Following are excerpts taken from a brochure entitled "Joined in Christ" which is published by the Marriage Tribunal of the Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg.  Outlined are the basic policies for marriage preparation in the Diocese.  Couples desiring to celebrate the Sacrament of Matrimony at St. Justin, Martyr, Catholic Church will be provided with a complete copy of the document.

The Preliminary Interview

The first step in planning your wedding is to meet with your parish priest. During this first interview you will receive an explanation of the Church's guidelines for marital preparation and an understanding of their purpose.

The basic policy for marriage preparation in the Diocese of St. Petersburg is a six (6) month preparation period to facilitate the couple, with the Church's help, to prepare spiritually for their wedding, and more importantly, for their married life together. The diocesan marriage preparation program has three phases:

• an assessment process,
   

• an enrichment process,
   

• and planning the wedding Liturgy.

Determining Your Readiness for Marriage:

The assessment process begins at your initial interview with the priest. During this meeting, together with the priest, Diocesan papers are filled out to obtain basic information regarding your freedom to marry in the Church. The priest will also administer a premarital inventory to determine your strengths and weaknesses as a couple to determine what enrichment program can be recommended to meet your specific needs. In some special circumstances the priest may consult your parents or professional counselors to complete the assessment.

Setting A Date For Your Wedding:

The priest is unable to provide you with a firm date for your wedding prior to the assessment process being completed and a decision to proceed has been attained.

The Enrichment Process:

The enrichment process will present you with:

• the essential human and Christian aspects of marriage,
   

• communication within marriage,
   

• married love and family life,
   

• the impact of family backgrounds,
   

• couple prayer,
   

• marital responsibilities,
   

• personal expectations,
   

• natural family planning, and
   

• other practical considerations.

There are a variety of enrichment programs - both diocesan and parish based - from which to choose. Your parish priest will guide you in choosing the program best suited to your specific circumstances.

Planning Your Wedding:

Special Circumstances

If the following special circumstances pertain to your situation, they will need to be addressed by you and the priest or deacon during both the assessment and enrichment phases of marriage preparation.

Interfaith Marriages:
If either of you is of a faith tradition other than Catholic, you will be expected as a couple to participate in additional enrichment sessions. This will allow you the opportunity to discuss practical implications of your life together such as:

• identifying with a faith community,
   

• the religious formation of children, and
   

• the feelings of family members.

Inactive Catholics:
In the event that one or both of you are not active in the practice of your Catholic faith, you can expect to attend additional enrichment sessions to help you become active again as a practicing Catholic. If you have not yet received the Sacrament of Confirmation, the priest will encourage you to receive this sacrament before celebrating your marriage in the Church and will be happy to arrange special instructions to prepare you for Confirmation.

Youthful Marriages:
Youthful marriages are those where one or both of the parties are under the age of twenty-one. The Church's concern for you who wish to marry young rises out of her love for you and the Church's desire to protect you from making irreparable mistakes that couples in youthful marriages are known frequently to experience.

If one or both of you are under nineteen years of age, you can expect the Church to discourage you from getting married until you are at least nineteen. However, if a couple (whether one or both of the parties is under the age of nineteen) persists in their decision to marry, the special permission of the bishop or his delegate at the Marriage Tribunal is required before the marriage may be celebrated in the Church.

Premarital Pregnancy:
If a pregnancy exists, you can expect the Church to express care for you and your child. Because of the alarmingly high failure rate of marriages which occur because of pregnancy, the Church will make every effort to discourage you from rushing into marriage. A premarital pregnancy is not considered reason enough to omit the normal six month preparation process.

The human and social pressures of a premarital pregnancy (need of basic support for self and child, desire "to do the right thing", fear of social stigma, etc.) can substantially diminish a person's discretionary judgment and the necessary freedom to choose marriage. Therefore, in many cases it is advisable to delay the marriage until after the child is born. The resources of catholic Charities and the Diocesan Respect Life Office, etc. are available to help couples and families through this difficult time.

Family Background:
Many people enter marriage with little or no realization of how their family background may impact their choice of a mate, patterns of communication, and expectations in a marriage relationship. If there has been alcoholism, divorce, death, abuse (sexual, physical, or emotional), or other form of trauma in your family of origin, discovering how that has affected you will greatly enhance your chances for a healthy, happy marriage. It is the goal of the Church to offer you information and assistance in this area to help insure the long term stability of your marriage.

Premarital Cohabitation:
If you are living together before marriage without benefit of a civil union, you can expect the priest to encourage you in a gentle and loving way to live separately and to practice the virtue of chastity as the best way to prepare spiritually for your wedding day.

Convalidation of a Civil Marriage in the Church:
If you are a Catholic married outside the Church and now wish to have your civil union convalidated or "blessed" in the Catholic Church, you will need to follow the steps outlined in this paper. Depending upon the length of your civil union and other circumstances, your parish priest will adjust the assessment, enrichment, and liturgical planning processes to respond to the needs of your particular situation and to help you grow closer to the Lord and each other as you prepare to renew your commitment in the Church.

Remarriage in the Church:
Couples who are entering a subsequent marriage are provided special consideration according to their differing circumstances and past experiences with marriage. As a remarriage can be celebrated in the Catholic Community only after the death of a previous spouse or when a prior marriage has been declared null by the Church, those who have been previously married may not be immediately free to enter a new marriage in the Church. Your parish priest will address the circumstances of your particular situation and assist you accordingly.

Recommended Delay Of Marriage:

A delay of marriage is at times recommended and is usually helpful to provide time for a couple to overcome the specific circumstances which make the delay advisable. Some reasons for delaying a marriage are as follows:

• The non-practice of the faith by the Catholic party(ies) with no intention of returning to the practice of the faith.
   

• An expressed intention against or a substantial lack of appreciation for the spiritual and sacramental aspects of marriage, namely, that marriage is a partnership of the whole of life and by its nature is ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of children, and that the essential properties of marriage are unity (i.e., fidelity) and indissolubility (i.e., permanence).
   

• A lack of readiness for marriage, by reason of immaturity, undue social pressure, family background, etc.
   

• The likelihood that a separation of the couple for an extended period of time will occur after the wedding, e.g., military service, continued education, etc.
   

• The refusal of the parties to participate in any of the steps of marriage preparation that apply to them.
   

• The fact that one or both of the parties are under the age of nineteen.

With appropriate remedial programs, your parish priest, who will outline the reasons for the delay of marriage, will help you overcome the circumstances that make the delay advisable. However, couples have the right to appeal if they disagree with a decision to delay their marriage. A couple who insists on proceeding with marriage should submit a written petition to:

The Chairperson
Marriage Advisory Board
c/o The Tribunal
Diocese of St. Petersburg
915 South Prospect Avenue
Clearwater, Fl 33756-4039
Email: The Tribunal, Diocese of St. Petersburg

The Chairperson of the marriage Advisory Board will respond in writing to the couple and the priest indicating the Board's determination.