"Catholics say divorce is forbidden, then grant annulments to couples married twenty years. Isn't that divorce with a different name?" It is a fair question, and it deserves a straight answer.
Short answer: No. A divorce claims to end a real marriage. A declaration of nullity (an "annulment") is the Church's judgment, after a tribunal examines the case, that a valid marriage "never existed" (CCC 1629), because something essential was missing when the vows were exchanged: free consent, the capacity to marry, or the required form. It does not make the children illegitimate.
Key verses on marriage and nullity
- "what God has joined together, no human being must separate" (Matthew 19:6)
- "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her" (Mark 10:11)
- "whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery" (Matthew 19:9)
- "It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife." (Mark 6:18)
- "Will you go with this man?" (Genesis 24:58)
Scripture quotations are from the New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE), © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
What Catholics Actually Teach
The Church cannot grant a divorce: "A marriage that is ratum et consummatum can be dissolved by no human power and by no cause, except death" (canon 1141; see CCC 2382). What it can do is ask whether a marriage came into being at all. "If consent is lacking there is no marriage" (CCC 1626). For that reason, "or for other reasons that render the marriage null and void," the Church, "after an examination of the situation by the competent ecclesiastical tribunal, can declare the nullity of a marriage, i.e., that the marriage never existed" (CCC 1629).
What makes a marriage valid? In brief (CCC 1625–1632):
- Consent. Each must make a free "human act by which the partners mutually give themselves to each other" (CCC 1627), "free of coercion or grave external fear" (CCC 1628). Someone who, "by a positive act of the will," excludes marriage's permanence or exclusivity "contracts invalidly" (canons 1056, 1101 §2).
- Capacity. The parties must be "free to contract marriage," that is, "not impeded by any natural or ecclesiastical law" (CCC 1625). A person already married "invalidly attempts marriage" (canon 1085 §1), as does one who lacks "the sufficient use of reason" (canon 1095).
- Form. Catholics are normally required to marry "according to the ecclesiastical form" (CCC 1631), before an authorized priest or deacon and two witnesses (canon 1108).
So the question is always the beginning: was a valid bond formed on the wedding day? Later failure, even infidelity or abandonment, does not by itself make a marriage null, though it can sometimes reveal a defect present from the start.
What Catholics do not teach:
- That nullity is presumed. Marriage "possesses the favor of law; therefore, in a case of doubt, the validity of a marriage must be upheld until the contrary is proven" (canon 1060).
- That divorced Catholics are cut off. Pastors must help them so "that they do not consider themselves separated from the Church" (CCC 1651).
The Biblical Case
1. Jesus closed the door on divorce
"So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate" (Matthew 19:6). "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery" (Mark 10:11–12; see Luke 16:18). St. Paul hands on the same command as the Lord's own: "A wife should not separate from her husband—and if she does separate she must either remain single or become reconciled to her husband—and a husband should not divorce his wife" (1 Corinthians 7:10–11). Only death ends the bond: "if her husband dies she is free from that law" (Romans 7:2–3). Because no one can undo what God has joined, the only honest question left is whether God joined this couple at all.
2. Scripture knows unions that are not marriages
St. John the Baptist told Herod, who had married his brother Philip's wife: "It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife" (Mark 6:17–18). Jesus told the Samaritan woman: "you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband" (John 4:18). St. Paul condemned "a man living with his father’s wife" (1 Corinthians 5:1), and the apostles told Gentile converts to abstain "from unlawful marriage" (Acts 15:29). In each case something looked like a marriage but was not one before God.
3. St. Matthew's "exception" is about nullity
The NABRE renders Jesus' words "whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery" (Matthew 19:9). Its note explains that the unlawfulness concerns "marriage between persons of certain blood and/or legal relationship (Lv 18:6–18). Marriages of that sort were regarded as incest (porneia)" (note on Matthew 5:31–32). Such a union "must be broken" precisely because it was never lawful. As the note concludes, "In this interpretation, the clause constitutes no exception to the absolute prohibition of divorce when the marriage is lawful." That is the logic of a declaration of nullity.
