Friends of mine wish to marry in the Catholic Church, but the woman has had a former civil marriage, which subsequently ended in divorce. Can they still get married in the Catholic Church?
A. The answers to your questions depend on a number of factors, to which you have not provided the necessary information. However Ive covered the most important of these, and you will know, of course, which apply. 1. If one or both parties in the civil marriage were Catholic, and had not by a formal act defected from the Catholic faith, and were married outside the Catholic Church (without permission), that marriage would not be valid, as it did not conform to the requirements of Canon Law. So the woman would be free to marry, after a civil divorce, as she is not, and has not, been married. 2. If both parties were non-Catholic, and married outside the Catholic Church (they wouldn’t of course marry in a Catholic church anyway), their marriage is assumed to be valid. Marriage is said to have the favour of law that is, it is assumed valid until it is legally proved otherwise, therefore the woman would not be free to marry again, even if the marriage ended in a civil divorce; as she would
Related Questions
- Friends of mine wish to marry in the Catholic Church, but the woman has had a former civil marriage, which subsequently ended in divorce. Can they still get married in the Catholic Church?
- If a Catholic wishes to marry in a place outside the Catholic church, how can he or she be sure that the marriage is recognized by the Catholic Church as valid?
- Why does the Catholic Church teach that marriage can exist only between a man and a woman?
