How is divorce allowed by the Catholic Church?

[John_Valenti]

I am trying to determine what paragraph 2383 of our catechism really means. It is the reason a church official has told my wife it is OK to divorce after a 37-year 4 children marriage. It is the only reason I can find that the Church OKs divorce but it seems like it can be applied to any and all marriages, which would make the Catholic Church just as liberal concerning divorce as any other church. It reads: “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.”

 

[Fr.Vincent_Serpa]

Dear John,

In the number before the one you quote (# 2383 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church) we read: “…Between the baptized, ‘a ratified and consummated marriage cannot be dissolved by any human power or for any reason other than death.’” That’s a quote from canon law # 1141.

The Church allows separation and it also allows divorce for practical reasons, such as the equitable dividing of goods that have been held in common by the separated persons. But it does not accept that divorce can dissolve the marriage as other churches do. Catholics who are validly married remain so even after a divorce.

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.