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Dear Father Angelo,  

I send you my most cordial and Catholic greetings, in the faith of Christ.  

Fortunately, I have had the opportunity to follow you through various media and on social networks, and given the wisdom and trust you always show, I very humbly ask you to guide me on two points that I present to you, noting  that I was married in the Catholic Church and I am now married civilly.  

What I want to ask you is the following:  

1. Can a person who is civilly married be a minister of the word (do the readings)?  

2. Can a person who is civilly married be a minister of Communion?  

I thank you very much in advance for your guiding response.  

I send you my cordial greetings,  

Fidel Alberto

Response from the Priest

Dear Fidel Alberto,  

1. The Letter from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith dated September 14, 1994, signed by then Cardinal Ratzinger and approved by the Holy Father John Paul II, regarding the position of Christians divorced from a sacramental marriage and civilly remarried, remains fully valid.  

From what I understand, your situation is exactly this: you were first married in the Church through a sacramental marriage and then civilly remarried.  

This letter, while reminding that irregular spouses are not excommunicated but remain part of the Church and are called to live within it actively as much as their condition permits, writes in number 4: “Because of their objective situation, divorced and remarried faithful cannot be admitted to Holy Communion, nor can they present themselves to the Lord’s table on their own initiative.”  

Further, “the Church reaffirms her practice, which is based upon Sacred Scripture, of not admitting to Eucharistic Communion divorced persons who have remarried” (Familiaris consortio 84).  

2. From this statement, it logically follows that if a person cannot receive Holy Communion, they also cannot serve as an extraordinary minister of Communion.  

The same applies to reading in Church during the liturgical assembly, especially in the presence of the spouse and children who were unjustly abandoned and humiliated.  

3. Moreover, it would be a scandal to the faithful, who would be confused about the Gospel doctrine of the unity and indissolubility of marriage.  

We cannot forget that Jesus said, “what God has joined together, no human being must separate” (Mk 10:9) and ” Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” (Mk 10:11-12).  

No one can evidently change the teaching of the Lord.  

In fact, everyone is bound to start from the words of the Lord to resolve any issue.  

Both bishops and priests are ministers of Christ’s teaching.  

They cannot change it.  

4. The letter from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith adds: “Members of the faithful who live together as husband and wife with persons other than their legitimate spouses may not receive Holy Communion. Should they judge it possible to do so, pastors and confessors, given the gravity of the matter and the spiritual good of these persons(10) as well as the common good of the Church, have the serious duty to admonish them that such a judgment of conscience openly contradicts the Church’s teaching(11). Pastors in their teaching must also remind the faithful entrusted to their care of this doctrine.” (n. 6).  

5. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says the same thing: “The Church maintains, in fidelity to the word of Jesus Christ (‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.’ Mk 10:11-12), that a new union cannot be recognized as valid, if the first marriage was. If the divorced are remarried civilly, they find themselves in a situation that objectively contravenes God’s law. Consequently, they cannot receive Eucharistic communion as long as this situation persists. For the same reason, they cannot exercise certain ecclesial responsibilities. Reconciliation through the sacrament of Penance can be granted only to those who have repented for having violated the sign of the covenant and of fidelity to Christ, and who are committed to living in complete continence.” (CCC 1650).  

It also states that “the remarried spouse is then in a situation of public and permanent adultery”. (CCC 2384).  

6. If they can be confessed and receive Holy Communion when they live in complete continence, they may still receive these sacraments avoiding any scandal and confusion for the faithful.  

In other words, they can receive them privately.  

Alternatively, they may receive them publicly only where they are not known as divorced and remarried.  

7. The Pastoral Directory of the Italian Episcopal Conference writes: “The participation of remarried divorcees in the life of the Church remains conditioned by their incomplete membership in it. It is evident that they cannot perform in the ecclesial community those services that require a fullness of Christian witness, such as liturgical services, in particular that of lector, the ministry of catechist, the office of godparent for the sacraments.  

In the same perspective, their participation in pastoral councils is to be excluded, as members of such councils, sharing fully in the life of the Christian community, are in some way its representatives and delegates.  

There are no intrinsic reasons, however, to prevent a remarried divorcee from serving as a witness in the celebration of marriage: nevertheless, pastoral prudence would recommend avoiding this, due to the clear contrast between the indissoluble marriage they are witnessing to and the violation of that very indissolubility they personally live” (DPF 218).  

I wish you all the best, bless you, and remember you in prayer.  

Father Angelo