I’m divorced and remarried. Can I come back to the Church?

As most couples know, living out your vocation as a married person is not always easy. But take heart. Even if your personal marital situation is difficult, even if you have experienced the pain of a divorce or if you have been remarried and you want to know if you can still come home to the Catholic Church, no matter what the problems are, the Catholic Church wants to welcome you with open arms. The many helpful resources provided by the Church will enable you to fix problems in your current or past marriage and find the true peace and happiness that come from the ability to forgive past hurts.

So yes, you can definitely come home to the Catholic Church, but you may need to do some repair work along the way.

Continue reading more about the Church's teaching on divorce and remarriage and how, if you are divorced and remarried, you can begin the process of healing your relationship with God and the Church:

The Church recognizes marriage as a permanent and faithful union of a man and a woman for their mutual interpersonal growth, and for the procreation and education of children.

When a couple is married in the Church, they must each fully intend to keep and fulfill the needs of the marriage for it to be valid. If, at any point in the marriage, those intentions are found to have been nonexistent or have been challenged by one of the spouses, the other spouse may request that the validity of the marriage be examined. This procedure is what the Annulment process is all about. It’s not scary…It’s about healing, and the Church is here to help in that healing process.

After looking through the information we have provided here, the easiest way to find out more is to contact your local parish and speak to the person who handles marriage annulments.

Another helpful resource providing answers and insight for divorced Catholics is www.divorcedcatholic.com.