A message from Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M.
Photo caption: Father Michael Gentile, pastor of Resurrection Parish, Delran, blesses a newly married couple during a nuptial Mass he recently celebrated. Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., has written a message urging couples who are planning to marry in the Catholic Church to be certain that the officiating clergyman – priest or deacon — is validly authorized to preside at the ceremony. Courtesy photo
I have been informed by a number of priests about several attempted celebrations of marriage within the Diocese of Trenton (Mercer, Burlington, Monmouth and Ocean Counties) by former priests or others posing as bishops or priests who are not authorized by the Roman Catholic Church and the Diocese of Trenton to witness or officiate at weddings, thus making any attempted marriages of Catholics performed by them invalid.
Such invalid weddings regularly occur at places other than Roman Catholic churches (eg., catering halls, hotels, beaches, etc. where Catholic weddings may not take place without dispensations issued by the Roman Catholic Church), and are officiated by individuals misrepresenting themselves as valid, authentic Catholic clergymen. PLEASE NOTE: Only authorized Roman Catholic priests or deacons (priests or deacons “with faculties”) are permitted to officiate at weddings within the Diocese of Trenton.
Anyone planning for a Catholic wedding should contact his/her parish first to make sure that the officiating clergyman is validly authorized to preside at the ceremony and to ensure that his/her wedding is truly the Sacrament of Marriage recognized by the Roman Catholic Church that they intend.
If you have been an unfortunate victim of such fraud, please contact your parish.