What are the questions on the Catholic church's premarital evaluation?
149903
many Parishes use the Foccus evaluation questions. \n\nFOCCUS, which stands for "Facilitating Open Couple Communication, Understanding and Study," is a well-accepted marriage preparation inventory. It is designed to help couples learn more about themselves and their unique relationship. It is not a test. There are no right or wrong answers. An inventory is filled out separately by each of you, with the responses: “Yes,” “No,” or “Unsure” to statements about areas important to marriage.\n\nIt's available online through the link below, but you need a login from your facilitator to view the full test.  Sample questions are available on the site at this link: http://www.foccusinc.com/sections/foccus_content.asp?PKID=9
553722
I am not a priest, but I am the CRE of a Catholic parish. I also work with engaged couples in marriage preparation.\n\nIf you are able to live together, why can't you get married?\n\nThat's my question. It sounds like you want to do this right and not have sex before marriage. \n\nGood for you!\n\nAnd you are right, living together would be a temptation- not to mention cause the sin of scandal even if you AREN'T having sex ( because people will think you are anyway.)\n\nYou should talk to a priest. Are you wanting to hurry up getting married because she was kicked out? Not the best reason to enter marriage. Is there a female friend or family member she can live and share rent with for a few months. Even one of your friends or relatives would be perferable to her moving in with you.\n\nWeddings don't have to be the hideous displays we are used to seeing. The only things that matter are the bride, groom, priest and 1 or 2 witnesses. You can do that any day, and go have lunch at McDonalds if that is all you can afford. THE SACRAMENT IS WHAT MATTERS, NOT THE PARTY!!!!\n\nAs for children, you really need to research Natural Family Planning. It is NOT rhythm method, and is so effective, many infertile couples have used it to conceive after giving up on expensive and painful shots!\n\nCheck out www.ccli.org  note that is ORG, not COM.\n\nIt already sounds like you have good control over yourself. Natural Family Planning allows a couple to cooperate with God in planning their family. The couple grows in the love using NFP. \n\nAlso NFP, used properly, is as effective as the Pill, without the awful side effects- one of which IS killing babies. The pill works in 2 ways. The first is by trying to prevent an egg from being released. But if she doesn't take the Pill like clockwork, or forgets to change the patch or get the shot at exactly the right time, an egg can slip out. So the second way the Pill works is by changing the lining of the uterus so a fertilized egg ( in other words a BABY) cannot implant...so it gets flushed down the toilet or thown out with a used maxi pad. Is that really what you want for your baby?\n\n\nThe Pill kills.\n\nAbove all, I ask you to re-read your own question. If neither of you "is ready to have a child for financial, emotional, and mental reasons" you need to think about whether you are really ready to enter marriage. While marriage is a wonderful thing, you really need tremendous maturity and emotional stability to make it last. It is much tougher than you think.\n\nTalk to your priest. Look for other housing for your girlfriend. Or find a cheap room for your self and let her live in the nicer or safer location. Sounds like you need to stop and think before you rush into marriage- or you'll soon be rushing to divorce.
564508
As I understand it, a critical division is obedience to the Pope, and therefore the various rules the Catholic Church has because of Papal Bulls.  Things about divorce and birth control, for example, and about priests being celibate while Lutheran ministers get married.  A lot, really.  Martin Luther had 95 Theses, among them the concept that one can get to heaven on faith alone, and not necessarily by good works.  Also, Catholics have never approved of individuals reading the Bible (only priests), while Luther recommended it.
1014176
He has some pretty exacting standards, which is probably why he's having issues.  He's going to find women that meet some of those standards, but not all of them.  I don't even think the Pope could help him out on this one.  \n\nI used to be a Catholic so I know some of this stuff is stemming from his beliefs, but some of it isn't--which means some of it is just his own standards.  \n\n\n\nCute is not in the bible, and god spoketh unto Moses, "all wives must be hotties, sayst the lord."  \n\nOr being a certain age, is he shooting for below, same, or above his age?  Last time I checked there was no stipulation on age in the bible either, and God spoke unto Noah, "and make sure husbands and wives are plus or minus five years apart in age, yeah, that sounds goodth to me."
346860
IF IN DOUBT ASK PASTORAL ADVICE.........GOOD LUCK......
297376
Now a days, everything needs testimony. Forget about true love. Why do you suppose we have pre-nuptial agreements ?
