A Minor Detail

What kind of Catholic is Katie Holmes if she didn't remember that her fiance' is twiced divorced and therefore at odds with the Catholic Church?

The much anticipated Italian wedding between actors Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes might not be legally valid as local and church officials say they will not recognize the marriage, Italian media reported Thursday (Nov. 9).

Monsignor Nicola Fiorentini, the parish priest at the Santa Maria Novella Church in Bracciano, the town north of Rome where the wedding is due to take place, told the Italian daily La Stampa that a Catholic wedding ceremony could not happen because Cruise is divorced and thus ineligible for any religious ceremony.

"Even if the actor was not divorced, the wedding does not have authorization of the parish priest where the wedding will take place,"
Fiorentini said.

Holmes was raised Catholic and Cruise is one of the best-known members of the Church of Scientology, founded by L. Ron Hubbard.

The couple has not confirmed the location of the wedding, but Italian media have speculated that the Catholic rite will take place at the chapel inside the Odescalchi Castle in Bracciano on Nov. 17. A Scientology ritual would follow the next day.

Cruise's membership in Scientology also puts him at odds with the Catholic Church. The Vatican has not made an official statement on the wedding ceremony, but recent media reports cite unnamed Vatican officials who condemn it.

I still think this relationship is some kind of pact or sham and no number of weddings of different faiths will change my mind.