[BDHKTM]

According to my understanding of the relevant Canon Laws (1108 and 1124- about 1129)
1) A Catholic can marry a baptized Non-Catholic (Protestant)only with a dispensation from the Ordinary (Bishop)note: A Priest can NOT grant a dispensation.
2) A Catholic can marry a Non- Christian (unbaptized, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist etc) only with a dispensation from Rome. note: The local Bishop can NOT grant a dispensation for Non-Christian marriages.
3) A Catholic can get married in a Protestant parish (or anyWHERE outside a Catholic parish, yet the vows (promises) can only be voiced to a Catholic priest and the priest must be the one that ask for the promises (ie “Do you John take...)
4) If the Catholic in any way knowingly avoids these “laws” (one which includes getting “married” by a Justice of the Peace) they have incurred excommunication
It may seem harsh, yet there are good valid reasons for these Church laws. Rogue priests have ignored these laws at the expense of many Catholics.

[Cronos]

hi, check my post above yours. I checked the CCC and saw that what you said is mostly correct except

1. For one -- with a non-Catholic Christian, just the permission is needed from a Bishop, not a dispensation. I don't know the difference but guess a dispensation is more difficult to get and more serious
   
2. For 2 - with a non-Christian, no, it's not needed from Rome, a dispensation is needed from the local bishop. I can verify that from experience (my sis-in-law and cousin got married to a Buddhists/athiest and a Hindu respectively and they just got the dispensation from the local Bishop where they got married)
   
3. For point 3 -- dunno
   
4. For point 4 -- I don't think so (don't know for sure), but I know of persons who have gotten married by a Justice of the Peace. The Church just ignores that -- it doesn't care about the civil unions. The two are then living in sin, but that's a different matter