Can non-Catholics be married in a Catholic Church?

My son is Catholic. My future daughter in law is Methodist. Can they get married at St. Luke?

The short answer is yes they can.  Your son will need written permission for what is called a "mixed religion" marriage.   This form is available here:  https://www.arch-no.org/media/223/download  . This permission can be granted by Fr. Pat.  They will also need an approved course of marriage prepation.  There is a signigicant amount of explanation required, however. Because of the challenges that arise when a Catholic marries someone of a different religion, the church doesn’t encourage the practice, but it does try to support interfaith couples and help them prepare to meet those challenges with a spirit of holiness. 
 

A marriage can be regarded at two levels – whether it is valid in the eyes of the church and whether it is a sacrament. Both depend in part on whether the non-Catholic spouse is a baptized Christian or a non-baptized person, such as a Jew, Muslim or atheist.

If the non-Catholic is a baptized Christian (not necessarily Catholic), the marriage is valid as long as the Catholic party obtains official permission from the diocese to enter into the marriage and follows all the stipulations for a Catholic wedding.

A marriage between a Catholic and a Lutheran is also considered a sacrament. In fact, the church regards all marriages between baptized Christians as sacramental, as long as there are no impediments.

The church makes clear  that mixed marriages will be more challenging from the perspective of faith. Special challenges exist as well when it comes to raising children in the Catholic faith.

Because of these challenges, the church requires the Catholic party to be faithful to his or her faith and to “promise to do all in his or her power” to have their children baptized and raised in the Catholic faith. This provision of the 1983 Code of Canon Law – with its wording to try one’s best – is a change from the 1917 version, which required an absolute promise to have the children raised Catholic.

It’s popular, and acceptable, for an interfaith couple to invite the non-Catholic spouse’s minister to be present at the wedding. But it’s important to note that, according to canon law, only the priest or deacon may officiate at a Catholic wedding. A minister may offer a few words, but he or she may not officiate or preside at a joint ceremony.

Church policies generally recommend that interfaith weddings not include Communion, therefore, most interfaith weddings take place outside of Mass. This would also be something to discuss during marriage preparation.