Anulment needed or not for prior marriage

[Karetoni]

My ex husband was a confirmed Catholic when we married. I was a baptised Protestant.
We divorced and since then I have become Catholic and he has re-married.

Is it necessary and do I need to even have the marriage annuled? Would this affect my wanting to remarry in the church at a later date, as I wasn’t Catholic until after the divorce?

Thank you

 

[jjwilkman]

the key issue is: were you married in the catholic church. if not, you weren’t married, if so you surely need an allnulment. (at least to marry in the church.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

Karetoni:

My ex husband was a confirmed Catholic when we married. I was a baptised Protestant.
We divorced and since then I have become Catholic and he has re-married.

Is it necessary and do I need to even have the marriage annuled? Would this affect my wanting to remarry in the church at a later date, as I wasn’t Catholic until after the divorce?

Thank you

Be careful with terminology. The Marriage needs to be investigated by the Catholic Church. If found defective in form it can be declared invalid, without much else. However if found to have been conducted according to Church Law then a full annulment investigation will be necessary.

 

[Karetoni]

Br. Rich SFO:
We were not married in the Catholic church- we were married by a Protestant pastor .

 

[stbruno]

This was taken from a wonderful new website www.inthespiritofcana.org Check it out.
I know you are Catholic now, so this might be worth looking into. in case you might marry again in the future. You will require it then…

For the marriages of Catholics or the Orthodox that have taken place outside their respective churches, the form entitled, “Declaration of Nullity for Marriage attempted outside the Church” should be used. The instructions are printed on the form itself. After they are filled out, the forms should be sent to the Office for Canonical Services.
Non-Catholics who were married to a Catholic outside the Catholic Church (and where no dispensation from canonical form had been issued) can also use this form. However, they must be able to prove the Catholic baptism of their former spouse, either through a baptismal certificate or the affidavits of people who know for certain about the Catholic baptism. The same holds true for marriages involving the Orthodox that took place outside the Orthodox party’s church.

 

[Christy_Beth]

When I entered the church back in 1997, I had been divorced for several years. I wasn’t planning on getting married or anything, but the subject of annulments was an issue for me. I went ahead and applied for one. It took about a year for the process to be completed. I’m still not remarried or anything, but I feel better about having put that behind me. :bible1:

 

[catsrus]

My last marriage was by a Justice of the Peace. When I was in R.I.C.A., I was told that before I could be Confirmed, I must have that marriage annuled and convalidate my present marriage. (also by a JP) I applied for the annulment and it was eventually granted. I married my husband (who is not Catholic) in front of a Priest and now, except for the fact that he is not a Catholic, we are living happily ever after.

 

[Chatter163]

Good for you, Christy Beth. Would that many more divorced Catholics would do the same, so they would not need “emergency surgery” as a second marriage approaches.

 

[Luke-Jr]

Any marriage, regardless of who was present, would be invalid if the to-be spouses have the idea that any witness (including priests) are going to marry them or confer the sacrament of matrimony. The spouses are the ones to confer the sacrament and unless they are aware of their duty to confer it, I don’t see how they are being married…

 

[Catholic2003]

Luke-Jr:

Any marriage, regardless of who was present, would be invalid if the to-be spouses have the idea that any witness (including priests) are going to marry them or confer the sacrament of matrimony. The spouses are the ones to confer the sacrament and unless they are aware of their duty to confer it, I don’t see how they are being married…

A Church tribunal will not issue a decree of nullity in this situation unless it is proved that there was a positive act of will to exclude the sacramental aspect of matrimony (c. 1101 §2 ). Mere ignorance of who confers the sacrament does not suffice to invalidate a marriage.