Catholics & Catholicism

Question:

1. what is the official catholic position on grounds for divorce? 2. what is the official catholic position on grounds for remarriage?

Response:

| 1. what is the official catholic position on grounds for divorce? Well, first of all, lets understand what the RCC believes that marriage is all about. Marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman which establishes a partnership for life. Marriage is a vocation which fosters the good of the spouses and naturally leads to the procreation and education of children. The RCC understands that marriage takes place when two persons exchange consent through wedding vows according to the norms of their own faith tradition. In fact, we believe that even marriages involving unbaptized persons come into existence with the exchange of vows according to their beliefs and practices. Whenever two baptized persons marry in this way, we believe that God has made them one in the sacrament of marriage (cf. Mt. 19:5). Because Jesus taught the indissolubility of marriage "therefore, let no one separate what God has joined" (Mt. 19:6) we believe that it is impossible for any human power to break the God-made bond, or covenant, between husband and wife. For the marriage bond between husband and wife to be established by God, a number of intentions must be made by the couple at the time of their marriage. The couple must know what marriage is and they must intend the marriage to be lifelong and open to children. They must also have the physical and psychological ability as well as the personal maturity to follow through on what they have intended. When all of the above factors are brought together, a sacramental, indissoluble union is established by God. We recognize, respect, and presume this type of background (and in a similar way between unbaptized persons), even if the civil government, because of divorce, no longer recognizes that a marriage exists. | 2. what is the official catholic position on grounds for remarriage? PRIOR BOND: Anyone bound to the bond of a presumably valid previous marriage cannot enter a new marriage validly. There are about eleven others but I think you are interested only in PRIOR BOND. The RCC is only interested in the state of the SACRAMENT of marriage. While remarriage in the church requires a civil divorce (for reasons of contract) it must also review and investigate whether the original marriage was sacramental or not. That is the key. The RCC recognizes that there are times when the wedding ceremony was beautiful, the right words were spoken, and even children were born of a marriage but, for a variety of reasons, something necessary for the establishment of the marriage bond was missing. When this is the case, it is clearly possible to have two persons legally married, but never actually joined together by God in a sacramental union. To be clear, an annulment is not a "Catholic Divorce." The Church does not have the power to divorce any persons who have been united by God. An annulment states that the enduring sacramental bond of a marriage was never present from the very beginning of the marriage. If this is decided by a church tribunal, the persons are free to marry again. Yes, both, are free to marry again. With this stated, it must be made clear that an annulment in no way affects the legitimacy of the children of such a previous marriage. Similarly, it has no bearing on the other natural and civil obligations such as child support or custody. A church annulment does not imply that the relationship never existed, but only that it was sacrament. The Church does not seek to assign blame for the marriage breakup to any of the persons involved. So strictly speaking, there is no position on grounds for divorce but the RCC is very concerned with the couple involved. Divorce is a civil action against a contract. It, and of itself, is not a serious sin, however, what took place to create the atmosphere of divorce is more than likely a failure to give oneself to the other chosen one. If you are a Roman Catholic you would begin the Annulment Process by first consult with your pastor. EVERY prior marriage must be addressed and evaluated carefully and individually. You will be asked to complete a petition and a brief questionnaire and gather certain public documents. The pastor, or other person designated by him, such as a deacon, will forward the petition and documents to the tribunal. Shortly after receiving this information, the tribunal will communicate directly with you. After all the necessary information has been gathered, you will need to wait for a decision of the tribunal. This wait can be frustration, as it may take many months. Because of the number of marriage cases pending before the tribunal and the detailed and careful process with which each one is handled, it is never possible to expedite any one person’s request for a declaration of nullity, or to promise a definite date of conclusion, or even to promise a favorable decision. In the Diocese of Nashville there is no payment required for the time and effort by a great many of people to investigate the process of annulment. Some diocese request a payment to cover the cost. I hope this answers your questions Deacon Mickey Rose, Diocese of Nashville

