joyfulmess:
I also have a question on this subject. Do all persons that seek annulments have to go before the church council for directions and approval? My good friend has finally come back to the church and has met a wonderful man. They are planning a church wedding, however when she went to Father about her annulment and her fiance’s annulment, they were told to go to the church council. She doesn’t want to make her past marriages public. When she told me about this I didn’t know what to tell her. They have put their wedding on hold for now. Maybe someone can help in this matter.:yup:
This doesn’t make sense to me. Perhaps the story became a a little scrambled in the telling or something was misunderstood somewhere. I have never heard of “church council” or “approval” in connection with this at all, and I’ve worked with marriage cases for over 20 years and am a canon lawyer in a tribunal.
The possibility of “annulments” (a declaration by the Catholic Church that a given marriage was invalid according to canon law) is investigated by special courts of the Church called “tribunals.” Generally, there is a tribunal in each diocese of the Catholic Church, and its personnel are appointed by the diocesan bishop. (Sometimes several dioceses might share the same tribunal though.)
But it would be true that before your friend and her wonderful man are considered free to celebrate a marriage in the Catholic Church, all of their former marriages must be investigated according to certain processes regulated by the laws of the Catholic Church. While there are a variety of processes and the laws are complex, they commonly aim to protect the sanctity of marriage. However, the end result, hopefully, would be a declaration of the freedom for a future marriage. That alone would permit one.
Information about the marriage and the individuals is closely guarded and is not made available to the public. Personnel of a tribunal, as with others who are part of a bishop’s staff, are bound to observe suitable privacy and confidentiality in these matters.
In your case, those who have prior marriages and now enter the Catholic Church without the immediate intention of future marriage, often seek “annulments.” For many, it helps them work through the past, though not always painlessly, and experience more deeply the mercy of God. They also know, if they receive decrees of nullity, that they are free to respond to the possibility of married life should God bring that into their path, and would not have to backtrack and go through the “annulment process” at that later time.
I urge you to speak with yourr friend and clarify in her mind that these processes are neither open to public scrutiny nor do they involve a “council.” Contacting the tribunal in her diocese would be the best way to confirm this, if she has, in fact, received incorrect advice from someone else. Its staff would also be happy to speak with you.
God bless you in your journey with us.
