Dear Josephine:

Sin hurts. You chose to sin by not marrying in the Catholic Church, and worse to marry a divorced man who has no annulment (he is still married to his former wife). You have only yourself to blame. The Chuch is simply instructing you on the consequences of your freely chosen sin.

As to your question, "where is that in the bible?", I thought you were Catholic. Why, then, are you asking that question?  This is not a question a Catholic asks because such a question is unBiblical and an invention of the heretic Martin Luther. Scola Scriptura (the bible alone) is not taught in the Bible.This man-made notion is a heresy. In fact, the Bible tells us that not everything is written in the Bible (John 21:25) so the Bible cannot be the final authority on the faith.

Remember that the Church did not come from the Bible. The Bible came from the Church and was a portion, and only a portion, of the teaching of Jesus and the Church.

In addition, the Bible tells us that the Church, not the Bible, is the pillar and foundation of Truth (1 Timothy 3:15).

So why are you asking this question?

You say, "I believe in Jesus as my Lord and Saviour, isnt that the important issue?" Sorry, but that is not enough. St. James informs us, "You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder" (James 2:19). More than belief is needed. Jesus said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" (John 14:15).

One of Jesus' commandments (teachings) was that the Church, not the Bible, is to be the final authority. To establish this teaching he made St. Peter the first Pope. It is to the person who sits in the Chair of Peter, and the Bishops in union with him, that has the final authority on the faith. It is called the Magisterium. This Magisterium was created by Jesus.

Jesus declared that this Magisterium would have all authority and said:

(Matthew 16:18-19)  "And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." 

Thus, it is the Church, reaching back to the teachings of Christ and the Apostles in the First Century, who determines marital law.

Remember you are Catholic. Beware of heretical notions.

As to your delimma, if your husband had a previous marriage, it must be annuled or otherwise removed as an impediment determined by the Marriage Tribunal, depending on the circumstances.

The annulment process does not require that all the people involved be found. The Marriage Tribunal will seek to contact the ex-wife, but if the ex-wife cannot be found, or refuses to cooperate, then the Tribunal proceeds with the annulment process anyway, based on the submitted evidence given by your husband and affidavits submitted by others who were privy to the conditions of your husband's wedding.

Until your husband's previous marrige is annuled, you are living in sin, specifically, the sin of adultry since you husband is still married to someone else in the eyes of God. That, and marrying outside the Church, is why you cannot receive Communion—because you are living in a state of perpetual sin, that is, not in a State of Grace.

The marriage outside the Catholic Church is also a sin as it invalidates your marriage even if you husband received an annulment. Once the annulment is approved, this can be resolved since your marriage can be regularized by convalidation or sanation.

This is a sad and unfortunate situation. There are many people in this predicament because they chose to sin and marry whom they please without regard to God laws, and wherever they pleased in rebellion of the Church law.

We will pray that this mess will be resolved.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary