No, the two words have radically different meanings.

Let’s start with the second one. A divorce is the granting, by the state, of a requested ending to a marriage which had previously been granted by the state. In decades past, one had to prove just cause to be granted a divorce, and (so?) there were far fewer divorces granted then than there are now.

But marriage is a lifelong commitment. And we human beings, created in the image of God, are capable of making and remaining faithful to lifelong commitments. God knows this about us -- and He expects it of us. Indeed, it states in the Old Testament, “ . . . I hate divorce,” says the Lord.” {Malachi 2:16} And Jesus Himself, when asked about divorce, says, “ . . . what God has joined together, no human being must separate.” {Matthew 19:6}

So the Church cannot acknowledge marital divorces, because they are a contradiction in terms. “Marital” means together forever. “Divorce” means divide. One cannot divide something that is together forever.

On the other hand, an annulment (from the Latin for “of nothingness”), is a finding by the Church that, in a particular case, a valid marriage never took place. And since a valid marriage never took place, there was no together forever, and therefore nothing to be divided. (Reasons include coercion, false pretenses, etc.). So the Church isn’t splitting a marriage ; she’s stating that there isn’t a marriage to split. And that, in short, is the crucial difference.

Important note: The Church absolutely recognizes the sad fact that there are situations where a (hopefully temporary) separation (different than a divorce or an annulment) is the best thing, such as in cases of abuse and the like, where safety is the priority.

© Credo Veritas 8-31-21