4. A marriage rests on a free "yes"
When Abraham's servant came for Rebekah, her family said, "Let us call the young woman and see what she herself has to say about it." They asked her, "Will you go with this man?" and she answered, "I will" (Genesis 24:57–58). Even then, her own "yes" mattered. If the "yes" at a wedding was forced or empty, there was no marriage to dissolve: "If this freedom is lacking the marriage is invalid" (CCC 1628).
5. The Church has authority to judge
Jesus told His disciples to bring a dispute to the community, "tell the church," and gave it power to bind and loose (Matthew 18:17–18). A tribunal does not change God's law; it judges facts under it. (See Is the Church the Pillar and Foundation of Truth?)
Objections Answered
(a) "It's divorce with a different name."
At its strongest: The outcome looks identical: the couple splits, and one or both may marry again in church. Many Protestants think it more honest to admit divorce in a few biblical cases, as the Westminster Confession does: "nothing but adultery, or such willful desertion as can no way be remedied by the church, or civil magistrate, is cause sufficient of dissolving the bond of marriage" (24.6). They point to Matthew 19:9 and to St. Paul: "The brother or sister is not bound in such cases" (1 Corinthians 7:15). At least Westminster names its exceptions instead of renaming them.
Answer: The difference is not the label but the claim. Westminster speaks of "dissolving the bond of marriage"; the Catholic Church says it has no power to dissolve a sacramental, consummated marriage (canon 1141), not for adultery and not for desertion. A declaration of nullity dissolves nothing; it finds that no bond was formed, the way a court that voids a contract signed under threat is not breaking a valid contract. As for 1 Corinthians 7:15, the Church does apply it, but to a marriage of two unbaptized persons, which is not a sacrament (canon 1143).
And the context shows that Matthew 19:9 does not mean "divorce is allowed for adultery." Jewish teachers of Jesus' day already permitted divorce for adultery, and some for far less. If that were all Jesus meant, His disciples would not have been stunned. Instead they said, "If that is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry" (Matthew 19:10). That reaction fits a teaching stricter than any school of the day. The Gospels of Mark and Luke record no exception at all (Mark 10:11–12; Luke 16:18), and St. Paul cites the Lord's command without one (1 Corinthians 7:10–11). The Catholic reading keeps all four texts in harmony; the Protestant reading makes Matthew 19:9 the one text that opens a door the other three keep shut.
(b) "Annulments are too common and too easy."
At its strongest: Critics, including many Catholics, say some tribunals grant declarations so readily that the process feels like a formality, and that broad grounds such as "a grave defect of discretion of judgment" (canon 1095) can be stretched to fit almost any unhappy marriage.
Answer: Where a tribunal is careless, the critic is right to object, and the Church's own law agrees with the critic's premise: a marriage is presumed valid until the contrary is proven (canon 1060). A tribunal that treated nullity as a formality would be failing the law, not applying it. But the grounds themselves are real: someone forced into marriage (canon 1103), someone already married (canon 1085), someone who excluded permanence or exclusivity from the start (canon 1101 §2). Misuse of a just law is a reason to apply it faithfully, not to abolish it.
(c) "We were married for years and had children. How can it 'never have existed'?"
At its strongest: To someone who lived a real family life, "never existed" sounds like a claim that the years, the love, and the children were fake.
Answer: It is no such claim. A declaration answers one narrow question: did the wedding create a valid bond? The history was real, and the children are legitimate (canon 1137). Even after a declaration, the parties are free to marry only "provided the natural obligations of a previous union are discharged" (CCC 1629), such as their duties to their children.
The Early Church Agrees
The Fathers did not use the modern canonical language of nullity. What they guarded fiercely is its foundation: a true marriage cannot be dissolved while both spouses live, so the only open question is whether a true bond exists.
- The Shepherd of Hermas (Rome, second century), on a husband whose wife persists in adultery: "The husband should put her away, and remain by himself. But if he put his wife away and marry another, he also commits adultery" (Commandment 4.1). Separation, yes; remarriage, no, even for adultery.
