Now, I'm not an expert in church law as Pete is, but I get the feeling that this story shows a couple with obvious grounds for annulment even before the wedding. If you haven't heard about it (lucky you), some gal in Georgia panicked on her wedding day, skipped the ceremony, and fled across country, setting off a multi-state manhunt. When she turned up safe and sound in New Mexico, she pretended to have been kidnapped, but eventually came clean.
Speaking of coming clean, what's the bride's latest outfit: a beach towel? Her ensemble included a daring multi-colored burqa -- I mean, veil: just what a young lady needs to duck through the airport unnoticed.
Earth to groom: start practicing sentences that contain the word "re-evaluation".
Actually, the guy was on the Hannity & Colmes show and gave the following interesting take on the theology of marriage, while saying he still wanted to marry her and asking “Haven’t we all made mistakes?”
I suppose that's admirable in a way -- "for better or worse," etc. But saying a couple makes a committment before God prior to the ceremony is ... well ... let's just say it's a very convenient loophole for all sorts of not-just-theological hanky-panky. And the men of Christendom raise their arms in agreement, for who among us hasn't said that too.**
** Rhetorical flourish. Parallelism. Not a literal question.
He knows what he's getting into with this woman. Christ knew what he was getting into what he gave His life for the Church. And the Church is not always the most submissive bride.
Oh well. I wish him all the best. He may very well need it.
He sounds like a good man, and brave. I'm with Ken on this one.
There is brave -- Eric going off to Iraq.
And there is foolish -- me going off to Iraq, Eric buying a ticket at the Rangers end of a certain Scottish football game.
This guy going ahead with the marriage is the latter.
I disagree. He actually knows her, we don't. Did she make a mistake? You betcha! Was it annoying, humiliating, and expensive? Sure! But come on -- it could have been a lot worse. For a (common) example, she could have slept with someone else. I bet any number of guys have forgiven that one, and to me this is not as bad as that.
I bet any number of guys have forgiven that one, and to me this is not as bad as that.
If the fornication happened the week before the wedding, rather than her last boyfriend two or three years ago, say, I'd bet not. And rightly so as virginity itself is not a marriage prerequisite.
If the fornication for some reason or another were to have become a national news story, I'd bet not. Amour-propre would be involved here, so I don't think it's as clear-cut a moral case as forgiving a past sexual sin, but public humiliation is a relevant moral fact.
And while virginity is not a requirement for marriage -- sanity (speaking loosely) and sound judgment are.
Maybe he doesn't know her that well: when she ran off, he didn't say: oh, she does this all the time; she panics and heads off by herself; she'll come around. Instead, he figured she'd been waylaid!
It seems that she had been going through with marriage preparations up to the last day. If she was doing all that under pressure -- even self-imposed -- and if she was ignoring her own misgivings just to fulfill other people's expectations, then can we be confident that she's able to give free consent to the vows?
Does this guy really want her as the mother of his children?
If she can't stand the pressure of the wedding what is she gonna do when the baby cries all nite? Take the bus to Vegas?
Marriage is more than just love, both people should be grown-ups.
This story is a bit overdone.
In any case, the girl's got problems. I heard about the size of the wedding party and guest list. That would drive me bonkers too. Are her parents responsible for this high-pressure wedding?
I do not think for a minute it was right for her to run away, much less lie about being kidnapped. I fault the media for making this national. She should have called her fiance (or at least one friend/relative) from afar soon after she left, asking for time to think...or whatever is going on. Cancel this wedding, talk things out and re-schedule a small private wedding in about 6 months or so, if the groom still wants her.
Hmm, been thinking more on this.
I won't completely begrudge the guy if he sticks. That is kinda sweet, but I will now admit it is also deranged.
She seems to lack the capacity to handle stress and more importantly, to communicate. I expect just about every woman in a marital relationship is going to have moments where she stresses out and doesn't communicate it and it presents some situation where the husband is left in the dark while the wife goes a touch batty.
But this is a bit more than a touch batty.
Sounds like she needs premarital counseling and to learn how to communicate honestly with her husband to be.
Anyway, my money is on the wedding set to go forward, but her bolting from the altar or failing to show the actual day of the wedding, thus making this dramedy an all out laugh riot, except, of course, for this poor clueless yutz who should know what he's running headlong into by now.