Am I excommunicated?

[desinclair694]

I am not Quite sure if I should be here as I think that I am excommunicated from the church but I am not sure ! Two years ago my passed wife away after being in a long term care unit for almost two years after 56 years of marriage. I had been living by my self for those two years but travelled up and down to see her every day and when she died it hit me hard, then I started to get depressed until I met a lady who was my own age 75 years old who was not a catholic and was also alone, as soon as we got to know each other better and fell in love, we decided to get married. She had been divorced from her abusive husband for 45 years and never remarried. he has been married three times since then . Her husband was a catholic but they married outside of the church. three month after we where married, a priest I know phoned me up and told me more or less that I could not receive any of the sacraments of the church !! anymore.
That was over a year ago and I have not been back to the church since and I miss it so much. It is like being invited to a banquette and having to sit outside to see and hear every one everyone partaking but you are not. My wife and I pray together, read and discuss our love for God every night since we married we pray over each other but we both miss the church, so we decided to look for a church that would work for both of us. We are still looking and not getting any younger. I would accept any constructive advice that you can give. Now my wife has just had surgery for cancer and is about to go for chemotherapy. Time is not on our side is it??
Yours in Christ

 

[Fr.Charles_Grondin]

You are not excommunicated. However you are in what’s called an “irregular marriage.” Individuals in irregular marriages cannot receive communion until their marriage is validated.
Based on the information you provided it would appear that your wife’s marriage to a Catholic was not valid and therefore it should be relatively easy to obtain a decree of nullity for that marriage and have your current marriage validated. I recommend that you sit down with a priest you trust and begin that process.