MEMBERS of the Roman Catholic Church in Fiji who have dreams of exchanging vows on a white sandy beach or a beautiful scenery outside of a church or chapel should think twice.
This, after the head of the Catholic Church in Fiji Archbishop Peter Loy Chong publicly condemned weddings that took place outside of a church or a chapel.
Archbishop Chong said the exchange of vows between two people who were in love should be done in a “sacred place” as it was a sign of “God’s love”.
“Weddings done in hotels are our main concern,” he said.
“All Fijian people want marriages to take place in a sacred place — that’s something that is natural.
“Some hotels have chapels so marriage ceremonies should be done in there, we discourage having weddings on the beach and on the boat.”
Archbishop Chong said Catholic priests should encourage those wishing to wed to be blessed inside a church.
“That does not happen in Fiji, we do not really have to tell our people this,” he said.
“It’s the tourists that are concerned here.
“For our local people, we don’t have to tell them this, they know where to get married.”
He said in order to celebrate a sacred sacrament, wedding should be in a sacred place.
Suva (Fiji Times)