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – | 2. what is the official catholic position on grounds for remarriage? PRIOR BOND: Anyone bound to the bond of a presumably valid previous marriage cannot enter a new marriage validly. There are about eleven others but I think you are interested only in PRIOR BOND. The RCC is only interested in the state of the SACRAMENT of marriage. While remarriage in the church requires a civil divorce (for reasons of contract) it must also review and investigate whether the original marriage was sacramental or not. That is the key. The RCC recognizes that there are times when the wedding ceremony was beautiful, the right words were spoken, and even children were born of a marriage but, for a variety of reasons, something necessary for the establishment of the marriage bond was missing. When this is the case, it is clearly possible to have two persons legally married, but never actually joined together by God in a sacramental union. To be clear, an annulment is not a "Catholic Divorce." The Church does not have the power to divorce any persons who have been united by God. An annulment states that the enduring sacramental bond of a marriage was never present from the very beginning of the marriage. If this is decided by a church tribunal, the persons are free to marry again. Yes, both, are free to marry again.

I think that for a certain amount of money any marriage could be called off! What you are saying it’s not backed down by the Bible (better yet, it is against the Bible)! "And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. 12  And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery." (Matthew 10:11-12) 18  Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.  (Luke 16:18)

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – | 2. what is the official catholic position on grounds for remarriage? PRIOR BOND: Anyone bound to the bond of a presumably valid previous marriage cannot enter a new marriage validly. There are about eleven others but I think you are interested only in PRIOR BOND. The RCC is only interested in the state of the SACRAMENT of marriage. While remarriage in the church requires a civil divorce (for reasons of contract) it must also review and investigate whether the original marriage was sacramental or not. That is the key. The RCC recognizes that there are times when the wedding ceremony was beautiful, the right words were spoken, and even children were born of a marriage but, for a variety of reasons, something necessary for the establishment of the marriage bond was missing. When this is the case, it is clearly possible to have two persons legally married, but never actually joined together by God in a sacramental union. To be clear, an annulment is not a "Catholic Divorce." The Church does not have the power to divorce any persons who have been united by God. An annulment states that the enduring sacramental bond of a marriage was never present from the very beginning of the marriage. If this is decided by a church tribunal, the persons are free to marry again. Yes, both, are free to marry again. I think that for a certain amount of money any marriage could be called off! What you are saying it’s not backed down by the Bible (better yet, it is against the Bible)! "And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. 12  And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery." (Matthew 10:11-12) 18  Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.  (Luke 16:18)

Colly, I hope you understand the Catholic Church agrees with you. Catholics do not recognize divorce within the Church.  Of course, some Catholics get a civil divorce, but that does not affect the validity of the marriage within the Church. Annulment is a different matter altogether. It is the declaration that a sacramentally valid marriage never existed in the first place! Peace Steve

Response:

: 1. what is the official catholic position on grounds for divorce? A civil divorce is allowable.  No one expects a woman to stay with a man who is beating her or anything like that. : : 2. what is the official catholic position on grounds for remarriage? : Before marriage is contracted, any prior putative marriage must be annulled. Karen

Response:

1. what is the official catholic position on grounds for divorce?

The official "Catholic position" is best found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (the excerpts and indeed the entire text of the CCC can be easily be found on various web sites these days, just do an exact phrase search using you favorite search engine). But in brief … the Church teaches that a valid sacramental marriage, that is a marriage between a baptized Christian woman and a baptized Christian man (neither one necessarily Catholic, but necessarily validly baptized according to the Trinitarian formula) where both persons entered into the marriage covenant with … 1. Irrevocable and free consent AND 2. Openness to the transmission of life, that is openness to bearing and rearing of children (even if one or both are known to be infertile this is acceptable, *openness* is the key) … CANNOT [long sentence I know, that is the marriage CANNOT] under any circumstances ever be dissolved. 2. what is the official catholic position on grounds for remarriage?

