Dating Non-Catholics
Posted by Lisa Hendey in Family on Tuesday, November 24, 2009 3:00 PM
The incredibly awesome Patrick Madrid has an interesting blog post up today regarding his conversation with a recent caller to his “Open Line” radio show. Accompanying the post is the actual audio recording of a young man calling to discuss with Patrick his recent break up with a girlfriend who did not share his Catholic faith. As I listened to this nineteen year old describe the situation, my thoughts immediately went to my own son Eric, who is now eighteen.
Patrick kindly listened to the young man, encouraged him, and gave him good advice. Then following the call—and in his blog post—he encouraged parents listening to the show to dissuade their children from entering into dating relationships with non-Catholics. On his blog, Patrick counsels:
My basic premise, which I advert to in this audio segment is that, more often than not, mixed marriages (i.e., when a Catholic marries a non-Catholic) are a recipe for serious problems down the road in that marriage. My advice to Catholic parents is, teach your children well the importance of finding a devoutly Catholic spouse. Eventually, if you haven’t taught them this maxim and they, as a result, do not act on it, you will very likely see problems springing up in your extended family due to your sons and daughters being, in a certain sense, unequally yoked with non-Catholics. Word to the wise.
I’m still mulling over Patrick’s advice in my own mind. My sons have dated non-Catholic young ladies. I did so myself, of course, marrying Greg—who later went on to join the Church, after we’d been married for a very long time. My boys are still of the age where we can, and do, closely supervise their friendships. But I can honestly say I haven’t told them that they cannot date someone solely based upon religion. Of course, if I saw either of them begin to become very serious with someone, I would definitely have a conversation about this—and my end of that would be firmly rooted in my own “real world” experiences.
I’d love to hear what you think of Patrick’s advice and how you have—or will—handle this situation in your homes.
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