474467
The best test is to ask serious questions. Ask questions that matter to you so you can see where he stands. "Do you think we'll get married", "Do you want kids", "When do you think the right time is to be married", etc etc.
158062
only if you can get the previous marriage annulled, which means the church declares it never happened. otherwise no, because they don't consider you catholic anymore if you got divorced.
466075
To the original question:\n\nI'm not sure if anyone has explained -- when Mary was found to be pregnant she was "betrothed" to Joseph.   This was the 'first stage' in a marriage.  It legally bound the two together, and any violation was considered adultery.  Also, breaking this required a divorce\n\nBut the marriage was COMPLETED and consummated when the two 'came together'.  Mary and Joseph were betrothed, they had not yet come together.   \n\nMatthew tells us that, when Jospeh discovered it he was thinking of quietly, privately divorcing her (to avoid a scandal).   But at the instruction of the angel, who told him the child was 'of the Holy Spirit' he 'took her to him', i.e., took her into his household and they became 'fully' husband and wife.\n\nOthers have raised the question of whether Mary REMAINED a virgin after this.  Frankly, Matthew ONLY tells us that "he did not know her until" Jesus' birth.  The rest of the NT says nothing at all about the matter.  Protestants have usually deduced that they had normal relations after this, Catholics have appealed (as we have seen) to traditions beginning in the 2nd century (which Protestants do not accept as authoritative).   \n\nI will not get into that debate here, except to correct the point on John Calvin' view.  Calvin essentially insisted on leaving the question OPEN, neithre adopting a later tradition as authoritative, nor simply dismissing it.  He thought the reference in Matthew too unclear to settle the matter.  To BOTH sides he said:\n\n"What took place afterwards the historian does not tell us. . . . Certainly, no man will ever raise a question on this subject, except from curiosity; and no man will obstinately keep up the argument, except from extreme fondness for disputation."
215587
Okay, first there are multiple sets of rule depending on whose jurisdiction you are under.\n\nAssuming that you are a Catholic unmarried male under the Patriarchate of Rome, then you must remain celebate for the rest of your life, dedicating your life only to serving God.\n\nOn the other hand, if you are a married or unmarried male of one of the Byzantine Metropolia or Patriarchates, then you can become a priest, but not remarry if your spouse would die.\n\nThe other 20 odd self governing segments of the Catholic Church have their own rules.  I don't know what they do.  I believe some require celebacy and some do not.\n\nThe rules are an issue of discipline not an issue of belief.  No one has a right to be selected to serve a bishop in the presbyterate.  If you believe you are called then you could serve, but you have no "right," to serve unless you are ordained to do so.  Local rules determine who can and cannot be a priest.\n\nAdditionally, rules in Catholicism are generally thought of best as norms rather than laws.  The Roman Catholic Church certainly has married men serving as priests, primarily former Anglican priests who switched.  Likewise, Byzantine priests who are widowed with children really need a wife pragmatically.  Consequently, there are rules to permit marriage as well.\n\nNonetheless, all Christians are obliged to practice chastity.  Of course if you are married that means you need to have sex with your spouse and if you are unmarried you must not have sex with anyone.  Priests actually promise never to marry, as such, they must be celebate.
569598
yes I am Catholic - and tho money is on my mind in regards to bills and trying to provide for the future - I am very frugal - have to be... I am happily married - so the sex issue is within a happy marriage and not seeking outside bounds of God's commandments. I know it is frustrating and hurtful to see the anti-Catholic and anti-Christian posts - but you aren't alone out here! prayerfully .... KC
106121
If you want to get married in a catholic church, you will be given all kinds of "conditions" and have to jump through all kinds of hoops to satisfy the priest.  Even after you jump through all the hoops, he might refuse to let you actually walk up the aisle, you might have to stand at the back of the church and get married there.  And the priest also might look and see how much your fiance has donated, and if it is not enough, he might still might not do the ceremony until your fiance satisfies his greed.\n\nUpdate to david_in_mil...:  My brother was one of the people I know that went through it.  He and his wife did all the nonsense the priest demanded, then he told them he would not marry them because he looked at the ledger, and saw no donations from him or his wife.  When they explained that she did not like using envelopes and simply put the money in the collection basket, he said she had no proof, and until they met his price, no wedding.  They went to an Episcopal church and were married there - no nonsense, no problems.
