Hmmm. Never had to pay a priest up front to perform a wedding. You give him a gift for performing it afterwards. I think we gave our priest $20 or so back in the day. You also must mean a baptismal certificate. And if someone has gone to confession, then the wedding wasn’t the first time they walked into the Catholic church “on their own and not carried by their parents.” Same for Pre-Cana instruction. Plus, to be married IN the Catholic Church, you have met with the priest, usually several times as a couple. I think you were exaggerating to make a point, but it’s not accurate. Maybe it’s the way someone like Nancy Pelosi works, but for the rest of us common Catholics, it doesn’t happen the way you suggest.
You seem like a nice person on this thread, so I will give you the benefit of the doubt, but in this case, I think you have misinformation.
In the interminable internecine RC/Prot posts on FR, Redleghunter has earned my vote as the one who I’d most like to have over for dinner and civilized, reasonable discussion on the differences and similarities.
Hope to get to meet you some day, LtCol.
CSM
Yes that was back in the day. You got off light.
The suggested “donation” for my dad’s Catholic funeral was $350. Plus pianist $100 and soloist $100 and 3X altar girls at $15 a piece. Totaling almost $600 for a 45 min funeral mass.
My mom and dad were very active in the parish with dad being active with the Knights of Columbus and a weekly usher at mass.