Annulment- Moral Certitude

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Irish1968

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Today we received a letter from the Archdiocese of Galveston Houston (after 18+ months of non communicative review) stating that the annulment paperwork has been submitted to a “counseling service” to assist the tribunal to “arrive at a just decision with full moral certitude”.

I have searched and searched to find reference to the action taken by the archdiocese and I am unable to find any reference to the canonical allowance of such action and no one can tell me what it means.

The process itself is arduous and unforgiving, and now this- what is this, and on what grounds would they solicit external “expert witness”?

Please help me.
 
If we have submitted our witnesses and our testimony (80 pages worth) (the ex wife declined to partcipate) then how can soliciting an expert witness to submit additional documentation be exactly fair to us?
 
I suggest you contact your advocate for information on what this means vis-a-vis your case.
 
We did immediately and she replied she had never heard of this type of action. I was hoping someone else on here had experienced something similar. I guess we are guinea pigs!! So frustrating. Thank you for your feedback though. I guess we will wait and see
 
This will be a test of your patience. My wife’s annulment from her first marriage took just over three years. Hang in there, I will be praying for you.
 
Irish1968 said:
We did immediately and she replied she had never heard of this type of action.
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That’s odd. Is there someone at the tribunal itself that you can talk to? If not, perhaps ask your advocate to find out for you.

Dan
 
This is actually for my fiancé. Keeping in mind we both are Catholics so same Church, same canonical law - my annulment in OKC diocese took eight months from start to finish and his is now three times longer wait with three times as many questions to answer. Patience is truly a virtue, thank you
 
Dan- it is strange, I agree. I am extremely disappointed in the communication- or lack thereof- through the process. We were told by the advocate that we were not to contact the tribunal office at all. After 18 months, we did contact them with hopes of finding out something but we were met with no response. My faith continues to be unshaken, my understanding of the Church… not so much. I continue to pray for strength and guidance and clarity.
 
Irish1968 said:
Patience is truly a virtue, thank you
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I hope you don’t mind that I express my intrigue with your situation. You say that you’re engaged…what if your fiancé’s annulment is denied? Will that effect anything at all about your relationship with him? Obviously you won’t be able to marry in the Catholic Church, but what will become of your engagement?
 
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If it is denied then we will appeal it. Unfortunately we have waited a very long time to “do this the right way”. A denial would not change our relationship; we would just have a civil marriage. It would, however, change my view of the Church- never shaking my Faith- but my view of the institutional Church would be affected.
 
Our diocese has outside experts. They help in cases where there may be a psychological impediment for one of the parties.
That is really all I know about it.
The judge must have a moral certitude to reach a decision.
 
Thank you! In your experience what examples would constitute psychological impediments?
 
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Not an expert. Not going any further. I am sorry you can’t get answers from your diocese.
 
Irish1968 said:
We did immediately and she replied she had never heard of this type of action.
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Well, just because she’s never heard of it before, doesn’t mean that it’s a first for the diocese. You’re definitely not ‘guinea pigs’ here!

I would ask her to inquire of the tribunal and request that they help her understand the situation and help her inform you of what they’re doing. In that way, both you and she will learn!
Irish1968 said:
Keeping in mind we both are Catholics so same Church, same canonical law - my annulment in OKC diocese took eight months from start to finish and his is now three times longer wait with three times as many questions to answer.
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Often, folks have the misconception that every annulment is exactly the same. Since there are different circumstances in each case – and those circumstances can vary significantly! – there’s no such thing as a ‘typical’ annulment. So, your eight-month-nullity might have had very different circumstances (and therefore requirements) than your fiance’s…
Irish1968 said:
I am extremely disappointed in the communication- or lack thereof- through the process.
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That’s pretty normal – once you submit the documentation, you generally don’t hear anything until a decision is reached. One would hope that your advocate had talked with you about that dynamic, so that you were prepared for it.
Irish1968 said:
We were told by the advocate that we were not to contact the tribunal office at all.
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Sure, but you could contact her. (And, chances are, since they don’t share updates throughout the process, she wouldn’t have – or be able to obtain – any additional information to pass along.) But, in this case, asking her to get info from the tribunal, one would hope, would be a reasonable request.
Irish1968 said:
we have waited a very long time to “do this the right way”. A denial would not change our relationship; we would just have a civil marriage.
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Would a civil marriage be “the right way”?
 
Gorgias- thank you. Your comments were kind and appreciated.

As a medical professional I am acutely aware of disclosure constraints. I don’t believe that my asking for hypothetical examples constitutes divulging private information. Furthermore, if I could receive answers from the Tribunal or the advocate I wouldn’t be on here!!! It is a highly stressful time and statements such as “I’m not going further” and assuming that I am trying to extract confidential information are quite insulting.
 
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According to an FAQ on the tribunal website, you (well, a Party to a case) can write to the tribunal and seek information. I can understand the tribunal’s reason for requiring written communication as well as the hesitancy on the Party’s part to do that. Is that something you have tried?

Dan
 
I’m not going any further had nothing to do with confidentially and everything to do with my teeny bit of understanding of what can sometimes be a very complicated process because I am not an expert.
 
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I’m an advocate for my diocese’s tribunal and I see this situation frequently. The tribunal has likely sought the opinion of a counselor to evaluate the psychological state of one or both parties involved in the case based on the testimonies of the parties. In my experience this is usually done to strengthen the grounds for nullity. It is a very common practice.
 
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