How do I revert if I'm divorced and remarried?

[markrides]

I would like to come back to the Church after a long absence. I have been divorced and remarried, and was always told that after this happens you can no longer go to Communion or recive other sacrements of the Church. Any advice?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

markrides:

Any advice?

Without knowing the circumstances of your first marriage, it is impossible to speculate on how long it might take to regularize your current marital situation; but I can tell you that it is indeed possible to come home to the Church.

I recommend going to your local parish to discuss the situation with the pastor. As the Church will want to look at anything that appears that a marriage took place before it can determine whether you were free to marry your current wife, your first marriage will need to be placed before a diocesan marriage tribunal. Your pastor can be of help in getting the process started. Depending on the circumstances surrounding your case, the resolution may come quickly or it may take awhile. But you won’t know until you start the process. If the Church determines that your current marriage can be blessed, your marriage can be regularized and you can again receive Communion.

If you wish to start receiving the sacraments again before your marriage situation has been regularized, there is a way. You would need to go to confession, and make a commitment to live with your current wife in a brother-sister relationship until the marriage can be recognized. This is an option that you and your wife will need to discuss with your pastor when you meet with him to discuss starting the annulment proceedings.

Recommended reading:

Annulments and the Catholic Church by Edward Peters