Why Can't They Attend?

Q: I am a 37-year-old married man with two children. I was raised Catholic and married a Methodist woman 15 years ago. We are raising our children Methodist and attend church every Sunday.

Whenever my parents visit for a weekend, they refuse to come to the Methodist church, saying, “It is a sin for a Catholic to set foot in a non-Catholic church.”

My son will soon be confirmed in our church, and I would like my parents to be there to share the experience. I find it difficult to accept the notion that God forbids Catholics to attend services of other Christians, especially in the spirit of family.

A: Catholics are not forbidden to attend services in other churches, although that was very much discouraged before 1965.

Saying that they cannot come to your church may be your parents’ way of expressing their discomfort with your decision to raise your children in the Methodist Church.

If they follow through on not attending your son’s Confirmation, however, I am afraid they may create bigger problems for themselves if any of their grandchildren marries someone in a ceremony not held in a Catholic church.

You may want to raise this issue with them. Their disagreement with a decision made by you and your wife should not penalize their grandchildren.