Debbie Schlussel: Celeb Absolution?: Divorced Nicole Kidman Allowed to Marry in Catholic Church
We couldn't care less about movie star Nicole Kidman's marriage to country singer Keith Urban. But there's an interesting twist to the story that leaves us wondering. Perhaps our Catholic friends and readers can say whether this common or just special treatment for a celeb.
Since Kidman is a divorcee (from first "husband" Tom Cruise), it is our understanding that she would not be able to get married in the Catholic Church unless that marriage was annulled by a Bishop (it wasn't).
But reports say that, this past weekend, Kidman was, indeed, allowed to marry in a Catholic Church in a Catholic ceremony in her native Australia because the Church did not consider her marriage to Cruise to be a real marriage, since he was a Scientologist.
Is that the general rule or the exception in the Catholic Church? More discussion in this BBC News article (which asks the same questions as we do).
Posted by Debbie on June 26, 2006 11:58 AM to Debbie Schlussel