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I was Catholic onceStep 6 of 7

“Is my situation fixable?”

Married outside the Church. Divorced. Something worse. Read this first.

Start here

Watch this first

What Is an Annulment? (Aquinas 101) · The Thomistic Institute (Dominican friars)

Give it 8 minutes, then come back and we’ll walk through it together.

Video: What Is an Annulment? (Aquinas 101), The Thomistic Institute, published Nov 3, 2025. Checked 10 October 2026. Loads from YouTube (privacy-enhanced mode) only when you press play. Watch on YouTube

There is no sin the Church cannot forgive for someone who truly repents.1 Divorced and remarried Catholics still belong and should keep coming to Mass, and many situations have a path; a priest can walk you through yours.2

Watch first Or start reading1 min read
Rembrandt, Head of Christ

Rembrandt, 1645. Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.

Journeys / I was Catholic once / Step 6 of 7

On this page

Quick answers to related questions

Keep reading

All 7 steps in I was Catholic once You’re on step 6
  1. 1. You are welcome back
  2. 2. What may have changed since you left
  3. 3. Hard questions and hurts, honestly
  4. 4. How confession works now
  5. 5. Back to Mass
  6. 6. “Is my situation fixable?”
  7. 7. A simple habit of prayer

A conversation you’ve been avoiding

A woman everyone called a sinner falls at Jesus’ feet. He says: your sins are forgiven.3

There is no sin so serious that the Church can’t forgive it, for anyone who truly repents.1

Start there. Then the details.

01Marriage

Married outside the Church, or divorced

Church teaching

Read the full answers: What is an annulment? · Can Catholics get divorced? · Can Catholics marry non-Catholics? · What about our wedding?

If you married outside the Church, a priest can often help you have the marriage recognized. Ask about it.

Divorced? You’re still part of the Church. If you’ve remarried without an annulment, the Church asks you not to receive Communion for now, but you belong, and you should keep coming to Mass.42

An annulment is the Church’s finding that a valid marriage never existed from the start.5

And if it’s something heavier?

02Heavier things

Abortion, and other heavy things

Church teaching

The Church calls abortion gravely wrong, and it also forgives it.6 Certain very grave sins carry the penalty of excommunication, which the bishop, or priests he authorizes, can lift in confession.7

Go to confession and say it plainly. Priests hear this. You will not shock them.

So what do you do with all this?

03The step

Talk to a priest, privately

Book a private appointment rather than squeezing it into Saturday confession. Say: “I’ve been away and I want to know what my path back is.”

Every priest is bound to absolute secrecy about what you confess.8

Next: a simple habit of prayer.

Your move

Try this, this week

  1. Read Luke 7:36-50.
  2. Call the parish office and ask for a private appointment with a priest.
  3. Write down what you want to ask so you don’t lose your nerve.

You’ll need

  • The parish office number.
  • Thirty minutes for a private conversation.

Remember Most of the time, there’s a path.

If this is hard

Every situation is different, and this page can’t settle yours. A priest can. Please don’t let a guess keep you away.

How to talk to a priest

Only one thing to do

Your one next step

Call the parish and ask for a private appointment with a priest.

Find a parish near you

Step 6 of 7 · I was Catholic once

Next: a simple habit of prayer.

Step 7: A simple habit of prayer
Back to all steps

Take it with you

Printable one-page cardDownload card (A4 PDF)Download card (US Letter PDF)

Short link: stoneandincense.com/go/ch6

Your real next step

This page can’t give you the sacraments. A parish can.

We’re just pointing. People walk with you. Find a Catholic parish near you, go to a Mass, or just ask a priest for ten minutes. You don’t need to have it figured out.

Take the next step What to say when you call

Notes

How we know · 8 sources for this page
  1. Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 982. vatican.va
  2. Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1651. vatican.va
  3. Luke 7:48, World English Bible. read the chapter
  4. Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1650. vatican.va
  5. Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1629. vatican.va
  6. Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2272. vatican.va
  7. Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1463. vatican.va
  8. Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1467. vatican.va

Excerpts from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America Copyright © 1994, United States Catholic Conference, Inc. – Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with Permission. English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: Modifications from the Editio Typica copyright © 1997, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops – Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Scripture: World English Bible, Catholic edition (public domain), modern verse numbers; Douay-Rheims numbers in brackets where they differ. Early Christian writers: Ante-Nicene Fathers (1885, public domain). Video: “What Is an Annulment? (Aquinas 101),” The Thomistic Institute, supporting material, not a teaching source.

Scenes marked “Imagine” are an invitation to picture the moment, not a historical record. Stone & Incense restates Church teaching in plain words; our wording is not an official Church text. Report an errorCorrections.