Maine high court says father can prevent daughter from attending mother’s church
The mother will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court over the ruling from the state court, attorneys said.
28 days ago
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled that a father may prevent his daughter from attending the church that her mother attends. 1*
Does the Catholic Church permit parental authority to bar a child from church attendance?
Generally, no. Catholic teaching recognizes parents’ authority and duty to educate their children in the faith, but that authority is ordered toward the child’s good—not toward preventing the child from fulfilling religious obligations.
For a Catholic child who has reached the use of reason, Sunday Mass is obligatory. If parents deliberately prevent the child from attending, the moral responsibility falls on those who obstruct the attendance. The Church describes parents as the first educators and specifically says they must teach their children to participate in Sunday Mass.
However, this does not mean a child may simply disregard lawful parental authority. Parents may make reasonable decisions concerning safety, transportation, custody arrangements, illness, or other serious circumstances. Nor does a child’s mere wish to attend a particular church automatically override a valid custody order or the parent’s legitimate responsibility.
The key distinction is:
Thus, parental authority is real but not absolute. It should serve the child’s moral and religious formation, since parents have both the right and obligation to provide Catholic education.