Uncle divorced and remarried

StMartinTours · #1 Mar 30, '12, 1:43 pm

I thought I posted this a couple of hours ago, but it does not appear so here it goes again. My uncle became divorced from his first wife (they were married in the Catholic Church, to the best of my knowledge), and remarried a couple of years ago. He and his second wife no longer live together, as she has an itinerant life as a nurse (she travels constantly) and they have not been able to work out a suitable living situation. Now my uncle lives with my parents, temporarily (although he has been living there for a year and a half now).

What is my uncle's moral status, and what does he have to do to get back in the good graces of God and the church and receive the sacraments again? He has made some poor choices in his day, and I am concerned for his soul.

mamaslo · #2 Mar 30, '12, 2:43 pm

Is HE interested in making this right or is it you that wants him to? If HE is interested then he needs to talk to his pastor at his parish. There are variables that need to be looked at and a lot of IF, Then statements need to be answered...there are ways to make this right.

joanofarc2008 · #3 Mar 30, '12, 3:56 pm

Do you know for sure that there was no decree of nullity...Just wondering as sometimes these thing are just not discussed.

StMartinTours · #4 Apr 1, '12, 2:12 pm

He has made a statement to me to the effect that he wants to get back to being a practicing Catholic again. I don't know what specifically he wants to do about his marriage, but I sense that he probably knows that it was a mistake and is not working out. I don't think any nullity was found or declared in his first marriage (assuming that you mean, was his first marriage annulled).

Kathryn Ann · #5 Apr 1, '12, 2:28 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by StMartinTours

I thought I posted this a couple of hours ago, but it does not appear so here it goes again. My uncle became divorced from his first wife (they were married in the Catholic Church, to the best of my knowledge), and remarried a couple of years ago. He and his second wife no longer live together, as she has an itinerant life as a nurse (she travels constantly) and they have not been able to work out a suitable living situation. Now my uncle lives with my parents, temporarily (although he has been living there for a year and a half now).

What is my uncle's moral status, and what does he have to do to get back in the good graces of God and the church and receive the sacraments again? He has made some poor choices in his day, and I am concerned for his soul.

Hi, StMartinTours,

Do you happen to know if his first Catholic marriage was annulled by the Church? If not, I believe he would still be married to his first wife in the eyes of the Church, (while she is living,) and the second "marriage" would not have been valid. But yes, I hope that he will feel the desire to speak to a priest, and in the meantime, I'm sure he would appreciate your loving concern for him and everyone involved.

Sometimes just being a gentle presence will be of great help. Could you encourage him to talk to a priest? Our Holy Church has laws that are based on Our Father's love and mercy, laws that are for our good. I will pray for your uncle and all your family. God is great, and I hope your uncle will feel welcome enough to inquire with a local priest to find the answers.

Many blessings,
Kathryn Ann