Mixed-Religion Marriages and Confirmation

A Catholic marries a Christian or Jew or Muslim or unbeliever. Canon 1065, requiring an unconfirmed Catholic to be confirmed before marriage, cannot apply to both parties. What is the value of insistence on confirmation for one and not the other, when they are both wanting to enter a single union?

Canon law applies only to baptised Catholics. When a Catholic wants to marry a non-Catholic, he or she must abide by the the terms of that law, regardless of the intended spouse’s religion or irreligion.

A Catholic who has received the sacrament of confirmation has, by the nature of the sacrament, been strengthened in the Holy Spirit to be more firmly united with Christ so as fearlessly to practise the faith with conviction.

The Catholic and the spouse, as you inidicate, want to enter a single union, but that cannot smudge the division that exists when they do not share a single faith and a single acknowledgment of the teaching authority of the Catholic Church. This does not imply that they are incapable of enjoying a happy and fulfilling married life.

Confirmation and the Holy Spirit

It is up to the non-Catholic party to ascertain whether he or she is also required to be confirmed in their own church before they undertake the obligations of marriage. Anglicans and some others often insist that the marriage candidate must have been confirmed beforehand.

Non-Christians, such as Muslims and Jews, do not have such a ritual discipline as confirmation, so it would be up to the couple, at the time of the preparation for marriage course, to identify what needs to be done to clear away any impediment to the free giving and taking of each other in the marriage bond.

Confirmed Catholics have received the gift of the Holy Spirit who fills their lives with the power of his love and his support. But this is not a magic formula for a successful marriage. The individual has freedom of will so that if he or she is attentive to the demands of the faith, the Holy Spirit will support that freedom.

It is when a spouse neglects to observe such duties as prayer, receiving the sacraments and attending Mass regularly, that the Holy Spirit’s influence will be less active, particularly if the marriage has a rocky ride or conflicts arise.

The deliberate intention to serve Christ loyally and lovingly in his Church enhances the spiritual effect of each sacrament we receive.