Expert: Fr. Timothy Johnson - 1/22/2010

Question
My girlfriend is Catholic and I am not.  We are looking to get married and are trying to establish as to whether I was ever "legally" married according to the Catholic church.  My first marriage was in a Baptist Church. Neither of us were Catholic.  I was baptized and she was not if that matters.  My second marriage was the same situation, Baptist Church but she was baptized.  So are these "lawful marriages in the eyes of the Catholic Church?

Answer
Hi, Jim:
Thanks for the questions.
As for the matter of being "lawfully" married, one needs to look at two aspects: the positive natural law, and the disciplinary norms of the Catholic Church that are binding upon Catholics by the Apostolic Authority of the Keys that Jesus Christ gave to the Apsotles and their successors, the Pope and Bishops.
As you are baptized, but not a Catholic, you are not bound by the Apostolic Authorty of the Catholic Church as regards the disciplinary norms for marriage called "Canonical Form."  Canonical Form is binding on Catholics under sanction of invalidity of attempted marriage by a Catholic.  It entails: 1. That the Catholic get married within a Catholic liturgical rite; 2. by a duly authorized minister to receive and bless the vows; 3. in a Catholic Church building; 4. in the presence of at least two official wintesses.  These are not binding on a Catholic ONLY if he or she gets a "dispensation" from them, which still means (for positive natural law) that there has to be a public form of marriage.
As for your first marriage, since she was not baptized, you were only bound by that which would constitute the lawful properties of a lawful natural marriage.  The marriage may have been lawful but not sacramental (could not have been sacramental, as a sacramental marriage can only exist between one validly baptized man and one validly baptized woman).  One in your type of situation could look at the first "marriage" by a Formal Case for anullment through the legitimate authority of a Catholic Marriage Tribunal; or, one could seek to have the non-sacramental marriage dissolved "in favor of the Faith."
The second "marriage" ceremony was undertaken between two baptized persons (you and your wife of the time).  The question here would be:
Was she a baptized Catholic, or a baptized Protestant of some sort?
If a baptized Catholic, then the marriage was unlawful and invalid because she would not have been following the disciplinary norms of "Canonical Form."
If she was a baptized non-Catholic, then you would have to go through a "Formal Case" to see whether there was some matter that made the marriage invalid due to some impediment or violation of the positive natural law by which the marriage was invalid due to some defect of an essential property of a true marriage (lack of freedom; absolutely opposed to, and not open to children; no real intention of exclusive spousal faithfulness, etc.)  This is because in the case of baptized non-Catholics, they are not bound by particular Church Law and norms, but only by Divine Law and the Positive Natural Law.
I hope this helps you to get some perspective on your situation.  The Catholic Church takes the words of Jesus Christ seriously that "what God has joined, let no man put assunder (divide)..."  If God has in fact "joined" then it is a true Sacramental Marriage and cannot be dissolved; unlike a non-sacramental marriage that, while ideally ought to be for the whole of life, might for a good, serious, and just cause be dissolved, as was indicated under the OLD Testament Law of Moses, who allowed a "decree of divorce."  The NEW Testament is the dispensation of Grace and Truth in Jesus Christ.  One can be forgiven the sin of adultery, for example; but the forgivness of this particular sin does not "dissolve" under any circumstance a true, valid, and lawful Sacramental Marriage.  This, incidentally, is where the Catholic Church takes serious issue with most Protestants who do not treat Marriage as a Sacrament, and in essence, they put themselves under the OLD Law of Moses.

Fr. Timothy Johnson