Is divorce a sin?

[coolcatholicguy]

Is it? This Bible verse seems to say yes.

So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." (Matthew 19:6, NIV)

But people get divorced it seems all the time, are they all sinning? And would it be a mortal or venial sin?

Also is getting divorced and remarried a mortal sin? Venial sin?

 

[Nec5]

Look up divorce in the catechism. There are several paragraphs related to it under that heading. I’ve argued with a few folks here about this very question. My view was that it is sinful unless a few rare conditions are present (abusive/murderous spouse, things of that extreme nature) and/or the marriage is found invalid and annulled.

Others maintain that the catechism states it is not sinful unless the spouse remarries.

 

[puzzleannie]

Is it? This Bible verse seems to say yes.

So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." (Matthew 19:6, NIV)

But people get divorced it seems all the time, are they all sinning? And would it be a mortal or venial sin?

Also is getting divorced and remarried a mortal sin? Venial sin?

yes divorce is objectively gravely sinful. As with all mortal sin, subjective guilt of an individual for a particular sin may be mitigated or altogether lacking if there was not full knowledge and free will consent. For instance the innocent party who has not instigated the divorce may have no choice but to consent to what the law has done in today’s legal climate where it is almost impossible to defend against a divorce action, so that person may not be guilty at all of willful sin. Another example, and these are examples, not exhaustive instances, would be where civil divorce is necessary because it is the only legal way to separate from an abusive, destructive relationship and protect the safety and rights of the innocent spouse and children.

Yes marriage after divorce is mortally sinful because it is adultery. Civil divorce does not end a valid marriage. The only exception is the one the Lord gives, a case of illegality or invalidity, and just as he has given his Church authority to judge other matters of moral law, he gives her authority to investigate and judge whether or not a valid or legal marriage existed. If the marriage is found to be invalid a decree of nullity is issued and both parties are now free to marry.

 

[Bookcat]

Is it? This Bible verse seems to say yes.

So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." (Matthew 19:6, NIV)

But people get divorced it seems all the time, are they all sinning? And would it be a mortal or venial sin?

Also is getting divorced and remarried a mortal sin? Venial sin?

Yes. It is a grave offense (grave matter for mortal sin…see CCC for other details…and distinctions) (as to the guilt of each…that depends…)

Of course it can happen that one needs a “legal” divorce to protect the Children etc…knowing thought that if one is validly married one is still married…

and yes remarriage when one is “validly” married to another is a grave matter for mortal sin…it is adultery.

Catechism:

Divorce

2382 The Lord Jesus insisted on the original intention of the Creator who willed that marriage be indissoluble.173 He abrogates the accommodations that had slipped into the old Law.174
Between the baptized, "a ratified and consummated marriage cannot be dissolved by any human power or for any reason other than death."175

2383 The separation of spouses while maintaining the marriage bond can be legitimate in certain cases provided for by canon law.176
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.

2384 Divorce is a grave offense against the natural law. It claims to break the contract, to which the spouses freely consented, to live with each other till death. Divorce does injury to the covenant of salvation, of which sacramental marriage is the sign. Contracting a new union, even if it is recognized by civil law, adds to the gravity of the rupture: the remarried spouse is then in a situation of public and permanent adultery:

If a husband, separated from his wife, approaches another woman, he is an adulterer because he makes that woman commit adultery, and the woman who lives with him is an adulteress, because she has drawn another’s husband to herself.177

2385 Divorce is immoral also because it introduces disorder into the family and into society. This disorder brings grave harm to the deserted spouse, to children traumatized by the separation of their parents and often torn between them, and because of its contagious effect which makes it truly a plague on society.

2386 It can happen that one of the spouses is the innocent victim of a divorce decreed by civil law; this spouse therefore has not contravened the moral law. There is a considerable difference between a spouse who has sincerely tried to be faithful to the sacrament of marriage and is unjustly abandoned, and one who through his own grave fault destroys a canonically valid marriage.178

 

[Bookcat]

PS: I would suggest getting an RSV CE Bible too…it is more literal…etc

 

[Bookcat]

PS: I would suggest getting an RSV CE Bible too…it is more literal…etc

and a good commentary…like Navarre and Ignatius…

 

[thistle]

Is it? This Bible verse seems to say yes.

So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." (Matthew 19:6, NIV)

But people get divorced it seems all the time, are they all sinning? And would it be a mortal or venial sin?

Also is getting divorced and remarried a mortal sin? Venial sin?

The divorce per se is not sinful. What would be sinful if either remarried (to someone else). That would be a grave sin.

 

[Newbie2]

The divorce per se is not sinful. What would be sinful if either remarried (to someone else). That would be a grave sin.

Yes, exactly, and we should maybe further say that the “civil” divorce is not sinful.

