What Does the Catholic Church Teach About Divorce and Remarriage?
"Why does the Catholic Church not allow divorce and remarriage, and what exactly is an annulment?"
The Short Answer
The Catholic Church's teaching on the indissolubility of marriage is often misunderstood. The Church holds that a valid, consummated sacramental marriage cannot be dissolved by any human power, though annulments recognize that some apparent marriages were never valid from the beginning.
Quick Overview
Jesus taught that marriage is permanent: 'What God has joined together, let no man put asunder.' When someone divorces and remarries, Jesus called this adultery (Mark 10:11-12). The Catholic Church takes Jesus at His word and teaches that a valid marriage cannot be ended by divorce—only death dissolves the bond. So what's an annulment? An annulment is NOT Catholic divorce. It's a careful investigation that sometimes discovers a 'marriage' was never valid in the first place—maybe one person was forced into it, or lied about wanting children, or wasn't mature enough to truly consent. In these cases, there never was a real marriage, so the person is free to marry. This isn't changing the rules; it's recognizing that the marriage requirements weren't met from the start. The Church knows this teaching is hard, especially for those in painful situations, but she believes she must be faithful to what Christ taught.
Biblical Evidence
What the Scriptures say
"Therefore now they are not two, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder... Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and he that shall marry her that is put away, committeth adultery."
Why This Matters
Christ's teaching is absolute: remarriage after divorce constitutes adultery. The 'except for fornication' (Greek: porneia) clause has been understood by the Church to refer to invalid unions (incestuous marriages forbidden in Leviticus 18), not as permission to divorce and remarry after adultery.
"And he saith to them: Whosoever shall put away his wife and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if the wife shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery."
Why This Matters
Mark's account has no exception clause at all, presenting Christ's teaching in its most absolute form: divorce and remarriage equals adultery, period.
"Every one that putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and he that marrieth her that is put away from her husband, committeth adultery."
Why This Matters
Luke also presents the teaching without exception: anyone who divorces and remarries commits adultery, and so does anyone who marries a divorced person.
"For the woman that hath an husband, whilst her husband liveth is bound to the law. But if her husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. Therefore, whilst her husband liveth, she shall be called an adulteress, if she be with another man."
Why This Matters
St. Paul affirms that marriage binds spouses until death. A woman who is with another man while her husband lives 'shall be called an adulteress'—no provision for remarriage after divorce.
"But to them that are married, not I but the Lord commandeth, that the wife depart not from her husband. And if she depart, that she remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband. And let not the husband put away his wife."
Why This Matters
Paul explicitly states this is the Lord's command, not merely his opinion. If a wife separates, she must 'remain unmarried or be reconciled'—no third option of remarriage to another is offered.
What the Church Teaches
Official Catholic doctrine
The Catechism teaches: 'The Lord Jesus insisted on the original intention of the Creator who willed that marriage be indissoluble. He abrogates the accommodations that had slipped into the old Law. Between the baptized, a ratified and consummated marriage cannot be dissolved by any human power or for any reason other than death' (CCC 2382). The Church does not grant divorces but can issue declarations of nullity (annulments) when an investigation determines that a marriage was never valid from the beginning due to defects such as: lack of free consent (coercion), incapacity to consent (immaturity, addiction, psychological disorders), intention against essential properties of marriage (permanence, fidelity, openness to children), or defect of form (not following canonical requirements). An annulment is not 'Catholic divorce'—it's a declaration that what appeared to be a marriage never was one sacramentally. The Church permits civil divorce in cases where separation is necessary (abuse, abandonment), but divorced Catholics may not remarry while their spouse lives.
Common Objections
Questions answered
Early Church Fathers
What the first Christians believed
St. Augustine of Hippo
c. 419 AD
"A woman begins to be the wife of no later husband unless she has ceased to be the wife of a former one. She will cease to be the wife of a former one, however, if that husband should die, not if he commit fornication. A spouse, therefore, is lawfully dismissed for cause of fornication; but the bond of chastity remains. That is why a man is guilty of adultery if he marries a woman who has been dismissed even for this very reason of fornication."
— Adulterous Marriages, Book 2, Chapter 4
Origen of Alexandria
c. 245 AD
"Contrary to the law established from the beginning and the written word, some leaders of the Church have permitted a woman to marry while her husband was yet alive... Yet not entirely without reason, for they permitted this in order to avoid greater evils, although contrary to what was originally established and written."
— Commentary on Matthew, 14:23
Council of Elvira
c. 305 AD
"Likewise, a woman of the faithful who has left an adulterous husband and marries another who is faithful is to be prohibited from marrying. If she has married, she shall not receive communion until he whom she left has departed this world, unless perhaps necessity should compel her to give it to her."
— Canon 9
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