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Good afternoon Father Angelo,

I am asking you this question because I am utterly confused about a situation that occurred: a couple got married in the church with the Catholic rite, and so far there is nothing unusual.

However, my interest was arisen because they both came from previous marriages which were also celebrated in the church with the Catholic rite. From those previous unions, they both had children.

Then it happened that they met, fell in love, cheated on their respective spouses (causing the latters suffering), Of course they left them, and then went to live together, even having other children…

Suddenly, a few years later, they remarried in the church. But is such a thing possible? Or is there some rule that I am not familiar with, apart from the conditions of nullity specified in canon law and that to me do not seem to concern this case?

Thanks in advance for your reply.

Best regards

Answer from the priest

Dear Son,

1. although the situation you described appears to border on the implausible, what occurred is not surprising.

Nor is there any reason to rend one’s garments over what the Church has done.

2. Certainly, the first marriage of those people was not validly celebrated, and for that reason they obtained a declaration of nullity from the ecclesiastical court.

It is not the birth of children that makes marriage indissoluble, although it cooperates considerably to that.

What makes marriage indissoluble is marital consent, in other words, the will to give oneself totally and endlessly to one another in good times and bad.

3. If the Church granted them a declaration of nullity of marriage, it is because a subsequent assessment found that marriage to be invalid.

For that reason it was declared null.

We do not know what the reasons were. But there certainly must have been. Let’s just think about the case where one of the two was not fully free or was completely immature and incapable of taking on the responsibilities of marriage.

4. Once the marriage had broken down, the two had other experiences. Or rather, cohabitations, from which new children were born.

In the meantime, one of the two, or even both, through different paths, converted and wished to live marriage and Christian life in a serious way.

Unable to confess and partake of Holy Communion, they rightfully wished to rectify their situation.

5. Since the first marriage was found to be null by an ecclesiastical court, they were not prohibited from celebrating a new one, because the first one was as if it had never existed.

The Church, after obtaining guarantees that their duties towards the children born in the first marriage or also towards the injured party would be fulfilled, and after also obtaining guarantees that they were ready to celebrate the new marriage in a responsible way, allowed the celebration of a new wedding.

6. As you can see, true marriage remains indissoluble for everyone.

The first marriage existed only in appearance, but not in substance.

Wishing you a true and holy marriage, I bless you, and I gladly remember you in prayer.

Father Angelo