Annulments in the Church

[lesliejean]

I have a question about Church annulments.
My first marriage, before I became Catholic, was to a Jewish man, who is still living. We have been civilly divorced for 35 years, but I know no one to act as a ‘witness’ to the state of our marriage since it was so long ago, and because ‘our’ friends were all really his friends. There is no one, aside from his family members, with whom I am still in contact from that time, who would have any knowledge as to the state of our relationship.
After that, I had a marriage which was annulled by the state since the man was married to someone else at the time.
Then, eventually I became Catholic, but was a ‘lapsed Catholic’ after a time, and married outside the church an upbaptized man, from whom I have been separated for the past 6 years.
Since that time, I have been ‘called back’ to the Church, and want to clear the slate.
I realize this sounds like a soap opera but I am 67 years old, so these situations have taken place over a long period of time.
My priest has told me that as long as I am not ‘causing scandal’ at the present time, which I am not, I am free to participate in Holy Communion.
In the last case, is it possible to receive a church annulment without having gone through a civil divorce (neither my former spouse nor I can afford that now); in the first case, is it possible to receive an annulment without a ‘witness’; and in the middle case, would an annulment be necessary if the state has already granted an annulment?
Since I am not considering re-marriage, does any of this matter?
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Leslie

 

[rwoehmke]

In my opinion. since you are not now in a relationship and have no desire to marry anyone else, confess your sins, live chastely and let sleeping dogs lie.

 

[puzzleannie]

I My priest has told me that as long as I am not ‘causing scandal’ at the present time, which I am not, I am free to participate in Holy Communion.
In the last case, is it possible to receive a church annulment without having gone through a civil divorce (neither my former spouse nor I can afford that now); in the first case, is it possible to receive an annulment without a ‘witness’; and in the middle case, would an annulment be necessary if the state has already granted an annulment?
Since I am not considering re-marriage, does any of this matter?
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Leslie

your priest is the person to whom you have given the entire story, including your current status, so he is the one to advise you. anything here would be only general information, not necessarily applicable to you personally.

 

[lizaanne]

Since I am not considering re-marriage, does any of this matter?
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Leslie

You need to make a good, contrite, and complete confession. Then live a chaste life as if you are a married woman (which you are unless proven otherwise by the Tribunal).

If you want to date - you need to be free to marry, as married women do not date. If this is a possibility then you need to work on investigating your relationships through the Tribunal, and yes this would require a civil divorce first. Only then can you be free to pursue a relationship.

~Liza

 

[doanli]

In my opinion. since you are not now in a relationship and have no desire to marry anyone else, confess your sins, live chastely and let sleeping dogs lie.

Agree.

 

[Leticia]

Hi Leslie,

In the last case, is it possible to receive a church annulment without having gone through a civil divorce **No-you have to have a civil divorce before petitioning the tribunal for a church annulment and it would be a simple documentary procedure with the proper documents **(neither my former spouse nor I can afford that now) - money issues do not prevent you from pursuing an annulment can be worked out.;

in the first case, is it possible to receive an annulment without a ‘witness’; you would need character witnesses, but you state you still communicate with his family so there would be possible witnesses including members of your own family and you would possibly have a Petrine petition

and in the middle case, would an annulment be necessary if the state has already granted an annulment? Church and state are separate this would be a ligamen on his part you would just have to provide his marital records to prove that he was married at the time he married you

Since I am not considering re-marriage, does any of this matter? I would just to have a clean slate- like you said and a peace of mind
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. God Bless:thumbsup:

 

[lesliejean]

What is a Petrine petition?

The only members of my first husband’s family I am in contact with are his mother, who is 102 and in poor health, and his brother, who has expressed his refusal to be involved in this. Most of my family has since died, so there would be no help there.