[Jim Noble]

This is the status quo, except that now, “asking to be admitted” involves a process that costs money, usually requires lying, and does not entail one bit of examination of conscience.

The rotten state of American annulment practice could not continue. Going back to refusing the vast majority of annulments was unthinkable to the bishops.

So, they will cut out the lawyers and the judges, with the same results.

Big deal.

[Mrs. Don-o]

This seems rather stupid. Civil divorce per se is not considered a sin in many cases, such as when it is necessary to secure the rights of dependent spouses or children who would otherwise be defrauded of support, or where one spouse tried to save the marriage, but the divorce was imposed on them by the other spouse. These divorced spouses are admitted to the Sacraments now, have never been barred from them as far as I know.

As for the "non-innocent" party --- e.g. the marriage-sabotaging petitioner in a contested civil divorce --- repentance and sacramental Confession can remedy that, as any other serious sin is remedied. Repentance and Confession are always required, in cases of serious sin, prior to Communion.

[HamiltonJay]

No divorced Catholic has been denied a Eucharist to my knowledge in my lifetime, at least not in the US.

You are asked to refrain, and if you are willing to go through the annulment process, you are back in good standing.

Now, don’t ask me what that involves, but I can tell you this, my grandfather somehow got a formal annulment from the church for his marriage to my grandmother, a marriage that lasted over 25 years, they divorced, remarried each other again a few years later, and divorced again after 5 or so more years. This relationship produced 4 children... etc etc etc.. yet somehow he went through the process of getting a formal annulment many years after he and my grandmother divorced the second time.

I have no idea what the process involved, but understand, an anullment states the church views the marriage as if it never happened, and was illegitimate. This devastated my grandmother, and frankly shows me the whole argument about divorced catholic to be a bit of joke. These two were married to each other twice, over the course of more than 30 years, had 4 children together that they raised to adulthood.... but the Church somehow said, poof, that wasn’t a marriage? It didn’t happen?

This whole topic is nonsense to me, can argue the formal doctrine of the church all you want, but the reality is its a joke. I don’t say this to put divorce lightly, but the church has bigger issues to deal with than divorced Catholics.... say, for instance the gay mafia running rampant within its halls.