Question about court marriage/divorce and sacramental marriage

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cb3419

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Hello,

I have a question about marriage. If a person were to marry someone in the court only and divorce them without any involvement of the church, would they be able to marry another person in the Catholic church without issue?

My friend rushed into a brief marriage earlier in his life and it ended in divorce a year later. They were only married legally and not by the church. Wondering if he can marry his next spouse in the church or not- and if this would be an issue (requiring annulment or other formal documentation by church officials to clear him to marry a Catholic spouse in a catholic ceremony).

Thanks!
 
Was the person who married in court Catholic at the time of the marriage? Catholics have to be married according to Catholic form and a court marriage without a dispensation wouldn’t qualify. Non-Catholics, however, may validly marry in court.

If the person was Catholic then they’ll need to take the issue up with the Church, but it’s basically an administrative function.
 
Thanks for your response! The person was catholic at the time and the woman he married was not. Got married in a courthouse.
 
Then this will probably be an administrative, lack of form situation. He should check with his or his fiancee’s parish to determine how that is handled in their diocese. In ours, it’s about a two-week process and is handled through the Tribunal.
 
A Catholic who marries outside the Church without a dispensation marries invalidly. That person needs to confess his sin of marrying outside the Church, of course. To marry again in the Church, he would need a decree of nullity from the diocesan marriage tribunal. This is generally called a “lack of form” case.
 
cb3419 said:
The person was catholic at the time and the woman he married was not. Got married in a courthouse.
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If he got married civiliy without a dispensation from Catholic form, then that marriage is invalid and yes he is free to marry. He would need to provide some paperwork regarding the marriage and divorce.
 
The Church considers all marriages valid until they are proven not to be.

If the people were both non-Catholic and got married/divorced outside of the Church, they have to go through the full annulment procedure in order to be married in the Church.

If your friend was Catholic and married a non Catholic outside of the Church without permission, then he will have to file for “lack of form” which is a 10 day procedure, give or take.

If your friend was Catholic and married a Catholic outside of the church, it will be a full annulment.

The length of the marriage doesn’t matter, nor does it matter that it was just a civil marriage - the Catholic Church considers all marriages valid until she is given the opportunity to investigate and make a decision. I hope this helps!
 
If the friend was Catholic and married a Catholic outside the Church the marriage is de facto invalid.
 
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