Student May Return After Church Rites

A Catholic high school junior who was expelled after getting married in a civil ceremony may be reinstated if she is remarried in a Catholic church, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles said.

Jennifer Espinoza, 17, of Van Nuys, said she was encouraged by the news, but admitted to being a bit confused by the whole affair, which began last month when Alemany High School officials asked her not to return for her senior year because she got married.

After all, she and husband Caesar, 24--an Alemany alumnus and former altar boy--tried unsuccessfully to have a Catholic priest marry them in the first place, Espinoza said.

The answer when they asked this spring was “just a flat-out no,” she said. Several priests refused to perform the ceremony because she was not yet 18 years old.

Archdiocese spokesman Father Gregory Coiro said the priests cited by Espinoza deny they were ever approached by the Espinozas.

Regardless, Coiro said, the young couple deserves to meet with a priest to see if they are ready for a church-sanctioned marriage.

“We’re looking here to see if there is the requisite emotional and spiritual maturity to be blessed with a sacramental marriage,” he said.

The Espinozas, both lifelong Catholics, were married April 2 in a Las Vegas civil ceremony.

Shortly after, Jennifer Espinoza received a letter from the Mission Hills school saying she could finish this semester but could not return in the fall because “It is the policy of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles that married students may not attend a Catholic high school.”

It was never clear, however, whether Jennifer was expelled because she was married in a civil ceremony, or simply because she was married.

A civil marriage, which is not recognized by the church, always results in expulsion, Coiro said.

Even a student married in a Catholic ceremony may be asked to leave because young marriages are generally discouraged by the church, he said.

The Espinozas are now preparing to undergo the traditional Catholic six-month marriage preparation program with a priest.

School officials could allow Jennifer Espinoza to return to class before the actual wedding ceremony or they could deny her return even after a church wedding, Coiro said.