Spanish bishop asks non-believers to 'reconsider' Catholic weddings

Madrid, Spain, Oct 6, 2008 / 17:45 pm

Bishop Angel Rubio Castro of Segovia in Spain has published a catechetical manual in which, among other things, he suggests non-believers and non-practicing Catholics consider refraining from marrying in the Church.

The new document, titled “Catechetical and Pastoral Orientations for the Preparation and Celebration of the Sacraments,” establishes norms for administering the seven sacraments.

During the presentation of the manual, Bishop Rubio expressed his concern for the growing practice of non-believers who want to get married in the Church only for “aesthetic” reasons.

The bishop explained that in cases of engaged couples who are non-believers or manifest a faith that is full of contradictions and nevertheless want to get married in the Church, “priests should examine each case, without failing into a rigorist attitude or routine benevolence. The couples will have to reconsider their outlook and sincerely reflect on their position.”
 
He said the diocese would continue requiring engaged couples to participate in pre-Cana programs, which “should provide formation on the right and duty to educate children in the Christian faith.”

The programs should also help future spouses who seriously want to be married in the Church to “review and deepen their Christian faith, and to discover the meaning and implications of the sacrament of marriage, highlighting the reality of the family as the ‘domestic church’,” Bishop Rubio said.