A new document on Muslim-Christian marriages has just been published by the Church in France.
A beautiful initiative has been promoted by the Catholic Church in France, just as the question of the integration of Muslims into the country's life is being debated, after the dramatic attacks in 2015: a new guide on the Muslim-Christian marriage, for couples, family pastoral workers and priests. This 48-page document, published in November 2015, is the result of collaboration between France's Federation of National Marriage Preparation Centers, the National Service for Relations with Muslims, and the Muslim-Christian Homes Group.
The document assumes that even if there is still a reluctance to see young people considering mixed or interfaith marriage, today's couples are jostling the institutions and asking them to accompany them on their path. Consequently, this document provides keys for reflection on the preparation and celebration of an interfaith marriage, on education and transmission, but also on the relations with the families, as well as daily life and cultural traditions. Father Vincent Feroldi, director of the National Service for Relations with Muslims of the Episcopal Conference of France, speaks on these topics.
What motivated the publication of this document?
The previous text that evoked this issue dates back ten years. Since then, the reality of mixed couples has evolved and requires an update. Couples have come to jostle us. Respect for the other's faith has become more challenging: this raises difficulties, but it is also a source of enrichment. It is possible to live together while keeping one's own spirituality. Increasingly, fervent believers respect the other's faith.
How many marriages are there between Catholics and Muslims in France?
It's hard to say; but this gives an idea: in the diocese of Lyon, in 2013, 1600 marriages were celebrated, including 400 in which one partner was Catholic and the other not. One fourth of these 400 marriages were unions between two Christians. Among the remaining 300, there were 10 Catholic-Muslim marriages in the canonical form.
How do you work with the couples?
It's made to measure, depending on the spiritual path, the family environment, the country where the couple will settle, whether it is mainly Christian or Muslim. The human and spiritual accompaniment is very important; there are as many solutions as there are cases. The fact of belonging to two different religions leads each spouse to ask questions about his/her own faith and to growth in awareness of that faith.
What is the most delicate moment in the life of a mixed couple?
The arrival of children is a particularly difficult moment, because it concerns not only the life of the couple itself, which has often matured this choice at length, but that of the whole family, and especially the spouses' parents. A recurring problem is deciding whether to circumcise a baby boy. Furthermore, the grandparents then tend to question their children about everything, including subjects of the past. And not everything can be resolved by abstention. Even if the most essential issues were discussed before marriage, new ones inevitably arise.
Regarding the celebration, opinions seem to be divided on whether or not these marriages are sacramental…
There is also debate among canonists themselves about the sacramentality of marriage with disparity of cult—that is to say celebrated between a Catholic and a unbaptized person. Some believe that it is sacramental, but many do not. As for the pastoral workers, they do not know canon law well. Many wonder, for example, if the spouses' civil wedding can have canonical value or not.
(Interview by Charles Pechpeyrou)