The Church teaches that remarriage, even if a civil divorce has been granted, for any Christian who is already validly sacramentally married is impossible, a contradiction in terms. The only *exception* is for widows or widowers; more precisely, the Church teaches that the marriage covenant ends with the death of a spouse. Widows and widowers may are completely free to remarry within the Church, or in a broader sense a Christian widow/widower is free to enter another valid sacramental marriage. The obvious follow-up topic to cover is the Catholic Church’s teachings regarding "annulments," or more technically correct, decrees of nullility. I don’t have time at the moment to go into a proper and thorough discussion, which itself would serve to "flesh out" the Church’s teachings on marriage (natural and sacramental) and can become quite complex. For example, spouses who do never consummate their marriage despite the existence of the two conditions above may be eligible for a dissolution of their vows … I know, just a sec ago I said this is never allowed … it gets complex. But very quickly … if it can be shown with some great degree of certainty that either of the conditions above was not true for one or both of the persons at the time immediately preceding the marriage, then the local bishop, upon the recommendation of the marriage tribunal investigating the matter, can issue a decree of nullility. This is not a divorce (no matter how much those who label it "Catholic divorce" stomp their feet or hold their breath) … it is a statement that the marriage never took place in the first place, i.e. neither person has validly received the sacrament of marriage and so each is free to remarry in the future. Now, this raises some obvious questions. What if someone lies or worse "pays off" the marriage tribunal? What if I am certain that I (or my wife or both of us) lied to the parish priest and neither or one or both the conditions for valid sacramental marriage were not met at the time of the actual wedding ceremony (note: this doesn’t consider the case where someone has lied about a baptism, that would be a slightly different issue), but they are now (i.e. we’ve "grown up" in our attitude toward marriage)? Do we have to get remarried?!! If my wife and I are issued a "decree of nullility" are our children considered "illegitimate?" Does the Church expect us to pursue a civil divorce before or after we seek a decree of nullility? If I can’t get divorced and I’m sure we won’t meet the criteria for a decree of nullility, do I have to live with a husband who beats me for the rest of my life??!! What if I got validly sacramentally married (either in the Catholic Church or otherwise), then got a civil divorce, couldn’t get a decree of nullility, remarried outside the Church, and then wished to become a devout "practicing" Catholic again … would I have to leave my current husband/wife?!!?!? These are all really tough questions and many variants are possible. Some of the answers are complex, some simple. They are all asked by thousands of converts to Catholicism and "cradle Catholics" come home every day. Many of the answers present great challenges to those desiring to live the Catholic Faith but for one reason or another are in a situation that requires the questions be asked. Ultimately, the seriousness nature of these questions and their answers is why the Church asks those approaching the altar for marriage to think VERY seriously about the commitment they are to make. I will try to answer in more detail later if you wish, but I hope this helps you out. God bless.

Response:

Well that’s the strangest bunch of replies I have seen in a while. These folks are confused…. 1. what is the official catholic position on grounds for divorce?

The Roman Catholic Church recognizes both the reality of divorce and the fact that more than half of married catholics will eventually divorce. Divorce is held to be necessary by the Church in order to provide for children and to divide property fairly. The Church is FOR permanent lifelong Sacramental marriage. That doesn’t mean she is against divorce or blind to the fact that divorce is a reality in this society. The Church never insists one remain in a dysfunctional or unhappy relationship.  The Church simply wishes you to make your very best effort, a sincere effort and if at that point the marriage becomes unsuportable due to factors beyond one’s control a person may divorce. Since in virtually every State we have "No Fault" divorce, grounds for divorce simply aren’t used in Law, and certain specific grounds are irrelevent to the question of:  "is this a viable marriage?" 2. what is the official catholic position on grounds for remarriage?

In Matthew 5:32 and 19:9 Christ instituted the Annulment process. (Use the NAB for the proper sense of Christ’s words) If one marries and the consent is defective then the marriage is unlawful under Canon Law and when this is proven the marriage may be decreed null. One cannot remarry in the church until the first marriage is dealt with, that is proven to be invalid. JW

Response:

You should ask, what is the Bible position on divorce. Carlos D.Paniagua

Response:

Carlos, dear, what did Jesus specifically say about divorce that day in the marketplace?  Do you remember?  God despises divorce.  Try reading the words as they are written, not your own version, k?

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – You should ask, what is the Bible position on divorce. Carlos D.Paniagua

Response:

Well that’s the strangest bunch of replies I have seen in a while. These folks are confused…. 1. what is the official catholic position on grounds for divorce? The Roman Catholic Church recognizes both the reality of divorce and the fact that more than half of married catholics will eventually divorce. Divorce is held to be necessary by the Church in order to provide for children and to divide property fairly.

