Catholic Singles

Dear Fr Jim:

My brother is divorced. Married previously in the Unitarian church. 

He is now getting married again in the Unitarian church. He knows I am Catholic-and he is Catholic too, but has given up faith. 

He also knows that I disapprove of this action. Can I attend the wedding and keep family unity? Is it a sin for me to go? 

Andy

Dear Andy:

Thanks for the email - I don't see any reason not to go to the wedding, and it's definitely not sinful.   It's not a "sin" to attend other church services.  In fact, there are numerous opportunities we might join non-Catholic religious services (weddings, funerals, etc) 

The only thing as Catholics we need to be aware of is if the Church you're visiting had some form of communion, you shouldn't receive.  The reason is that "communion" means different things to different congregations.  As Catholics we believe communion is the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ - for some Protestant denominations it's merely a symbol.  So our "receiving" communion at a Protestant service would say that we are in union in agreement with that community  (particularly on what that Church believes about communion)

That being said, I doubt that would happen at a Protestant wedding ceremony.

As difficult as it is when we have relatives who make "bad" decisions, they are still our relative. I think the best hope you could have in one day welcoming him back to the Catholic Faith would start with just being a loving brother to him - which would include being at his wedding.

Hope that helps Andy,

Fr Jim