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Nikki
Brisbon
wrote:
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Hi, guys —
I have been married thirteen years. At
the time my spouse and I married, neither
one of us were Catholic nor religious, at
all. I was baptized and joined the Catholic
Church in April 2009, along with our two children.
- Is it possible for me and my husband
to divorce according to the Church's laws?
My husband is currently not a Christian and
shows no interest in being baptized.
Thanks in advance,
Nikki
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Given this situation and background, can
my husband and I divorce according to the Church's
laws? }
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Eric
replied:
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Nikki —
You can get divorced, if necessary,
to protect your or your children's
rights, but to get remarried you
will need to seek a declaration of
nullity (commonly called an annulment)
in order to remarry before your husband
dies. This establishes that, at the
point you were married, something
was defective that made the marriage
null and void. (What happens in a
marriage is irrelevant to an annulment;
what's important is what happens
before and especially at the point
of the wedding.)
I recommend this book for you:
Another cheaper, briefer resource
is
Annulments:
What You Need to Know by Jimmy
Akin
Eric
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Mary
Ann replied:
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Nikki,
The law allows you to divorce, which
is a civil matter, not a Church one,
as the Church does not recognize
divorce except as a civil remedy
to protect spousal and child rights
(if you and your husband separate).
There is another reality called the
Pauline Privilege, which applies
to a spouse who becomes Christian
when the other does not. If the non-Christian
spouse will not allow the Christian
to live in peace as a Christian,
St. Paul says the Christian is free
to leave the marriage and marry in
the Lord. (1 Corinthians 7:12-16)
Mary Ann
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