OK, we know that indissolubility is an essential property of marriage, “which in Christian marriage obtain a special firmness by reason of the sacrament.” (Canon 1056)
Yet,
dissoluble / indissoluble are not equivocal terms in jurisprudence and doctrine. They are used in different ways because there are different kinds of marriage — those that are sacraments and those that are not. As others have noted, we always have to look for that kind of context.
For clarity, canon lawyers find the** distinction between intrinsic dissolubility / indissolubility and extrinsic dissolubility / indissolubility** to be helpful. Perhaps you may also. (John Paul II spoke of the distinction in his 2000 allocution to the Roman Rota. It can be read at the Vatican website.)
- To say a marriage is intrinsically indissoluble means that the parties themselves, once having given valid marital consent, cannot dissolve it later by the subsequent withdrawal of consent. Marriage is always intrinsically indissoluble. The parties lack the authority in themselves to dissolve a valid marriage (of course, an invalid one cannot be dissolved but just declared invalid).
- To say a marriage is extrinsically indissoluble means that no outside or external party or authority can dissolve the marriage of the baptized once it is consummated. Canon 1141 states that “A marriage that is ratum et consummatum can be dissolved by no human power and by no cause, except death.” As canon 1061 describes, a valid marriage of the baptized who have properly consummated it, is called ratum et consummatum (ratified and consummated).
As the
Catechism of the Catholic Church then puts it: “Thus the marriage bond has been established by God himself in such a way that a marriage concluded and consummated between baptized persons can never be dissolved. This bond, which results from the free human act of the spouses and their consummation of the marriage, is a reality, henceforth irrevocable, and gives rise to a covenant guaranteed by God’s fidelity. The Church does not have the power to contravene this disposition of divine wisdom” (n. 1640).
- However, a marriage which is not a sacrament is extrinsically dissoluble. It can be dissolved by the authority of the Church in two situations.
3.1 The Church is certain that Christ gave permission, declared by the Apostle Paul in First Corinthians, for what is called the Pauline privilege. It is the dissolution of a naturally valid marriage between two unbaptized persons by the law itself under certain conditions. The fact that the conditions are met is then declared by a competent authority of the Church (the local ordinary, e.g., the diocesan bishop, vicar general). See canon 1143 +.
3.2. “It is certainly known that the marriage between non-Catholics, of whom at least one is not baptized, can be dissolved by the Roman Pontiff in favor the faith and for the salvation of souls, when certain conditions are fulfilled.” (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, “Norms To Complete the Process for the Dissolution of the Matrimonial Bond in Favor of the Faith,” 2001) This is often called the Petrine privilege.
- Morever, a non consummated marriage regardless of baptismal status is extrinsically dissoluble. It can be dissolved by the supreme authority of the Church. Canon 1142: “A non-consummated marriage between baptized persons or between a baptized party and non baptized party can be dissolved by the Roman Pontiff for a just cause, at the request of both parties or of one of the parties, even if the other party is unwilling.”
Hope this may be of some help.
If moving is not an option ask a priest that is a bit more serious about his vocation than the one you have. Maybe you can switch to Orthodoxy or at least to Eastern Catholicism where most of the priests are a bit more serious.
