The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate serve poor and abandoned people in the United States and 70 countries around the world.

Interchurch Families: A Challenge for Oblates?

Posted on August 1, 2024

by Harry Winter, O.M.I.

Inter-church marriage partners, the late, Rev. Martin Reardon and Dr. Ruth Slade Reardon during a celebration

When a Catholic married a non-Catholic Christian, before the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), such marriages were discouraged and considered very negatively. But after the council, a major reassessment began, with a Vatican document in 2020 stating “Interchurch marriages should not be regarded as problems for they are often a privileged place where the unity of Christians is built.” Does this mean an attitude adjustment, especially for Oblates who minister in parishes and retreat houses?

Click here for my nine-page article, “Changes in Marriages Between Catholics and Other Christians, 1965-2024.”

Click here for three shorter articles by other authors. All of these articles were written for the journal “Marriage, Families & Spirituality,” 30, 1, 2024.