Joining the Catholic Church as a divorced person

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1ke said:
The OP indicates neither of them were Catholic. Therefore, there is no requirement to marry in Catholic form. There can be no declaration of freedom to marry based on “lack of form” when the parties involved were neither Catholic (nor Orthodox, which is a specific exceptIon due to validity of their sacraments).
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Thank you. Yes, I do see that now.
 
Arkansan said:
Non-Catholics can’t validly marry while they have a living spouse either.
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Si, if they were to convert to Catholicism, their first marriage would be considered valid, while any subsequent marriages after divorce, would not be considered valid, and they would have to seek an annulment of the first marriage and remarry in the Church? Is that correct?
 
If their first marriage were held invalid, that would make their second presumptively valid, so it would need to be annulled separately.
 
CatholicSpirit said:
I’m on the front lines in a lot of it. Happens everyday.
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Yeah you’re God’s own ‘assistant to the regional manager’ aren’t you? No, you’re just rude. You don’t know who is or isn’t hellbound and you have no authority to make such a statement. Who are you to judge?
 
It is my way of saying that I have experienced and seen quite a bit. Temptation wise, I am aware of it’s infectious ways. And I am not claiming perfection, if you claim to doubt me for what I know exists and then call me judgmental, perhaps I should take you on a field trip on pure evil and let you be the judge?

I’ve seen children suffer when their parents won’t acknowledge them, and I have seen children not acknowledge their parents. Family is key in religious conversion is my main point.
 
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Perhaps you should show me something in the catechism that authorises an internet troll to determine who is and isn’t hellbound.
 
Hell is when you are unloved and unloving, demonstrating that on Earth speaks of little reward if it is willed. To undergo it unwillingly means heaven awaits. Bash my interpretation if you like, as I am not the “troll” here you speak of.
 
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Interpretation of what - you didn’t cite anything? Again, show me that part of the catechism that says a human being could accurately judge another human being and therefore determine who was hellbound.
 
You really should meet with your local Catholic pastor!
If your first marriage was in a church even if it was a
Protestant Church I believe that you would need to seek
an annulment. Best of Luck in your journey to the Catholic faith.
 
Herculees said:
If your first marriage was in a church even if it was a Protestant Church I believe that you would need to seek
an annulment.
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Whether it was in a church or not isn’t relevant at all. Non-Catholic marry validly when they marry civilly, in a church, courthouse, or at the beach. Doesn’t matter.

The OP may need a decree of nullity, but there may be other paths open as well depending on the circumstances of the first marriage.

Seeing the pastor is the best path, as you, I and others have mentioned. There are many variables and speculation is pretty fruitless when it comes to these sorts of situations. Details matter.
 
1ke said:
Whether it was in a church or not isn’t relevant at all. Non-Catholic marry validly when they marry civilly, in a church, courthouse, or at the beach. Doesn’t matter.
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This isn’t technically true:

Canon 780 - §1. Even if only one party is Catholic, the marriage of Catholics is regulated not only by divine law but also by canon law, with due regard for the competence of civil authority concerning the merely civil effects of such a marriage.
§2. In addition to divine law, marriage between a Catholic and a baptized non-Catholic is also regulated by:
1° the law proper to the Church or ecclesial community to which the non-Catholic belongs, if that community has its own matrimonial law;
2° the law that binds the non-Catholic, if it is an ecclesial community, if proper matrimonial law is lacking.

Canon 781 - If the Church must judge the validity of a marriage between baptized non-Catholics:
1° there is to be concern for the law by which the parties were bound at the time of the celebration of marriage in the light of can. 780, §2;
2° with regard to the form of the celebration, the Church recognizes any form prescribed or admitted by the law to which the parties were subject at the time of the celebration of the marriage, provided that the consent be expressed in a public form and, when at least one of the parties is a baptized member of an Eastern non-Catholic Church, the marriage be celebrated with a sacred rite.

Nearly all Protestant communities defer to civil law, but there could be one out there with a proper law on marriage.
 
That is the code for the Oriental Churches. Those canons are not found in the Latin Code. I do not know any diocesan tribunal that would use that canon, as they are all under the Latin Code. In all my discussions with canon lawyers on this topic, they have always held that only Churches, properly speaking, can have a required form as ecclesial communities do not have apostolic succession, clergy, and Ordinaries who can issue norms and ecclesial law. Those canons you post are interesting, as I am not very familiar with the Oriental Churches, their canon law primarily mimics the Latin Code but here digresses substantially.

But we digress greatly from the OP’s question. This is a non-issue as far as any non-Catholic ecclesial communities I am aware of, and as I also stated, marriage tribunal issues are complex and details matter.
 
I agree that it’s a digression, as Protestant communities with matrimonial laws are rare or non-existent. But the absence of the canon from the Latin Code is hardly relevant, since it explicitly speaks about non-Catholics who are not members of Eastern Churches, and objective marital validity is not dependent on which tribunal the case is tried in.
 
I’m currently trying to join the Church. I am married now, and I have been married once before. Same for my husband. Both of our ex spouses were unbaptized, and both of us are unbaptized. Both my husband and I must get annulments from our previous marriages, even though I am the only one looking to become Catholic (my husband is supportive, but not looking to convert). I guess depending on what Diocese you are in, it can take as long as 2 years to get it completed. Mine is slow-going. It’s tough.
 
USAFwife said:
I’m currently trying to join the Church. I am married now, and I have been married once before. Same for my husband. Both of our ex spouses were unbaptized, and both of us are unbaptized. Both my husband and I must get annulments from our previous marriages, even though I am the only one looking to become Catholic (my husband is supportive, but not looking to convert). I guess depending on what Diocese you are in, it can take as long as 2 years to get it completed. Mine is slow-going. It’s tough.
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Please talk to your pastor. A decree of nullity isn’t the only option when the unbaptized are involved. A dissolution of the bond in favor of the faith is also an option. Talk about this with your pastor, and if necessary with someone from the diocesan marriage tribunal if your pastor is unfamiliar with favor of the faith situations.
 
Ok, so he says the “in favor of the faith” or Pauline Privilege would apply to me if I had been baptized before getting remarried. Oh well.
 
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