In response to the dilemma facing divorced Catholics, the Church, in recent years, has made sweeping changes in the Cannon Law governing Annulment and the Catholic Church. The annulment of the marriage of a Kennedy brought the issue of annulment of a marriage by the Catholic Church to the forefront. Kennedy's annulment, widely reported by the media, alerted and educated the general Catholic public to the changes in Cannon Law as it is applied to annulments. An Annulment is a declaration by the Church Tribunal under Cannon Law, that the marriage never legally existed as a sacramental union in the 'eyes' of the Church. Divorce is a civil suit dissolving a marriage.
Annulment is a declaration that the marriage never existed.
The Church does not recognize the civil dissolution of a marriage. In the eyes of the Church, you are still married to your 1st spouse even after you have been granted a civil divorce by a judge. Catholics are not automatically excommunicated for getting a divorce. In May 1977, the Catholic bishops in the United States removed the automatic penalty of excommunication from those Catholics that divorce and remarry. Divorced Catholics are permitted to attend Mass and participate in Church life.