Yes.
In the Catholic Church, we are guided by scripture and tradition, but we're also guided by law. Just as there civil laws and our city, our county, our state, our country, there's even international laws. We also have laws. And the church, there's the Code of Canon Law 1752 of them.
And that governs the administrative function of the church, but also the sacramental life of the church.
And when it comes to marriage, it states that a Catholic should be married to a Catholic in the Catholic Church. If we're going to vary that in any way. We asked for the bishop's permission. That's called a dispensation. If someone marries outside of the church, that's called a lack of canonical form.
And someone could bring to their pastor a marriage license and divorce papers, and we would submit that paperwork along with a baptismal certificate, and that person would be declared free to marry in the Catholic Church.
However, if that person decides to marry someone else, if they've been married before, whether they're Catholic or not, we might have to have an annulment discussion.
Maybe we'll save that story for another day.
But suffice it to say, the church has an enrollment process to protect the sanctity of marriage. Because Jesus said in Mark chapter ten verse nine, where God has joined together, no human being may separate.
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