Offenses Against the Dignity of Marriage
The Catechism names specific sins against marriage — adultery, divorce, polygamy, incest, and cohabitation — explaining why each wounds the covenant.
CCC 2380–2391
Key Points
The central teachings from this section of the Catechism.
Adultery refers to marital infidelity. When two partners, of whom at least one is married, have sexual relations they injure the sign of the covenant which the marriage bond is, violate the rights of the other spouse, and undermine the institution of marriage.
Jesus taught that what God has joined, no one must separate. Divorce claims to break the contract freely consented to by the spouses. The Church recognizes that civil divorce may be tolerated in certain situations for the protection of legal rights, but remarriage while the first spouse lives contradicts God's plan.
Polygamy is contrary to the equal personal dignity of men and women who give themselves in marriage with a love that is total and therefore unique and exclusive. A person who previously lived in polygamy has a serious duty to honor obligations contracted toward former wives and children.
When a man and a woman refuse to give juridical and public form to their union, they cannot ensure the mutual sincerity and fidelity that marriage demands. Trial marriages cannot establish a stable, publicly recognized commitment, and sexual intimacy belongs properly within the covenant of marriage.
From the Catechism
"Adultery is an injustice. He who commits adultery fails in his commitment. He does injury to the sign of the covenant which the marriage bond is, transgresses the rights of the other spouse, and undermines the institution of marriage by breaking the contract on which it is based."
— CCC 2381
"The Lord Jesus insisted on the original intention of the Creator who willed that marriage be indissoluble. He abrogates the accommodations that had slipped into the old Law."
— CCC 2382, cf. Mark 10:9
"There are some situations in which living together becomes practically impossible for a variety of reasons. In such cases the Church permits the physical separation of the couple. . . . Reconciliation, however, remains the desired goal."
— CCC 2383
Scripture
"But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate."
"The Lord was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. . . . So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of his youth."
"Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous."
Common Questions
No. The Church recognizes that many divorced persons are not at fault, especially those who were abandoned or who had to separate for serious reasons like abuse. Divorced Catholics remain full members of the Church. What the Church teaches is that a valid sacramental marriage cannot be dissolved, and that remarriage without an annulment is not in accord with God's plan.
Civil divorce is a legal proceeding that ends a civil marriage contract. An annulment (declaration of nullity) is a finding by a Church tribunal that a valid sacramental marriage never existed due to a defect in consent, form, or capacity at the time of the wedding. The Church may tolerate civil divorce for legal protection, but only an annulment addresses the sacramental bond.
The Church teaches that sexual intimacy is designed for the covenant of marriage, where it expresses total, faithful, and fruitful self-giving. Cohabitation lacks the public, permanent commitment that gives that intimacy its full meaning. The Church invites couples to discover the beauty of marriage as God intended it, not out of judgment, but out of love for their deepest good.
You have completed the full Catechism on Marriage series. The Church's teaching on these offenses flows from her love for the beauty and dignity of married life. If you or someone you know is in a difficult marriage situation, the Church offers paths of healing, mercy, and hope.