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IS A DIVORCED PERSON WELCOME IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ?

Everyone is welcome in the Catholic Church, and the Church, like Jesus her Lord, has a special care for those burdened with difficulties, whether of their own making or somebody else’s.

God always takes us as we are right now, so whatever may have happened in the past, there is always the possibility of forgiveness, healing and putting things right. This includes especially the mistakes we or others have made in our closest relationships. The Church has a variety of ways of helping divorced people experience healing and a new start in their lives.

Part of the healing process is to recognise what we have done wrong in the past, not so as to perpetuate a sense of guilt, but to take responsibility and move forward in God’s light. In the case of divorce, this means some people will have to accept that they were partly or even largely to blame for what went wrong, while others may justly feel themselves to be an innocent victim.

In general the Catholic Church considers divorce to be seriously wrong, as it aims to break the indissoluble contract between husband and wife. However, we realise that at times it may be the only practical way forward, in which case it is not in itself a sin. This does not mean that the Catholic Church “recognises” divorce, since until proven otherwise, we regard the marriage as still being in force: what God has put together, no man may put asunder.

A divorced person who has not remarried may become a Catholic and receive the sacraments. However they should be aware that they would not normally be able to remarry should they wish to do so in the future.

Catholics who are divorced and remarried are not able to receive the sacraments, but they still participate in the life of the Church in various ways, by attending Mass, listening to God’s Word, praying and taking part in the activities of the parish. They are full members of the Church.

This is not a judgment on their inner state of soul, which only God can see, but a reflection of the fact that their situation contravenes the permanence with which the Creator endowed marriage, and which both Old and New Testaments see as a reflection of the unbreakable covenant between God and the human race.

A divorced and remarried person, baptised in another Christian Church, while always welcome in a Catholic Church, could not therefore actually become a Catholic under normal circumstances, since it would be absurd for them to be received into the Church and then told they could not receive the sacraments. The same would apply to someone married to a previously married and divorced person.

If such a person strongly wants to become a Catholic, there are two options open to them. He or she could seek an annulment of their first marriage (or the first marriage of their spouse). This is a recognition by the Church, after investigation, that the first marriage was not valid (it does not affect its legality or the status of children). Alternatively, they could decide to live as brother and sister, that is without a sexual relationship, in their current marriage.

If, however, the first marriage of the divorced person was to a Catholic, and was not celebrated in a Catholic Church, it is likely to be quite easy to demonstrate that this first marriage was not valid, leaving the person free to have their second marriage recognised by the Church and thus to become a Catholic.

Also, if a person has never been baptised, there is a special process by which it may be possible for their first marriage to be declared null and void if they wish to be baptised.

All this may seem complicated, but it can be summed up as follows:

1. All are welcome in the Catholic Church, but a welcome does not automatically mean being able to receive the sacraments. Those who cannot receive the sacraments are still fully welcome to be in Church and take part.
2. The practice of the Church needs both to show care to the individual and uphold the sanctity of marriage. This can sometimes create difficult situations.