Marriage and Remarriage

[YEARNING4TRUTH]

Does it give someone the right to remarry if his/her spouse was the one who became unfaithful? Is he/she committing adultery if he/she decides to divorce his/her spouse? What if it wasn’t a Church wedding in the first place? Would he/she still be prohibited from receiving the Eucharist if he/she goes through with the divorce and the re-marriage?

 

[His_helpmeet]

Does it give someone the right to remarry if his/her spouse was the one who became unfaithful? Is he/she committing adultery if he/she decides to divorce his/her spouse? What if it wasn’t a Church wedding in the first place? Would he/she still be prohibited from receiving the Eucharist if he/she goes through with the divorce and the re-marriage?

Let me answer your questions in order:

1. No. Adultery does not make a marriage invalid in and of itself. Now, if it can be demonstrated that there was no intent to be faithful at the time of the wedding, THEN the marriage can be declared invalid. (Jesus said that porneia, unlawful fornication, was grounds for divorce - not strictly adultery.)
2. No. The Church does not require that a victim of adultery “take back” the offender. The Church recognizes that in some cases (such as the “three As” - abuse, abandonment, adultery) a civil divorce may be necessary for the protection of the victim/surviving spouse and the children.
3. If it was not a Church wedding, it MAY be possible to have a declaration of nullity granted more quickly. This depends on a few factors, though: Was at least one spouse baptized Catholic at the time of the wedding? Was the marriage celebrated outside the Church WITHOUT a dispensation to do so? Did the Church NEVER validate the marriage (i.e. no radical sanation/convalidation)? If the answer to all three questions is yes, the marriage is invalid due to a lack of form and it’s a very straightforward process. In some cases, if one or both parties was not baptized, the Petrine or Pauline Privilege may apply.
4. The person in question would be prohibited from receiving the Eucharist ONLY if he/she remarried. Divorce, in and of itself, is NOT a mortal sin (depending on the cause of the divorce). If the person in this case was the victim of a cheating spouse and was not the primary cause of the marital breakdown, he/she would still be able to receive Communion if the divorce occurred, assuming that the person did not remarry without a declaration of nullity.

 

[1ke]

Does it give someone the right to remarry if his/her spouse was the one who became unfaithful?

No.

Is he/she committing adultery if he/she decides to divorce his/her spouse?

No. One may physically separate when one is unable to maintain the marriage under the same roof. However, the marital bond remains.

He/she is committing adultery if he/she attempts to marry someone else or begins having sexual relations with someone else.

What if it wasn’t a Church wedding in the first place?

That depends on whether or not the parties involved were Catholics, whether or not the Catholic had a dispensation from form, and many other things.

We cannot answer this question.

Would he/she still be prohibited from receiving the Eucharist if he/she goes through with the divorce and the re-marriage?

Possibly. We cannot speak to all the variables. We cannot answer this question.

The person should make an appointment with their pastor.

 

[EasterJoy]

No.

No. One may physically separate when one is unable to maintain the marriage under the same roof. However, the marital bond remains.

He/she is committing adultery if he/she attempts to marry someone else or begins having sexual relations with someone else.

That depends on whether or not the parties involved were Catholics, whether or not the Catholic had a dispensation from form, and many other things.

We cannot answer this question.

Possibly. We cannot speak to all the variables. We cannot answer this question.

The person should make an appointment with their pastor.

This is all correct. The only thing worse than a lack of information is bad information.

 

[styrgwillidar]

Does it give someone the right to remarry if his/her spouse was the one who became unfaithful? Is he/she committing adultery if he/she decides to divorce his/her spouse? What if it wasn’t a Church wedding in the first place? Would he/she still be prohibited from receiving the Eucharist if he/she goes through with the divorce and the re-marriage?

In general-

When you get married you take a vow not just to your partner, but before God. … For better or worse.

Yes, my wife deciding to end the marriage and then to have a guy move in with her shortly after was definitely on the ‘for worse’ side of what can occur in marriage. But it didn’t remove my obligation to live the oath I took willingly before God. I meant what I said.

Some of your other questions would need more specifics in order to give an answer. Its why folks in those situations should consult their parish priest.

 

[YEARNING4TRUTH]

Yeah, that’s what I thought. I just wished that I wasn’t right. I asked this question because a very close person in my life had gone through this and is still going through this, even though she has become indifferent to it. She is a good person, and it wasn’t her fault that the husband cheated on her. I guess she was just deeply hurt and decided to try and move on by remarrying again. She was married in the Philippines, were there is no divorce, but I was kind of hoping that it didn’t apply to her since their wedding wasn’t a Church wedding (which by the way I’m still kind of confused as to whether or not the marriage was valid to begin with because it wasn’t a Church wedding).

 

[styrgwillidar]

Yeah, that’s what I thought. I just wished that I wasn’t right. I asked this question because a very close person in my life had gone through this and is still going through this, even though she has become indifferent to it. She is a good person, and it wasn’t her fault that the husband cheated on her. I guess she was just deeply hurt and decided to try and move on by remarrying again. She was married in the Philippines, were there is no divorce, but I was kind of hoping that it didn’t apply to her since their wedding wasn’t a Church wedding (which by the way I’m still kind of confused as to whether or not the marriage was valid to begin with because it wasn’t a Church wedding).

Your friend would need to contact a priest to begin to investigate the status of her marriage and how the teachings of the church apply to her specific situation.

 

[Gorgias]

Now, if it can be demonstrated that there was no intent to be faithful at the time of the wedding, THEN the marriage can be declared invalid. (Jesus said that porneia, unlawful fornication, was grounds for divorce - not strictly adultery.)

Helpmeet,

I might just recommend that you be a bit more precise in the way you describe these things. After all, ‘porneia’ is understood in this Scriptural context to mean ‘unlawful marriage’, not ‘unlawful fornication’, per se. (Therefore, since the marriage itself was unlawful – i.e., invalid – then the marriage may be declared null; it’s not that the Church says that divorce is possible, just that the marriage was never valid in the first place.)

Just quibblin’… :twocents:

 

[bardegaulois]

Does it give someone the right to remarry if his/her spouse was the one who became unfaithful? Is he/she committing adultery if he/she decides to divorce his/her spouse? What if it wasn’t a Church wedding in the first place? Would he/she still be prohibited from receiving the Eucharist if he/she goes through with the divorce and the re-marriage?

1. No.
2. Not in the case of a civil divorce, but definitely in the case of a remarriage (or in the case of unchastity while the marriage is still presumed valid).
3. That might make the tribunal proceeding easier; talk to the tribunal. Do NOT remarry until the tribunal issues its final ruling.
4. Yes, although I don’t know why they would be prohibited before remarriage.