Protestant/Catholic Weddings

[Guest Greenscreenfeen]

Is is possible to have both the catholic and protestant religion part of a marriage ceremony? I mean, I am catholic, if I was to marry a protestant man in a catholic church, could a pastor be there and use some of the protestant traditions as well? Could we interweave the catholic and protestant wedding ceremonies?

[Melchisedec]

Id try to figure out before you get married, where are we going to church on sunday.

[epiclesis]

And which faith you will teach your children.

[ilovechrist]

i'm not the expert on this topic...

i know you're supposed to raise your kids in the Catholic faith though.

[jasJis]

Greenscreenfeen,
To answer your question, you must understand what the Catholic Church teaches a marriage is. Click on this link to got to the Catechism. [url="http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt2sect2chpt3art7.htm"](This link right here!!)[/url]

Normally a Catholic Marriage is done inside a Mass because of it's Sacramental nature, so only the Catholic priest can do it and cannot include a preacher from another religion. There are some symbolic things that are done that may be of 'Protestant' culture. One thing is the Unity candle that here in the south is common and is now used within Catholic marriage ceromonies.

I think the better option would be a Catholic Marriage and then have a Wedding Blessing at the Beginning of the Reception that would include both the Priest and the P pastor and include that in with toast from both fathers and/or both mothers.

[argent_paladin]

Can. 1124 Without the express permission of the competent authority, marriage is prohibited between two baptised persons, one of whom was baptised in the catholic Church or received into it after baptism and has not defected from it by a formal act, the other of whom belongs to a Church or ecclesial community not in full communion with the catholic Church.

Can. 1125 The local Ordinary can grant this permission if there is a just and reasonable cause. He is not to grant it unless the following conditions are fulfilled:

1° the catholic party is to declare that he or she is prepared to remove dangers of defecting from the faith, and is to make a sincere promise to do all in his or her power in order that all the children be baptised and brought up in the catholic Church;

2° the other party is to be informed in good time of these promises to be made by the catholic party, so that it is certain that he or she is truly aware of the promise and of the obligation of the catholic party

3° both parties are to be instructed about the purposes and essential properties of marriage, which are not to be excluded by either contractant.

In other words, it is possible for a Catholic to marry a protestant and it happens all the time. But, the Catholic party must pledge to avoid converting from the Faith, to raise the kids Catholic. The protestant party doesn't make similar promises but must be made aware of the promises made by the Catholic.

Can. 1127 §3 It is forbidden to have, either before or after the canonical celebration in accordance with §1, another religious celebration of the same marriage for the purpose of giving or renewing matrimonial consent. Likewise, there is not to be a religious celebration in which the catholic assistant and a non-catholic minister, each performing his own rite, ask for the consent of the parties.

So, one cannot have two ministers or two separate weddings. It also need not be a Catholic mass or ceremony. If you want to get married in a Catholic church, you would need to be married by a Catholic priest and therefore it would need to follow Catholic form.
What exactly do you mean by "protestant traditions"? You may have protestant songs and if it is not in the context of the mass, protestants to read scripture. It is tough to make generalizations. Of course, if it is in a Catholic church, then you will have to negotiate the particulars with the wedding coordinator and the pastor.