You’re serious??? The Church absolutely DOES NOT recognize cival divorce!!!  And does NOT condider marriage "temporary".  The Church does not assume "half of married Catholics" will divorce.  A Sacramental marriage is intended to last "until death do you part", and you better enter into it with that attitude, or it’s NOT a Sacramental marriage, in the eyes of the Church.  US state laws have NOTHING to do with the Church’s position on divorce, since she does not recognize ANY of them as valid.  And yes, you were correct at the end of your comments, the Church does have a process to deal with the ending of non-Sacramental marriages, called Annulment, which is a VERY misunderstood process. Marriages don’t fail because couples want them to. They fail for very real reasons. The annulment process looks at those reasons and tries to determine if there were signs of them from the beginning. The Catholic Church expects certain qualities and capabilities to be present in those getting married. These need to be present in order for the marriage to be Sacramental and thus, valid in the eyes of the Church. An annulment does not say that children born of the union are illegitimate, by the way, or that anyone did anything "wrong". It simply deals ONLY with the Sacramental character of the marriage. The grounds for an annulment are varied and quite extensive. The physical consummation of a marriage has nothing to do with a Church annulment and the vast majority of cases in which annulment are granted have nothing to do with physical failure to consummate and, indeed, often involve marriages of long duration with one or more children. Put most simply, the Church recognizes that only true marriage exists only where the parties to the marriage were in a position fully to have lived up to requirements of a Sacramental marriage. Where such high standard is not met, a Sacramental marriage, no matter what preparations for the wedding were undertaken, no matter all good intentions, no matter having a beautiful ceremony, never existed, spiritually speaking, that is. Although there are many bases upon which an annulment may be granted, some of the most frequently encountered arise from a lack of due discretion or lack of due competence at the time of the marriage itself. These basically mean that at the time of the marriage, one or the other party did not have sufficient judgment truly to understand what the nature of marriage was or was simply incapable, for whatever reason, at  the time of the marriage, to take on the responsibilities and obligations of marriage. The facts tending to demonstrate this are varied. Valid cause for an annulment may include situations such as: – When the parties married too young to be fully aware of the requirements of a true sacramental marriage. – One of the parties in the marriage entered into the union with no intention at all of having children or with the intention of limiting the number of children and misled their spouse. – There was a pattern of infidelity which would indicate that at least one party to the marriage was unable to maintain an exclusive marital commitment . – There is a pattern of physical or emotional abuse also suggesting that at least one party was unable to live up to the standard of a sacramental marriage. In the end of the process, because the relationship was deemed an ‘invalid" marriage, it is as if it never occurred. In a spiritual sense, it didn’t exist. Therefore folks receiving an annulment can marry, within the church, since the prior relationship is considered null and void. Divorce, on the other hand, is considered a civil ceremony, and does not affect one within the church, unless they should seek to remarry. It is considered "bigamy" within the church, regardless of what secular authorities allow, unless an annulment is granted. In His Love, Lisa Alekna

Response:

Carlos is an infidel. He hates the Catholic Church because he couldn’t live up to it. The Church reminds him everyday of his infidelity. And he can’t run from his guilty conscience. BAM

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Carlos, dear, what did Jesus specifically say about divorce that day in the marketplace?  Do you remember?  God despises divorce.  Try reading the words as they are written, not your own version, k? You should ask, what is the Bible position on divorce. Carlos D.Paniagua

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Well that’s the strangest bunch of replies I have seen in a while. These folks are confused…. 1. what is the official catholic position on grounds for divorce? The Roman Catholic Church recognizes both the reality of divorce and the fact that more than half of married catholics will eventually divorce. Divorce is held to be necessary by the Church in order to provide for children and to divide property fairly. You’re serious??? The Church absolutely DOES NOT recognize cival divorce!!!  And does NOT condider marriage "temporary".  

(Snip) The Catholic Church doesn’t  "recognize" a civil divorce exactly, but it does allow it, and recognizes that it ends the "civil" marriage and its legal obligations. Doreen

Response: