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tafan
Guest
Can a validly married (ie no annulment), divorced Catholic couple, move back in together without being remarried civilly?
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C
Catholic1954
Guest
Yep. There may be legal issues though, so they should take care of that part. The Church considers them married until death or one party obtains an anullment.
S
stephe1987
Guest
They are still married in the eyes of the Church. But it might be a good idea to remarry legally for certain benefits (taxes, health care, etc.).
M
mayogirl25
Guest
I think yes because they are still considered married by the Catholic Church.
T
tafan
Guest
I know that in countries where the Catholic wedding does not count as a civil wedding, the Church requires the couple to be civilly married before a Catholic wedding can be performed. So I thought that maybe there might be some requirements/guidelines as to reestablishing the civil marriage.
C
Cojuanco
Guest
They may be advised to contract a new civil marriage for purely legal purposes and so not to scandalize non-Catholics, but as far as Holy Mother Church is concerned, they are still married to each other.
B
bben15
Guest
In the eyes of God, they never were divorced in the first place. But, they might want to remarry in a court for the legal benefits.
C
Cojuanco
Guest
And also to avoid scandal among their non Catholic neighbors.
O
OraLabora
Guest
I’m sure in this day and age it would take a heck of a lot more than that to scandalize non-Catholics.
The legal argument is a valid one though, with regards to tax and succession rights.
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thistle
Guest
Can’t happen here in the Philippines because there is no divorce law in this country. I think we are the last country that has no divorce.
C
Cojuanco
Guest
Q
quiet52
Guest
As other posters have written, the couple is still married in the eyes of the Church.
However, if the couple presents themselves to others as unmarried, just “shacking up” – this is not good and they should be encouraged to talk with a priest.
Also, if they refuse to civilly re-marry because they benefit legally as singles for tax benefits, etc., this is probably immoral too.
S
Sirach2
Guest
My husband and I divorced and then got back together a couple years later. When we remarried, our priest was careful to explain to the guests that this ceremony was only to fulfill the civil legalities, but that the sacrament of marriage was never voided. IOW, we were not entering into a new sacramental marriage, since the old was still in tact.
It is possible the couple wants to test the waters, as it were, to be sure they can make a go of it before remarrying civilly. Can’t blame them in that regard, since the problems that caused them to divorce may resurface.
It is possible the couple wants to test the waters, as it were, to be sure they can make a go of it before remarrying civilly. Can’t blame them in that regard, since the problems that caused them to divorce may resurface.
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