Can a Catholic Actually Get a Divorce? Here's the Truth, According to Church Teaching

Jacqueline Burkepile

Ryan Scheel explains, “A lot of people think of an annulment as a ‘Catholic divorce.’ That is not at all what an annulment is. There is no divorce in the Catholic Church.

“You cannot get divorced because we go by Jesus’ words in Matt. 5. He said, ‘But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife unless the marriage is unlawful causes her to commit adultery, and whoever is a divorced woman commits adultery.’ There is no divorce.

“He says that in the Old Covenant, men divorced their wives. And he says, ‘Moses allowed you to do this out of the hardness of your hearts, but He (Jesus), in His authority, abrogates those concessions towards the hardness of people. In the New Covenant, those are not valid anymore–commanded by Jesus. No Catholic person can legitimately get a divorce.”

Listen to the full episode below:

The guys also cover these questions:

• What does the Bible actually say about divorce
• Can a Catholic actually get a divorce?
• What is the difference between divorces & annulments?
• Can divorced Catholics receive Holy Communion?
• What reasons allows a person to get an annulment?
What impact is divorce having on society and the Church?