Why do Catholics believe that divorce is wrong?

Answer 1

The Catholic Church does allow for divorce under specific circumstances, so the common idea that Catholics “don’t believe in divorce" is wrong. Civil divorce is acceptable in some situations, but the marriage bond needs to be sustained.

The Vatican makes a distinction between civil law and moral law, and that’s important to keep in mind.

Here’s what the Vatican writes about divorce: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."

To put that another way, according to the Vatican, a marriage is permanent. While the institution notes that a civil divorce is acceptable if it is “the only possible way of ensuring certain legal rights, the care of the children, or the protection of inheritance,” the divorced parties are still expected to respect the marriage bond (so they can’t remarry, according to the church, or have relationships outside of their marriage relationship).

However, if one person sincerely tries to keep the marriage intact and their spouse abandons them, they have not sinned against the sacrament of marriage:

It can happen that one of the spouses is the innocent victim of a divorce decreed by civil law; this spouse therefore has not contravened the moral law. There is a considerable difference between a spouse who has sincerely tried to be faithful to the sacrament of marriage and is unjustly abandoned, and one who through his own grave fault destroys a canonically valid marriage.

A person who has been divorced—and who engages in a relationship outside of marriage—is unable to take communion.

The Catholic Church’s Latest Rulings on Divorce

Some high-level Catholic bishops want to change the rules on divorce, especially the rule that prevents divorced Catholics from taking communion. While the Vatican is unlikely to change their position on marriage as a permanent sacrament, they may relax the definition of an annulment (an annulment, unlike a divorce, declares that the union was never valid in the first place).

"There’s a lot of divorced Catholics out there, and have we let these sheep wander without reaching out to them?" Helen Alvaré, a law professor at George Mason University, told The New York Times. "Jesus wants us to look after all the sheep, no matter what."

A sizable percentage of American Catholics are divorced. While the divorce rate among Catholics is lower than the rate for the general population, about 28 percent of American Catholic adults who have ever been married have divorced. Many of these individuals seek annulments from their local priests, and many of those requests are granted.

If the Vatican revises the way that it considers annulments, more Catholics will be able to go through civil divorce and still take communion at their churches. While Pope Francis has brought up divorce as an important topic of discussion, we’ll have to wait to see what changes the church enacts.

Answer 2

Because The Bible says, "Let no man separate what God has joined together." Catholics believe that when two people marry, God joins them together; the Bible says that "the two become one flesh." Therefore, a marriage cannot be dissolved.

Answer 3

Catholics believe that once you have sex with someone (which you should only do after marriage) you become 'one flesh' with them, and this bond can never be broken. Whilst we may be able to legally end a marriage in a court, we do not have the power to break anything that god has joined together ('what got has brought together let no man separate'), therefore you cannot divorce in the eyes of the Catholic church just simply because its not possible to break that spiritual bond.

Answer 4

Although the ppl of the Old Testament were allowed to divorce under certain circumstances Jesus raised the level of marriage to sacrament. It raised its holiness and the commitment it requires. Divorce was no longer an option. Just as the old covenant was void, when Jesus came along, and animal sacrifices were no longer need after Jesus sacrificed Himself, marriage was changed. Jesus changed a whole heck of alot more than just the Jewish faith when He was here.

Answer 5

Well, quite contrary to your assertion, we do agree with remarriage - provided that it is within the confines of Church teachings. This would mean, that once a spouse dies one is free to marry again. We believe that marriage is lifetime commitment and Christ said, in Mathew 19: 1-12, that marriage is for a lifetime. So, who are we to contradict the Lord?

Please, see the link below for more information.

Answer 6

Jesus himself said that divorce was wrong. "Any man who divorces his wife and takes another, commits adultery."

Answer 7

It is seen as a sin.