We find ourselves approaching the end of the summer Wedding Season, and whilst many Catholics will find themselves newly-married or engaged, others will be discerning their vocation to marriage more keenly. This raises a question that is significant for the future of individual Catholics and the life of the Church herself: ‘What sort of person ought we to court, and marry?’ For many, the answer seems obvious: “Whomever we fancy”. That is not the Church’s answer however, and it never has been.
Until the late 20th century, Catholic teaching on prospective spouses was well-known: Catholics should marry Catholics, and any union with those outside the Church – a ‘mixed’ or ‘exogamous’ marriage – is gravely contrary to the faith. To marry only another Catholic was even listed as a ‘precept’ of the Faith, as firm an injunction as attending Holy Mass on Sundays.
