Can a catholic divorce?

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What happened to the wife and husband after they divorced? Are they able to get married with another person again?
 
Ive always thought that in cases of infidelity we were allowed to but it turns out I misunderstood the language there.
I do wonder about cases of mental, emotional and ofcourse physical abuse.
 
Rutherford2 said:
What happened to the wife and husband after they divorced? Are they able to get married with another person again?
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In order to remarry, they would have to have an annulment of the first marriage. Otherwise, no, they cannot get married to another person.
 
Rutherford2 said:
What happened to the wife and husband after they divorced? Are they able to get married with another person again?
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Sacramentally, a valid marriage can’t be dissolved or “divorced.” The Church was not given the authority to do this. If there is a reason to suspect that the marriage might never have been valid, the Church can review to see if the marriage can be annulled. A common reason a marriage might not be valid is due to lack of consent. I don’t just mean coercion, but people entering into marriage without understanding its permanency, or being open to life, or if a partner is keeping deal-breaker secrets from the other. These all apply to when the marriage was made. Events after the couple marry don’t undo a valid marriage. A marriage is presumed valid unless demonstrated to be invalid. If it is not annulled then neither partner can morally remarry, even civilly.

As for civil marriages, there are reasons why, even with a valid marriage, a separation and divorce might be pursued. An example of a good reason would be the safety of the spouse and children from physical or emotional abuse. This doesn’t end the sacramental marriage that’s been made, but breaking the civil/legal ties can be important for protecting a spouse from danger. To my knowledge, a couple in the USA must be civilly divorced before the Church will investigate a request for annulment. It might depend on the marriage laws of the country in question.
 
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MarthaSo said:
Ive always thought that in cases of infidelity we were allowed to but it turns out I misunderstood the language there.
I do wonder about cases of mental, emotional and ofcourse physical abuse.
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Divorce is a possibility there as well. But as a reminder, divorce only breaks the civil bonds, NOT the Sacramental bonds.

A validly married couple may not attempt to enter into another marriage.
 
I never knew this, thank you for shedding light. So for cases of abuse i can civilly divorce but cannot remarry because I’m still married according to the Catholic church?
Wow i did not know that. I guess one would have to go to their diocese to request annulment after the civil divorce?
Thank you
 
MarthaSo said:
I never knew this, thank you for shedding light. So for cases of abuse i can civilly divorce but cannot remarry because I’m still married according to the Catholic church?
Wow i did not know that. I guess one would have to go to their diocese to request annulment after the civil divorce?
Thank you
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Bear in mind that grounds for annulment apply PRIOR to the marriage. Anything that happens during the marriage is not a ground for annulment although it may well support any annulment grounds prior to the marriage.
 
oh, ok. Thank you. So what happens if the couple is civilly divorced, how can they (what’s the terminology if not annulment since theyve already been married) break the sacramental bond enabling them to remarry?
 
MarthaSo said:
oh, ok. Thank you. So what happens if the couple is civilly divorced, how can they (what’s the terminology if not annulment since theyve already been married) break the sacramental bond enabling them to remarry?
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Talk to your priest and see what you are required to do to start an annulment process.
By the way an annulment is not about breaking the bond. An annulment would mean there was no bond in the first place.
 
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MarthaSo said:
oh, ok. Thank you. So what happens if the couple is civilly divorced, how can they (what’s the terminology if not annulment since theyve already been married) break the sacramental bond enabling them to remarry?
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They cannot remarry unless the Church finds that a valid marriage never existed between them during an annulment investigation.

Abuse could be evidence that something was wrong prior to a marriage ever being made, but it can’t be known without looking into it further.

Another reason for an invalid marriage nowadays is if the couple, if one of them was ever Catholic prior to the marriage, didn’t marry according to the Church’s canon laws, meaning within the Church or with proper dispensation.
 
Thank you, it’s not for me i was just curious. Thank you for your response.
 
A Catholic is allowed to get a legal divorce to separate and protect himself from an abusive spouse, but marriage in the Catholic Church is until death.

Having said that, a Catholic can get an annulment. If he can find evidence that the marriage was invalid from the beginning, then the marriage can be said to have never happened.
 
Catechism is a helpful resource

http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p3s2c2a6.htm#2384

[2383] The separation of spouses while maintaining the marriage bond can be legitimate in certain cases provided for by canon law.177

If civil divorce remains the only possible way of ensuring certain legal rights, the care of the children, or the protection of inheritance, it can be tolerated and does not constitute a moral offense.

[2384] Divorce is a grave offense against the natural law. It claims to break the contract, to which the spouses freely consented, to live with each other till death. Divorce does injury to the covenant of salvation, of which sacramental marriage is the sign. Contracting a new union, even if it is recognized by civil law, adds to the gravity of the rupture: the remarried spouse is then in a situation of public and permanent adultery:

If a husband, separated from his wife, approaches another woman, he is an adulterer because he makes that woman commit adultery, and the woman who lives with him is an adulteress, because she has drawn another’s husband to herself.178

2385 Divorce is immoral also because it introduces disorder into the family and into society. This disorder brings grave harm to the deserted spouse, to children traumatized by the separation of their parents and often torn between them, and because of its contagious effect which makes it truly a plague on society.

[2386] It can happen that one of the spouses is the innocent victim of a divorce decreed by civil law; this spouse therefore has not contravened the moral law. There is a considerable difference between a spouse who has sincerely tried to be faithful to the sacrament of marriage and is unjustly abandoned, and one who through his own grave fault destroys a canonically valid marriage.179
 
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HiLittleLady, thank you so much for this. I was going to turn to the CCC on this also out of curiosity. I’m still a bit confused about one thing…if I’m understanding correctly than Catholics can civilly divorce but can never divorce sacramentally. But then the Catechism states if there is sacramental divorce it is a grave sin.
I wonder what constitutes a sacramental divorce. Is it when, for example, the couple separates because it is in the best interest of the children and safety for example and the wife lets say gets remarried instead of staying single? Same with husband. That’s the only thing I can think of. Is that right? Thank you all for clarifying. I pray none of us ever have to live this sad situation.
 
Two Catholics may, in very sad circumstances, file for a legal divorce. If they have a valid marriage, that validity is not broken by the civil divorce.

You will find much good information at the link I posted above, Catholics Divorce
 
MarthaSo said:
HiLittleLady, thank you so much for this. I was going to turn to the CCC on this also out of curiosity. I’m still a bit confused about one thing…if I’m understanding correctly than Catholics can civilly divorce but can never divorce sacramentally. But then the Catechism states if there is sacramental divorce it is a grave sin.
I wonder what constitutes a sacramental divorce. Is it when, for example, the couple separates because it is in the best interest of the children and safety for example and the wife lets say gets remarried instead of staying single? Same with husband. That’s the only thing I can think of. Is that right? Thank you all for clarifying. I pray none of us ever have to live this sad situation.
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In circumstances that warrant a civil divorce, such as abuse, one party is typically the victim and another the one harming the marriage/victim. If the victim seeks a divorce, she or he isn’t doing anything morally wrong. It’s the abusive spouse who is at fault.

Divorce is a grave issue, but that doesn’t mean each party is at fault.
 
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Oh i see so a civil divorce IS a sacramental divorce. I was started to think they were separate things. Thank you all
 
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