It is important to understand that a valid sacramental marriage in the Catholic Church is forever. (At least until one of the spouses dies) A declaration of nullity says that it never happened. Too many people misunderstand an annulment as “cancelling” a marriage, when it in fact determines that a valid marriage never existed in the first place.

 

[Bookcat]

The divorce per se is not sinful. What would be sinful if either remarried (to someone else). That would be a grave sin.

This is not true…it is a grave matter for mortal sin…a “grave offense”

yes remarriage after divorce is also a grave matter for mortal sin…“it adds to the gravity” of divorce…it is an additional grave offense…

and yes there can be at times “a civil divorce” to protect the Children etc see CCC

 

[Bookcat]

Catechism of the Catholic Church:

Divorce

2382 The Lord Jesus insisted on the original intention of the Creator who willed that marriage be indissoluble.173 He abrogates the accommodations that had slipped into the old Law.174
Between the baptized, "a ratified and consummated marriage cannot be dissolved by any human power or for any reason other than death."175

2383 The separation of spouses while maintaining the marriage bond can be legitimate in certain cases provided for by canon law.176
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.

2384 Divorce is a grave offense against the natural law. It claims to break the contract, to which the spouses freely consented, to live with each other till death. Divorce does injury to the covenant of salvation, of which sacramental marriage is the sign. Contracting a new union, even if it is recognized by civil law, adds to the gravity of the rupture: the remarried spouse is then in a situation of public and permanent adultery:

If a husband, separated from his wife, approaches another woman, he is an adulterer because he makes that woman commit adultery, and the woman who lives with him is an adulteress, because she has drawn another’s husband to herself.177

2385 Divorce is immoral also because it introduces disorder into the family and into society. This disorder brings grave harm to the deserted spouse, to children traumatized by the separation of their parents and often torn between them, and because of its contagious effect which makes it truly a plague on society.

2386 It can happen that one of the spouses is the innocent victim of a divorce decreed by civil law; this spouse therefore has not contravened the moral law. There is a considerable difference between a spouse who has sincerely tried to be faithful to the sacrament of marriage and is unjustly abandoned, and one who through his own grave fault destroys a canonically valid marriage.178

 

[puzzleannie]

The divorce per se is not sinful. What would be sinful if either remarried (to someone else). That would be a grave sin.

yes it is objectively sinful to divorce, that is to attempt to end a valid marriage through civil means. As stated however, and the CCC cite covers it well, in certain cases for certain people their subjective guilt may be mitigated or absent altogether. It is always and in every case sinful to attempt marriage after divorce unless and until the prior marriage has been investigated and judged to be invalid. Bear in mind also, that the conditions that led up to the divorce may have involved sin of some kind for either or both parties as well.

 

[Newbie2]

yes it is objectively sinful to divorce, that is to attempt to end a valid marriage through civil means. As stated however, and the CCC cite covers it well, in certain cases for certain people their subjective guilt may be mitigated or absent altogether. It is always and in every case sinful to attempt marriage after divorce unless and until the prior marriage has been investigated and judged to be invalid. Bear in mind also, that the conditions that led up to the divorce may have involved sin of some kind for either or both parties as well.

Maybe it’s semantics, but if it’s objectively sinful to divorce, how can the subjective guilt can ever be mitigated or absent? Unless it’s “almost always” objectively sinful, right?

 

[Bookcat]

Maybe it’s semantics, but if it’s objectively sinful to divorce, how can the subjective guilt can ever be mitigated or absent? Unless it’s “almost always” objectively sinful, right?

Best thing to do is read the details above from the Catechism…

 

[tafan]

Bookcat is right. Paragraph 2383 and 2384 (always seemed to me to need reversed) are very clear. Under most circumstances it is a sin, but when a seperation of spouses is necessary AND the under civil law divorce is the only way to protect certain rights, then it is ok.

 

[puzzleannie]

Maybe it’s semantics, but if it’s objectively sinful to divorce, how can the subjective guilt can ever be mitigated or absent? Unless it’s “almost always” objectively sinful, right?

your question has been answered several times above, check out the CCC citation again. The Catholic who deliberately initiates a divorce with the intention of attempting to end a valid marriage sins gravely. The party who consents to the divorce initiated by the other party may not be guilty of sin if that is the only way to legally separate from the spouse who has effectively left the marriage, to protect the interests and safety of the innocent spouse and children for instance. It may even be that the innocent party must initiate the divorce because of the civil laws under which he or she lives if that is the only way to secure those rights and protections. I don’t know how many other ways to explain it except to give examples of each and every instance in which the objective guilt of deliberately seeking divorce might be mitigated. In those cases the Catholic should consult their priest about their own individual situation and not rely for personal moral direction on anonymous posters on an internet forum.