CHRIST REIGNS!!!
We extend our prayers to the parishioners of:
+ST. JOSEPH CHURCH in SIOUX CITY during this time of loss of their worship space. May God continue to bless your community and your faith. May God's peace be with you.
+ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST CHURCH in QUIMBY who closed their parish July 11. We open our hearts and arms in support and welcome!
+ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI CHURCH in MAPLE RIVER who closed their parish October 4.
+ST. JOSEPH CHURCH in SIOUX CITY during this time of loss of their worship space. May God continue to bless your community and your faith. May God's peace be with you.
+ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST CHURCH in QUIMBY who closed their parish July 11. We open our hearts and arms in support and welcome!
+ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI CHURCH in MAPLE RIVER who closed their parish October 4.
Immaculate Conception Catholic Church at 419 Jones Street, Moville, IA 51039-0802 US - THE SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE
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THE SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE |
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1. All Catholics are required to have their wedding vows take place in the presence of one of the persons’ bishop or one of the persons’ pastor or deacon, and in the presence of two witnesses. For a wedding to take place in the presence of a minister other than the persons’ Catholic bishop, pastor, or deacon, or in a non-Catholic church building proper permission from one of the persons’ bishop is required.
2. The wedding is to take place in the parish where either the Catholic groom or the Catholic bride resides or is a registered member. For a wedding to take place in another parish, the permission of one of the persons’ pastors is required.
3. For a Catholic person to marry a person of a different faith (Christian or non-Christian), proper permission from the Catholic person’s bishop is required.
4. Preparation is to be done in the parish where either the Catholic groom or the Catholic bride resides or is a registered member. For preparation to be done by any other parish, permission of one of the persons’ pastors is required.
5. Preparation is to be done according to the particular law of the Diocese in which one or both persons reside. (i.e. the Diocese of Sioux City requires six-months of preparation before the wedding ceremony that includes meetings with the pastor and Sponsor Couple). This preparation ensures that the couple is free, ready, and able to commit themselves to the holy bonds of Sacred Matrimony. The persons preparing the couple have the right to delay the celebration of the Sacrament of Matrimony until the couple demonstrates readiness and capability that includes proper understanding of the commitment they plan to enter. Time is also needed to allow for the proper permissions to be granted, especially when persons live in another Diocese or another parish and plan to be married in a parish they are not members of. Extra preparation is required for persons: (a) entering a second marriage after the death of the first spouse or declaration of the invalidity of the first marriage by a Church Tribunal, (b) who are cohabitating, and (c) due to other circumstances (i.e. pre-marital pregnancy, marriage attempted in violation of the Church’s teaching of marriage, etc.).
6. If possible, Catholics are to be Confirmed before entering into marriage.
7. Catholics who enter a marriage without the proper preparation risk entering an invalid marriage and being denied Holy Communion until such a time the union is recognized by the Church.
8. For more information, please contact your parish priest.
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WEDDINGS held on Saturday afternoons DO NOT fulfill our obligation to be present at the Sunday Eucharist. Only Masses celebrated late Saturday afternoons and on Sundays that use the prayers and readings for that Sunday fulfill our Sunday obligation.
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FIVE SECRETS TO A STRONG MARRIAGE:
1. Pray together.
2. Banish Divorce as an option.
3. Get help when needed.
4. Practice NFP
5. Put marriage first.
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MARRIAGE IS FOREVER, divorce does not end the sacrament of marriage. Divorce only ends the civil legal aspects of marriage. Divorced persons are encouraged to utilize the Eucharist and Reconciliation. Only after an annulment are they free to court and marry.
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WEDDINGS AT SUNDAY EUCHARIST are possible just like we celebrate Baptisms, Confirmations, and First Eucharist at Sunday Eucharist. In fact it may be preferable to celebrate weddings at the Sunday Eucharist due to the declining number of priests and to allow more people to attend. Weddings at Sunday Eucharist would be easier to plan and would add not much more time to the Sunday celebration. These celebrations are becoming more common, even in our own Diocese. Such a celebration was celebrated in May 2003 at the Cathedral at a Saturday evening Eucharist. Many of the Hispanic, Laotian, and Vietnamese weddings are taking place during the Sunday Eucharist. Weddings at Sunday Eucharist permit more people to celebrate and to be reminded of the significance of the Sacrament of Matrimony.
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Jesus intended marriage to be a permanent commitment between a man and a woman, a relationship that would last throughout their entire lives. But some marriages break down, oftentimes because there is something missing from the very beginning—some element that keeps the relationship from being the kind of permanent commitment Jesus intended. An annulment is an official decree of the Church that says: Upon careful examination, after a thorough investigation, a particular failed marriage appears not to have been the kind of (sacramental) relationship that Jesus intended. A church annulment doesn't mean the marriage didn't exist; it simply says that from all appearances the failed marriage in question was not a sacrament in the full sense intended by Jesus. Children born in such marriages are not thereby declared illegitimate, since an annulment does not "dissolve" a marriage or declare that it never existed.
