May be a bit of a dumb question regarding divorce?

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Just a bit of thinking on the subject. I’ve read divorce isn’t allowed in the Catholic religion since the vows married couples take are “til death do us part.” So, my question is:

What if you get a divorce and a year later, your ex spouse passes away. Would you be free to marry again, since there is no possible way for you to reconcile with your ex spouse?
 
The Church permits a couple to civilly divorce if necessary (e.g. in an abusive situation to protect the abused spouse and/or children). A legal divorce, however, does not end a marriage from the Church’s perspective - the only thing that does that is death.

So yes, if a couple were to divorce and then one spouse were to die, the living person could marry again just like any other widow or widower.
 
Just to confirm that the answer is correct.

Upon the death of a spouse, the marriage no longer exists (for the church) no matter what the circumstance.
 
pensmama87 said:
The Church permits a couple to civilly divorce if necessary (e.g. in an abusive situation to protect the abused spouse and/or children). A legal divorce, however, does not end a marriage from the Church’s perspective - the only thing that does that is death.

So yes, if a couple were to divorce and then one spouse were to die, the living person could marry again just like any other widow or widower.
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It should be noted that the permission of competent ecclesiastical authority is required per cann. 1151-1155 in order for the spouses to separate, that is, to live apart from each other and not in a conjugal relationship. It follows that divorce can be admitted as a possibility only when all other avenues of reconciliation are exhausted, or there is grave danger of harm.

Secondly, not all marriages are indissoluble. A valid, sacramental marriage that is ratified (consent has been exchanged) and consummated (the couple has engaged in the marital act) cannot be dissolved by anything but death. A valid marriage which does not meet all of these criteria may sometimes be dissolved. Consult a canon lawyer for details.

But no, a civil divorce never has any canonical effect on a marriage of any kind.
 
Elizium23, please don’t be offended, but I’m not sure if you understood that the ex- spouse is deceased, therefore the person is free to marry again. There is no need in the OP’s case to consult a lawyer.The question the OP made was only regarding a deceased ex-spouse.
 
To be able to start the process of Annullment, the Church requires a civil divorce…Talk to a priest first. They wil guide you through it.
 
Mayita30 said:
To be able to start the process of Annullment, the Church requires a civil divorce…Talk to a priest first. They wil guide you through it.
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Just a reminder that the person’s ex-spouse is dead, so that the person is a widow/widower therefore able to marry again 🙂
 
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