I am a practicing Catholic. Most relatives are not. My sister-in-law wishes to renew her wedding vows (25 years) with her husband. Both are involved in Wicca. They plan to include handfasting in the ceremony. Should I as a Catholic attend this?

Tom--

I cannot recommend doing so, for two reasons. First and foremost is the possibility that the couple will choose to include magical practices in their ceremony. Even if you are a non-participating observer, those practices cannot be guaranteed to be harmless. There is a possibility that you could be opening yourself to demonic activity, even though the couple would hotly deny that they believe in demons or have anything to do with demons. And, two, marriage vows are a once-in-a-lifetime, till-death-do-you-part deal. They cannot be "renewed" because that implies that they could "expire." A Christian couple may receive a special blessing on an important anniversary, but they should not try to ape the original sacramental vows.

Recommended reading:

Witchcraft 101: Five Things Apologists Should Know by Michelle Arnold

Michelle Arnold
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