Expert: Fr. Michael - 9/19/2007

Question
Hello,
I am a practicing Catholic and was married in a Civil ceremony last November 4th 2006 to my husband who is not catholic. After our Wedding we went to the Catholic Marriage classes and received our certificate. Now we would like to have our marriage recognized by the Catholic Church so when I start having children we can baptize them and raise them in the Catholic Faith. What is the step by step process? There are many conflicting views; some say my Husband has to convert to Catholicism and others say as long as you agree to raise your children in the church it won't be an issue. Can you help me??


Answer
When you attempted to contract marriage before a civil official, by that act you publicly rejected the Catholic Faith and are now traditionally in a state of excommunication.  Our recommendation is that you consult a traditional Catholic priest directly about this matter to see what can be done at this point.  There is a list of traditional Catholic priests at www.traditio.com/nat.htm.