that is, but it's been taught by numerous popes--a valid
marriage that is not Sacramental is still indissoluble, but it's what we call
intrinsically indissoluble. It can be dissolved by a divine authority, but
can't be dissolved by the partners. Partners can't just say "Eh, you know
what, I don't like you any more. I'm out of here."
And that's important to note, Myra. So on a natural level, a valid marriage is
permanent, barring, as I say, divine intervention. That--and by the way, Myra,
and Cy, that's the reason why Moses could permit divorce in the Old
Testament, because that's all they had, was natural marriage, right? And so
because those marriages were not Sacramental, then Moses--he's the divine
authority--could permit the divorce, alright? Hopefully this is helpful for
you, Myra. So when, in the New Testament, if you don't have a Sacramental marriage
you have a marriage that's on the level of an Old Testament marriage, so divine
authority can, theoretically, even dissolve that union. But Myra, the bottom
line is, you still would need an annulment, because you have a
presumably valid union in the Church when you get that permission, so
therefore you would need an annulment. They need to determine whether that
union was indeed valid or not. Does that help, Myra? Yes, tremendously.
Thank you very much. Ok, thanks so much for your call. God bless you.