How would Joseph divorce Mary?

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What im asking, specifically, is would Joseph’s intended divorce fall under the “certificate of divorce” which Moses permitted in Deuteronomy 24, or was there a different procedure for a betrothal divorce before the consumation of a marriage?
 
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Thank you. This makes our (Catholic’s) position seem wrong…
 
You must remember that it was Moses who allowed divorce, not God. At the time, he was faced with the situation that some Israelites were either murdering their wives themselves so that they could remarry or contriving reasons for their wives to be stoned by the community. Christ himself openly speaks against divorce in Matthew 19:3-12 and Mark 10:2-12.
 
CRM_Brother said:
You must remember that it was Moses who allowed divorce, not God. At the time, he was faced with the situation that some Israelites were either murdering their wives themselves so that they could remarry or contriving reasons for their wives to be stoned by the community. Christ himself openly speaks against divorce in Matthew 19:3-12 and Mark 10:2-12.
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So Jesus says that Moses only allowed divorce because of the hardness of people’s heart, and yet Joseph was a just man to divorce Mary?

Was Joseph relying on the certificate of divorce established by Moses? If that is the case, then Joseph and Mary would be free to remarry, right?
 
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He didn’t divorce her though so it’s a moot point. Joseph is just because he trusted God and obeyed
 
JanSobieskiIII said:
He didn’t divorce her though so it’s a moot point. Joseph is just because he trusted God and obeyed
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But thats not how the Scripture relates it.

Matthew 1:19
and her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.
 
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His culture allowed divorce in circumstances of adultery, so it was a reasonable thing for him to want to get a divorce. He was "just’ because he did not want to publicly denounce her as an adulteress. They stoned women for that.
 
rcwitness said:
What im asking, specifically, is would Joseph’s intended divorce fall under the “certificate of divorce” which Moses permitted in Deuteronomy 24, or was there a different procedure for a betrothal divorce before the consumation of a marriage?
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The Catholic teaching is that marriage was raised to the level of a sacrament by Jesus Christ, for the baptized.

The principle is that a consummated sacramental marriage is indissoluble.
 
Haydock’s commentary assumes that he was NOT going to rely on a bill of divorce:

Joseph her husband, knowing her strict virtue, was surprised at this her pregnancy, but “being a just man,” and not willing to expose her, by denouncing her, or giving her a bill of divorce, he had a mind to dismiss her privately, committing the cause to God. Let us learn from Joseph to be ever tender of our neighbour’s reputation, and never to entertain any injurious thoughts, or any suspicions to his prejudice. (Haydock)

If this is the case, then Matthew was likely NOT giving his exception clause for the reason of Joseph and Mary.
 
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And when you read the rest of the chapter

"Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,* yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. 20j Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord* appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. 21She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,* because he will save his people from their sins.” 22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:

23* k “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,

and they shall name him Emmanuel,”

which means “God is with us.”

24 When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home
 
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Matthew was speaking to the Jewish people. This audience would expect a man who found out his betrothed was expecting, to divorce her. Matthew, the author, would be helping his audience understand that Joseph was a just and reasonable man. This is more important as a build up to the fact that Joseph did NOT divorce her because he had faith that she was carrying God’s child. I believe Matthew’s intent is to show that Joseph can be trusted and more importantly, God can be trusted.
 
What the passage says, is that Joseph, being a just man, decided to divorce her.

He was justified in divorcing her.

What i have been curious about, is if he was relying on a bill of divorce which Jesus criticized.

The Haydock commentary seems to think not. That the “quietly” meant not in a formal fasion, with intent to marry another.
 
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