STATEMENT OF THE IOWA CATHOLIC BISHOPS REGARDING THE IOWA SUPREME COURT DECISION
We, the Roman Catholic Bishops of Iowa, strongly disagree with the decision of the Iowa Supreme Court which strikes down Iowa’s law defining marriage as a union of one man and one woman. This decision rejects the wisdom of thousands of years of human history. It implements a novel understanding of marriage, which will grievously harm families and children.
This unwarranted social engineering attacks the good that marriage offers to society, especially the good of children, and weakens the critical relationship between marriage and parenting. We will resolutely continue to protect and promote marriage as a union between a man and a woman because of its unique and historical contribution to the common good.
We uphold the right of all people to be treated with respect and live in peace. This right, like the right to enter into a permanent, monogamous marriage of one man and one woman, derives directly from the intrinsic dignity of the human person. These are rights which the state has the duty to recognize and protect. They are not something that the state creates or may redefine. The citizens of every state who have been given the opportunity have voted to preserve civil marriage as it has been recognized and defined since the beginning of recorded history.
Therefore, we exhort Catholics and other citizens of Iowa to recognize the clear need for a constitutional amendment on marriage. We affirm that supporting the ideal of marriage as the stable union of one man and one woman is necessary to defend marriage, families, children, and the common good.
Most Rev. Jerome Hanus, OSB, Archbishop of Dubuque
Most Rev. R. Walker Nickless, Bishop of Sioux City
Most Rev. Martin Amos, Bishop of Davenport
Most Rev. Richard Pates, Bishop of Des Moines
[For a fuller explanation of our position, see the updated “Statement on an Iowa Constitutional Amendment regarding Marriage,” on the website of the Iowa Catholic Conference, www.iowacatholicconference.org.]
Iowa Catholic Conference
Statement on an
Iowa Constitutional Amendment
regarding Marriage
Updated April 2009
Statement on an
Iowa Constitutional Amendment
regarding Marriage
Updated April 2009
“Marriage is a basic human and social institution. Though it is regulated by civil laws and church laws, it did not originate from either the church or state, but from God. Therefore, neither church nor state can alter the basic meaning and structure of marriage.
“Marriage, whose nature and purposes are established by God, can only be the union of a man and a woman and must remain such in law. In a manner unlike any other relationship, marriage makes a unique and irreplaceable contribution to the common good of society, especially through the procreation and education of children.
“The union of husband and wife becomes, over a lifetime, a great good for themselves, their family, communities, and society. Marriage is a gift to be cherished and protected.”
(Between Man and Woman: Questions and Answers About Marriage and
Same-sex Unions, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2003)
In August 2007, a Polk County District Court judge struck down Chapter 595.2 of the Iowa Code, which said that “only a marriage between a man and a woman is valid” in the State of Iowa. At the heart of the judge’s ruling was a finding that marriage is a fundamental right. Consequently, the State of Iowa had the burden of proving that it had a compelling interest in withholding marriage from members of the same sex.
On April 3, 2009, the Iowa Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Polk Country District Court. According to its own summary, the Supreme Court directed “that the remaining statutory language be interpreted and applied in a manner allowing gay and lesbian people full access to the institution of civil marriage.”
Because of this decision, we affirm that it is important to work towards the passage of an amendment to Iowa’s Constitution which would define marriage as being between one man and one woman. Amending Iowa’s Constitution requires that two successive General Assemblies pass the legislation, which would then put the amendment to a vote of the people of Iowa.
We are convinced that the passage of this amendment is important for the following reasons.
First, the institution of marriage as a union between one man and one woman goes back to the beginning of recorded human history. Marriage between a man and a woman is a good from the perspectives of both natural law and our Catholic faith. Same-sex marriage, on the other hand, is a creation of the State (or, just of its judiciary) and will likely open the door to redefining as marriage additional relationships, such as polygamy. A constitutional amendment is the best available legal means to protect the traditional understanding of marriage from a redefinition by the judiciary.
Secondly, we affirm that marriage is a gift from God which is essential to the stability of family and society. Society has chosen to protect and promote marriage because of its unique contribution to the common good. For example, marriage between a man and a woman supports responsible behavior in the care of children. Children who are raised by a married father and mother have more positive outcomes, including behavioral and educational accomplishments.
Thirdly, unfortunately, in recent decades, cohabitation and divorce laws have already contributed to a weakening of marriage. This has tended to harm women and children in particular. Usually, children do better physically, emotionally and financially if they are in a stable family relationship of father/mother (husband/wife).
Fourthly, social engineering by judges or legislatures adds to the confusion about the good that marriage offers to society, and weakens the critical relationship between marriage and parenting.
Therefore, we call on Catholics and other citizens of Iowa to reflect carefully on the real social cost of this judicial imposition, and to support the need for a constitutional amendment. We affirm that this is the best way for Iowans to support the ideal of marriage as the stable union of one man and one woman.
Most Rev. Jerome Hanus, OSB, Archbishop of Dubuque
Most Rev. R. Walker Nickless, Bishop of Sioux City
Most Rev. Martin Amos, Bishop of Davenport
Most Rev. Richard Pates, Bishop of Des Moines