7murfs:
I have submitted my appeal for an annulment. However it is still in process. In the meantime, I have remarried outside the Church in a civil ceremony to a Catholic lady that has received her annulment. I understand that I can’t receive the sacrament of Communion. My question is whether or not I can go to confession? Thank you for your time! God Bless!
I encourage you to approach a priest to sort out this situation.
You are not prevented from “going to confession” according to the law of the Church. However, the matter of absolution, which is in the nature of sacramental confession, has to be considered. If you are living as man and wife, be aware that the Church would consider that to be a condition of objective serious sin, and that would need to be discussed with the confessor rather than on an internet forum.
John Paul II addressed this situation in
Familiaris consortio, “Reconciliation in the sacrament of Penance which would open the way to the Eucharist, can only be granted to those who, repenting of having broken the sign of the Covenant and of fidelity to Christ, are sincerely ready to undertake a way of life that is no longer in contradiction to the indissolubility of marriage. This means, in practice, that when, for serious reasons, such as for example the children’s upbringing, a man and a woman cannot satisfy the obligation to separate, they ‘take on themselves the duty to live in complete continence, that is, by abstinence from the acts proper to married couples.’”
However, if a brother-sister arrangement will not take place, the Church will encourage you to confidential dialogue, or spiritual counselling, with a priest.
You may find a statement from the October world synod of bishops helpful in this regard, “According to the tradition of the Catholic Church, they [the divorced and re-married faithful] cannot be admitted to holy communion, being in a position of objective contrast with the Word of the Lord which conferred on marriage the original value of indissolubility. … Nevertheless, people who have divorced and re-married still belong to the Church, which welcomes them and follows them with special attention that they may cultivate a Christian lifestyle through participation in Mass (though without receiving communion), listening to the Word of God, adoring the Eucharist, prayer, participating in community life, confidential dialogue with a priest or a master of spiritual life, dedication to living charity, works of penance, and educational commitment to their children.”
God bless you. I’ll pray for you tonight
