hey catholics- what do you think of this common latin american practice? - Page 2

[LessTraveledBy]

Sorry, OP is absolutely right about natural marriage! I got myself all confused about the idea of a catholic marrying outside of Church, etc.

[JMJ]

I don't really know much about this being a common Hispanic cultural practice, but the one person I know who did this was Hispanic, so you may be right. There are many reasons why different groups of people may be less likely to follow certain teachings of the Church, and it may or may not have anything to do with how much they believe the Church. Many regions of the world do not have as easy access to the teachings of the Church as we have in the US, so they are simply uninformed that what they are doing is out of line with Church teaching. Even though people in the US may have great access to Catholic teaching, unless they look for it, they still may be uninformed. Many places, certain teachings aren't emphasized, or if many people disagree with certain teachings, people may think that those teachings are unimportant or may be confused about the teachings. In the US, it is very common to find Catholics using contraception, even though it is forbidden by the Church. I think a lot of this is because of disagreement and confusion over what the Church teaches. I really couldn't judge their hearts. That is for God alone.

[raelize]

Originally Posted by JMJ

I don't really know much about this being a common Hispanic cultural practice, but the one person I know who did this was Hispanic, so you may be right. There are many reasons why different groups of people may be less likely to follow certain teachings of the Church, and it may or may not have anything to do with how much they believe the Church. Many regions of the world do not have as easy access to the teachings of the Church as we have in the US, so they are simply uninformed that what they are doing is out of line with Church teaching. Even though people in the US may have great access to Catholic teaching, unless they look for it, they still may be uninformed. Many places, certain teachings aren't emphasized, or if many people disagree with certain teachings, people may think that those teachings are unimportant or may be confused about the teachings. In the US, it is very common to find Catholics using contraception, even though it is forbidden by the Church. I think a lot of this is because of disagreement and confusion over what the Church teaches. I really couldn't judge their hearts. That is for God alone.

i think this is probably what happens. most of the latin american countries have very remote areas, there weren't always priests available, i know my SIL had a lay person come and bless her house and i thought only priests could perform a ceremony like that, but they said otherwise.
i also know, at least in the country where DH is from, often if the local culture had one practice, then the church officials there ( and recently they are more often from that area) kind of ignored it or let it slide. i think this is what happens with the marriage and the baptism. they were taught or allowed to believe, that you could baptize whenever you found the godparents you wanted your kids to have.

[la mamita]

i think it's also important to remember that latin american catholicism has a lot of synchretism (mixing indigenous and european beliefs). here in peru, a generation ago, it was common for catholics to participate in 'kidnapping' the bride (aka the bride snuck off with the groom and then the groom went back to ask for her hand from the bride's parents), instead of having a formal wedding ceremony. i'm pretty sure that has roots in indigenous traditions.

catholicism in latin america is pretty different to european or US catholicism. local traditions and heritage play a big role, especially since the Church hasn't always had a strong presence as far as religious education. even many of the extremely devout catholics i know don't have a deep understanding of official church doctrine. also, many rural churches share a priest among a wide area, so they might celebrate mass once a month.

also, catholic churches in latin america charge a LOT for church weddings. that, plus the social obligation that a church wedding will have a reception involving a huge party for everyone you know, makes a church wedding unaffordable to most couples. it's much more common to say that you are married once you start living together (even doing the civil ceremony isn't universal...again, it costs money).