Furthermore, the rep tells reporters that the photo Spears posted, which features a couple getting married at St. Monica’s, seems to be from a livestreamed ceremony. The rep adds that the couple pictured says Spears didn’t attend their wedding.
In response to Spears’ claims that you must be Catholic and go through a “test” to have a church wedding, a spokesperson says that’s partly true. Either the bride or groom needs to be a baptized member of a Catholic church. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles also requires a marriage-prep course for all engaged couples who desire a church wedding.
A Church Is ‘Not Just a Random Venue’
Before Britney Spears deleted her post, some of her followers corrected her. “This is a MESS!” someone writes. “To get married in the Catholic Church, yes, you have to be Catholic. It’s not just a random venue.”
Agreeing with that, one person writes, “It’s always been that way.” Another tells Spears, “Some traditions need to be respected, Britney.”
Speaking to the National Catholic Register, theology professor Father Matthew P. Schneider says in addition to one spouse being Catholic, the couple must be “free from any impediments” (such as another marriage), must “intend what the Church does,” and must plan to raise any children in the Catholic faith.
Schneider tweeted: “The Catholic Church is open to all, but for many to have a wedding in a Catholic church requires becoming Catholic & agreeing to Catholic teaching. Many other religions would be similar: for example, I doubt a synagogue would hold a wedding if neither spouse was Jewish.”
Based on public information, Spears’ “canonical status” isn’t clear, he says. “Is she a catechumen, formally received into the Catholic Church, or still a Baptist with some interest in Catholicism?” The singer would have needed annulments for her two previous marriages, Schneider adds.
