What does the Church teach about marriage, divorce, and annulment?

Marriage. God created marriage as a lifelong, exclusive union of one man and one woman, ordered to the good of the spouses and to children (Gen 2:24; CCC 1601-1605). Christ raised it to a sacrament, so that the love of husband and wife images His love for the Church (Eph 5:31-32; CCC 1638-1642).

Divorce. "What God has joined together, no human being must separate" (Mt 19:6). A valid, consummated sacramental marriage cannot be dissolved by any power on earth (CCC 1640). Civil divorce may sometimes be necessary to protect spouses or children or to secure legal rights, and a divorced Catholic is not excommunicated and may receive Communion (CCC 1649, 2383). What is not possible is remarriage while the first spouse lives, because the first bond still exists. Divorced-and-remarried Catholics are in an objective situation that prevents Communion unless they live as brother and sister (Familiaris Consortio 84; CCC 1650).

Annulment. A declaration of nullity is not "Catholic divorce." It is a finding by a Church tribunal that a true marriage never came into existence because something essential was missing at the moment of consent: for example, one party did not intend permanence, fidelity, or children; was psychologically incapable of the obligations; was coerced; or lacked the required form (CCC 1629; Canon 1095-1107). Children of an annulled marriage are fully legitimate. The process is often free or low-cost, and Pope Francis simplified it in 2015.

Same-sex unions. Because marriage is by nature the union of a man and a woman ordered to children, the Church cannot recognize same-sex unions as marriages (CCC 2357-2359). She also insists that persons with same-sex attraction "must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity" and that every sign of unjust discrimination is to be avoided (CCC 2358).

If you are hurting. The Church has ministries for the separated and divorced. Talk to your pastor about your situation; many people who assume they can never remarry in the Church discover they can.