- Clement of Alexandria (Stromata, c. AD 200): "Now that the Scripture counsels marriage, and allows no release from the union, is expressly contained in the law," and "it regards as fornication, the marriage of those separated while the other is alive" (2.23).
- St. Basil the Great (Letter 199, canon 31): "A woman whose husband has gone away and disappeared, and who marries another, before she has evidence of his death, commits adultery." St. Basil demanded certainty that no prior bond remained, the same principle behind canon 1085 §2 (Letter 199).
- St. Augustine of Hippo (On the Good of Marriage, c. AD 401) explains why: "the compact of marriage is not done away by divorce intervening; so that they continue wedded persons one to another, even after separation" (sec. 7). The bond is "a matter of a certain sacrament," so "it is not made void even by separation itself" (sec. 6). A bond that divorce cannot touch is exactly why the Church can only ask whether the bond was ever made.
Conclusion
A declaration of nullity is not a loophole. It is the Church telling the truth about a marriage when Christ's words leave no room for divorce. That is harder than allowing divorce for adultery or desertion, but it is what Christ taught. (The Orthodox take another path; see Do the Orthodox Allow Divorce and Remarriage?)
If you are divorced, the Church does not see you as a problem to manage. A spouse can be "the innocent victim of a divorce decreed by civil law" (CCC 2386), and a tribunal's search for the truth can bring real peace. Talk to a priest.
Come home. The Catholic Church holds without exception to Christ's word that no human power can dissolve what God has joined. Christ did not found many churches. He founded one, on St. Peter and the apostles (Matthew 16:18), and that Church is the Catholic Church. "It is through Christ's Catholic Church alone, which is the universal help toward salvation, that the fullness of the means of salvation can be obtained" (CCC 816). If you are a baptized Christian, you already share "a certain, although imperfect, communion" with her (CCC 838). Every truth you already hold is a call to the rest of the way. Christ is calling you into the Catholic Church.
Your next step: Come to Mass this Sunday at your local Catholic church. You can find one near you at MassTimes.org. Everyone is welcome; if you're not yet Catholic, pray with us but don't receive Communion yet. When you're ready to become Catholic, call the parish office and ask about OCIA, the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults. They will walk you through every step. Read our guide: How Do I Become Catholic? Not ready yet? Get our free pocket guide below and keep learning.
FAQ
Are children of an annulled marriage illegitimate? No. Children of a valid or putative marriage are legitimate (canon 1137), and a marriage entered in good faith by at least one party is putative (canon 1061 §3).
Can a divorced Catholic receive Communion? Divorce by itself does not bar a Catholic from Communion; the usual conditions apply, including "Anyone conscious of a grave sin must receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before coming to communion" (CCC 1385). Catholics remarried civilly without a declaration of nullity "cannot receive Eucharistic communion as long as this situation persists" (CCC 1650). Ask your pastor about your situation.
Does the Church ever dissolve a marriage? Only in limited cases of marriages that were never consummated or never sacramental (canons 1142–1143). A sacramental, consummated marriage, never (canon 1141).
Sources
Scripture (NABRE, bible.usccb.org): Genesis 24:57–58; Matthew 5:31–32 and note; Matthew 16:18; Matthew 18:17–18; Matthew 19:6, 9–10; Mark 6:17–18; Mark 10:11–12; Luke 16:18; John 4:18; Acts 15:29; Romans 7:2–3; 1 Corinthians 5:1; 1 Corinthians 7:10–11, 15.
Catechism of the Catholic Church (vatican.va): 816, 838; 1385; 1625–1632; 1650–1651; 2382, 2386.
Code of Canon Law (vatican.va): cann. 1056, 1060, 1061, 1085, 1095, 1101, 1103, 1108, 1137, 1141–1143.
Protestant source: Westminster Confession of Faith 24.6 (Orthodox Presbyterian Church text).
Church Fathers (newadvent.org unless noted): Shepherd of Hermas, Book II, Commandment 4.1; Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 2.23 (ANF vol. 2, ccel.org); Basil the Great, Letter 199; Augustine, On the Good of Marriage 6–7 (NPNF1 vol. 3).