The Catholic Church was separated from government.
It's just Catholic, not Roman Catholic. Roman is an epithet first commonly used in England after the protestant revolt to describe the Catholic Church. It is never used by the official Catholic Church. The Orthodox Churches separated from the Catholic Church in the 11th century in the Schism of the East.
The movement which separated from the Catholic Church is known as 'the Protestant Reformation.' It was started by Martin Luther.
This is called a schism the most famous being the Great Schism.
The Protestant church separated from the Catholic church during the Renaissance.
Church of England
dumb question
The Orthodox Churches and the Catholic Church were once united. The Orthodox Churches separated from the Catholic Church over political and doctrinal differences.
King Henry VIII of England
King Henry VIII separated the English Church from the Catholic Church when the pope refused to grant King Henry a divorce. By forming a separate church, of which he was the head, he could grant himself a divorce.
Nothing can "split" the Catholic Church as it is divinely established and guarded. However, there have been two famous cases that tried: the Western Schism when there was a pope or antipope in Avignon and Rome; and the Eastern Schism when the Orthodox left the Catholic Church.
As long as the person remains separated and does not remarry, he/she is able to receive the sacraments. The Catholic Church does not recognize divorce.