Divorce and remarriage

Prohibition of Divorce in Catholicism

It was Jesus who prohibited divorce. This is not something invented later by the Church. When men (males) invent a religion, they make sure that they can either keep a harem directly (like Mohammed and Joseph Smith) or else have the benefits of serial polygamy (taking one wife after another, as with the a multitude of stars and celebrities in American culture--the Playboys of the western world).

The Roman Catholic Church is one of the few Christian bodies in all the world to obey Jesus. As with the "hard teaching" about Jesus' real presence in the Eucharist (Jn 6), so with this hard teaching about the permanence of marriage: Bible Christians find a way to interpret what they read to suit their fancy.

Some Pharisees approached him, and tested him, saying, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?" He said in reply, "Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate." They said to him, "Then why did Moses command that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss (her)?" He said to them, "Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery." [His] disciples said to him, "If that is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry." He answered, "Not all can accept [this] word, but only those to whom that is granted. (Mt 19:3-11)

Civil and Sacramental Marriage

Both the Church and the State have marriage laws designed to protect spouses and children.

In the United States, religious ministers are also allowed to act on behalf of the state in a marriage ceremony. In a single ritual, the laws of both Church and state are satisfied and the relationship is recognized and upheld by both authorities.

The state allows divorce; the Roman Catholic Church does not. Obtaining a civil divorce does not break the spiritual marriage bond. The bond is created by God, not by humans, and human decisions in a civil court cannot divide what God has joined.

Links

• Peter F. Ryan, SJ, and Germain Grisez, "Indissoluble Marriage: A Reply to Kenneth Himes and James Coriden."