871801
Decide which church you want to have your servide in and then invite both the priest and the pastor to officiate.  The priest can give you a blessing.  As a graduate student I took as my research project the Pre-Cana marriage preparation course offerred by the Catholic Church for engaged couples and it is a solid, excellent program to sort out issues before they become difficulties after a couple is married.  Whatever church you eventually decide to settle in does not matter.  This Pre-Cana program will help you more than I can say and give you tools to deal with problems when they arise.  Peace and joy!
1045011
Hi,\n\nCurrently Catholic prieast are not technically allowed to marry.\nHowever it is not written in stone...\n\nPriest were married for the longest time.\nCelibacy was instituted in order to correct certain social issues in the past. The Church at the time face the issues of Priest who could not totally devote themselves to their community because of their own family obligations thus creating conflict of interest....\n\nThere is currently a specific Catholic Order adopted by the Church in Africa. Because of cultural realities, those priest are recognized by the Vatican as offical priest and can marry... But that is an exception.\n\nIn the West, the issue will have no choice but to be readdressed soon... As the number of Priests are dwindling yet the number of lay are increasing... Plus there is the place of women... \n\nMy five cents ;-)
260557
It usually involves a confirmation ceremony. I don't know too much about it, but from what I've seen it's usually a very special event in Catholic children's childhood. It's not always taken as being very spiritual.
525170
The Catholic faith does not permit premarital sex.
1087130
The word "annulment" is not actually used in the Code of Canon Law, and canon lawyers generally refer to "declarations of matrimonial nullity" when addressing this topic. In any event, an annulment is an official determination by an ecclesiastical tribunal that what appeared to be a valid marriage in the eyes of the Church was not.\n\nAn annulment is not a finding that the two former spouses never really loved each other, nor does it conclude that the divorce was more one side's fault than the other's, or that one party is a better Catholic than the other, and so on. It is only a determination of one or more of the following: that, at the time of the wedding, one or both parties to the marriage lacked sufficient capacity for marriage; that one or both parties failed to give their consent to marriage as the Church understands and proclaims it; and, in weddings involving at least one Catholic, that the parties violated the Church's requirements of canonical form in getting married. In practical terms, after nullity is declared-if it is declared-the Catholic Church considers the parties of the impugned marriage free of the marriage bond that would have otherwise arisen.\n\nHow is a Church annulment different from a civil divorce?\n\nMany people refer to annulments as "Catholic divorces," but divorces and annulments differ in very fundamental ways. Still, it might be easier to begin by seeing what annulments and divorces do have in common.\n\nA divorce and an annulment are similar in that they both are legal declarations that are necessary before one person can marry another, if either of them had been married before and the former spouse(s) are not deceased. But that's where the similarities end and the differences begin.\n\nA divorce is a civil judicial act whereby what was a civilly valid marriage is officially terminated. The state makes no secret about its claimed power to separate what it once joined. (I hedge a bit on conceding the state power to separate what it "joined" because, in many cases, what it joined was a valid marriage under natural law, and that's not something the state is free to tinker with. But that's a different problem.)\n\nA Church annulment, on the other hand, is an ecclesiastical judicial act whereby what was believed to be a canonically valid marriage is declared not to have been one in the first place.\n\nAn annulment does not deny that a relationship, perhaps a long and serious one, existed between the parties. It does not imply that parties were culpable in living together as man and wife or that their children are illegitimate.\n\nDivorce destroys something that was; Annulments recognize that something never was. That is not just semantics. It's a matter of precision and hence a matter of truth. Thoughtful people will avoid treating things like divorces and annulments, which are similar in some respects, as if they were similar in all respects.\n\nAren't Church annulments a repudiation of Christ's teaching that marriage lasts forever?\n\nIn no way. However much other Christian denominations discourage divorce among their members, the Catholic Church is the only one that flatly prohibits divorce and remarriage for its people. Believe me, I see folks leave the Catholic Church all the time over its refusal to approve a second marriage for them. That's painful and sad, but the Church is not going to change its teachings in this matter, because it has received those teachings from Christ himself.\n\nAnnulments, however, look at something very different. A declaration of matrimonial nullity is made only when, upon careful investigation, it is proven that what occurred between the parties was not a marriage in the first place. Some confusion on this point, maybe even some incredulity, is to be expected. But it is not right to read into Church practice an assumption that the Church, at no small cost to the Body of Christ, expr