[Question]{.underline}: Is it permissible for a divorced person to perform public functions within the Catholic community?
[Answer]{.underline}: Membership within the Catholic Church is a privilege that brings with it certain obligations, notably that of remaining faithful to one’s baptismal vows. A person who remains in deliberate mortal sin is unfaithful to these vows, and consequently cannot receive without sacrilege any of the sacraments of the living before a good confession.
However, there are many divorced persons who are practicing Catholics. They may or may not have been partly responsible for the breakdown of the marriage. But this is in the past. It is not a sin for them to be now in a divorced statae, and they are now determined not to remarry and to live a chaste life, observing the commandments of God and the precepts of the Church. Such persons are frequently not in the slightest bit scandalous, but to the contrary edifying in their fidelity at carrying a very heavy cross. The fact of their divorce is not in itself a scandal, for it is not a sin. They must, however, be now willing to do anything in their power to return to a common dwelling, if truly it is prudent and reasonable to do so. The Church does not deprive them of any of their rights in participating in parish life, sacramental or otherwise.
The Church makes a distinction between the public sinner, and the Catholic whose sins are private or hidden. In the latter case, there is no scandal involved in him performing a public function in the church, such as singing in the choir, serving on the altar, leading the Rosary, arranging fundraisers and sports events, since the faithful are not aware of his inaptitude for such functions. Furthermore, the Church will not even refuse the sacraments, although the priest may know that they are being received sacrilegiously. It is not even strictly forbidden by Canon Law for such a person to be a Sponsor in Baptism or Confirmation, the state of grace not being listed under the conditions for licit sponsorship (Canons 766 and 796 of the 1917 Code). The reason for this is that the Church does not judge outwardly over the inward state of the soul, except in Confession, and that it will do everything in its power to preserve a person’s reputation, although lost by his own fault. Nevertheless, it can be seen how eminently inappropriate it is for one in mortal sin to be a sponsor, or greatly desirable that he should first go to Confession, for it is the function of sponsors at Baptism “to take care that he (the baptized person) leads a truly Christian life, as in the solemn ceremony they (the sponsors) pledged that he would do” (Canon 769) and for the sponsor at Confirmation “to take care for his Christian education” (Canon 797). Consequently, the unrepentant mortal sinner, although not forbidden by Church law, is living a lie if he takes such a public role. Likewise, it is not forbidden for a person in private mortal sin to stand as a proxy for a sponsor, but also quite inappropriate.
However, divorce and remarriage are a public fact, and the Church does judge concerning such matters, for the unrepentant sinner who has divorced and remarried is a public sinner. A person who deliberately remains in a public sin, known to the community, and makes no effort to amend his life, drags others into sin by his bad example, and is thus a cause of scandal. He has destroyed his own reputation. The Church refuses the sacraments of the living (without previous Confession) to such persons, such as Holy Communion, until such time as they have made reparation for the public scandal that they have caused (Canon 855, 1917 Code). The Church says the same for the sacrament of Confirmation (Canon 786 excludes all those in mortal sin) and also for the sacrament of Extreme Unction (Canon 942). Such persons, whose crime is publicly known, are excluded from licitly performing the functions of sponsor at Baptism and Confirmation.
The question of the divorced and remarried person can now be understood. The divorced person who has remarried outside the Church is a public sinner. Consequently, he must be refused the sacraments, and, if he does not repent, Christian burial. He cannot be a sponsor at Baptism or Confirmation, and it would be most inappropriate for him to be a substitute for the sponsor as a proxy, for this would give equally bad scandal. It would also be inappropriate for the Church to use his services for spiritual functions, such as leading the Rosary and serving on the altar, on account of the scandal of hypocrisy that his examples gives.
However, some priests feel that excluding such persons from non-spiritual functions would cause more harm than good, provided that they are not directly involved with the spiritual life of the parish, such as organizing fundraisers, sports activities and the like. Making them welcome in this way can, in fact, encourage them to return to the practice of the Faith. Some priests might even extend this privilege to singing in the choir and playing the organ, although these really are acts of participation in the liturgy. However, if this were ever allowed, it would have to be regarded as a very exceptional and temporary circumstance, possible only on account of the sincerity and good intentions of the divorced person. This could be the case if a divorced person were living with his unlawful partner as brother and sister, and had obtained permission to do so, for some grave reason (such as the raising of their children), provided that all scandal is avoided.
Answered by Father Peter Scott, SSPX.