Padre writes: "Two Catholic ladies showed up with a civil marriage license."

"And they wanted a wedding at my parish." This one's easy. And short.

Catholic parishes regularly turn away heterosexual couples.

If a man and a woman who want to get married by means of a Catholic wedding present themselves at a Catholic parish with a civil license, and if one of them is (or both are) still bound by a previous marriage in the eyes of the Catholic Church, given that the Church does not recognize a divorce as dissolving a valid marriage bond (a divorce only ends a marriage’s civil effects), they are not eligible for having a wedding at the parish.

The pastor of the Catholic parish might offer the suggestion that the person bound by a previous marriage can try to seek a declaration of nullity from a Catholic tribunal, but there is no guarantee that one can be obtained.

The Catholic Church’s criteria for admitting people to a Catholic wedding are on the Church’s terms. The Catholic faithful have a right to the sacraments, if they are properly disposed, but it is not an absolute right.

The parties must be a man and a woman who are free to marry and who are capable of marriage according to the Catholic Church’s criteria. The Church does not recognize their civil license as giving them an automatic right to a Catholic wedding, even if both parties are Catholic.