How do current Catholic Church rules (Canon Law and Catechism) address divorced and remarried Catholics receiving Communion?
Executive summary
Current Catholic teaching, reflected in Canon Law and the Catechism, distinguishes between being divorced and being divorced-and-remarried: a person whose legal divorce has ended a civil marriage but who has not remarried remains eligible to receive Communion, while a Catholic who has entered a new conjugal union without a Church annulment is ordinarily barred from Eucharistic reception because that new union is treated as objectively adulterous [1][2][3]. Recent papal and episcopal guidance has urged pastoral sensitivity and some local flexibility, but that shift has sparked high-level doctrinal disputes about consistency and sacramental discipline [4][5].
1. Canonical and catechetical baseline: what the law says in plain terms
The Catechism and canonical tradition frame Communion as reception by one “in the state of grace,” and therefore the starting point for any discussion is whether someone’s situation involves ongoing grave sin; the Catechism explicitly prohibits reception by those not in that state [3]. Canonical practice treats a valid marriage as indissoluble, so a civil divorce alone does not free a person from the Church’s understanding of marital bond; thus divorce per se does not automatically exclude a Catholic from the sacraments, but subsequent public, conjugal remarriage without an annulment creates an objective impediment to receiving the Eucharist [1][6].
2. Divorced but not remarried: eligible for Communion
A Catholic who is divorced but remains single — or who has separated but not entered a new conjugal relationship — may receive Communion if otherwise properly disposed, because the Church does not equate civil divorce alone with an unforgivable state or formal exclusion from sacramental life [1][7]. Pastoral writers and diocesan guidance reiterate that divorce can be non-sinful depending on circumstances and that returning Catholics who are divorced often are encouraged to seek pastoral counsel rather than be presumed disqualified [2][8].
3. Divorced and remarried without an annulment: the ordinary prohibition and its qualified exceptions
If a Catholic civilly remarries while the first marriage is judged valid by the Church, that second union is treated as an ongoing public situation of adultery that “objectively contravenes God’s law,” and therefore the person “cannot receive Eucharistic communion as long as this situation persists,” according to multiple magisterial and catechetical commentaries cited by Church commentators [2][8][7]. Canonical pathways back to sacramental life include obtaining a declaration of nullity for the first marriage, living apart from the second partner, or — in narrowly defined and morally credible cases — living “as brother and sister” (abstinence) so that scandal and objective sin are avoided [7][8][9].
4. Pastoral nuance, Pope Francis’ interventions, and the intra‑Church conflict
Pope Francis’ Amoris Laetitia and subsequent comments encouraged greater pastoral discernment toward “imperfect” situations and raised the possibility of case-by-case judgments — an approach picked up by some local bishops and commentators as permitting restrained access in exceptional cases via the “internal forum” or discernment processes [4]. That opening has produced sharp debate: critics including Cardinal Müller and other doctrinal conservatives argue such practices risk doctrinal rupture and inconsistent Eucharistic discipline, while proponents highlight mercy and individualized pastoral care; the disagreement has left the question unsettled at the level of universal canonical change [5][4].
5. What this means in everyday parish life and the limits of reporting
Practically, parish priests and diocesan tribunals remain the front line: divorced Catholics should consult their pastor about annulment processes, possibilities for penance and reconciliation, and whether a pathway (separation, abstinence, or declaration of nullity) exists to restore sacramental access — but local bishops’ guidelines can vary and no universal canonical revision eliminating the ordinary prohibition has been promulgated [10][9][7]. Reporting and commentary sometimes conflate pastoral encouragement with doctrinal change; the sources examined show increased pastoral sensitivity but not a single, definitive alteration of the Catechism’s or Canon Law’s baseline requirements [4][5].