Can Anullments Be in Error?

[1ke]

LeahInancsi:

What are some valid grounds for annulment?

I’ve never had any experience with an annulment or been married for that matter. It seems that there are so many annulments recently. I swear I heard that the Vatican was asking tribunals to push annulments through faster.

I highly recommend the book Annulment: The Wedding That Was by Michael Smith Foster. The process involved in a decree of nullity is much too complicated to adequately explain it here, and there are numerous reasons a marriage might be declared null.

 

[LeahInancsi]

1ke:

I highly recommend the book Annulment: The Wedding That Was by Michael Smith Foster. The process involved in a decree of nullity is much too complicated to adequately explain it here, and there are numerous reasons a marriage might be declared null.

Thank you. I’ll look into it. I assume it’s very complicated because most people don’t understand it until they’ve been through it.

 

[Kelly]

LeahInancsi:

It seems that there are so many annulments recently. I swear I heard that the Vatican was asking tribunals to push annulments through faster.

The Vatican recently asked that the annulment process be streamlined in the United States, so that the people would not have to wait years in some cases to receive an answer pertaining to their cases in certain dioceses. This does not mean that Rome is asking for the cases to be pushed through and granted without proper care. Rome has been very critical of the number of annulments granted in the United States, and under our new Holy Father contiues to be even more concerned.

 

[Coder]

What if people had a Catholic ceremony, have no intention/desire to separate, yet there marriage could be annulled if it were requested/reviewed?

Does this mean that all people should have their marriages reviewed because they may not have a valid marriage and not know it or care?

My point is that we as a Church need to do do much better job at clearly stating the expectations of a Catholic marriage.

As it is, I think we have too many cases of not holding to Catholic standards, allowing marriage, then allowing annullments later.

Just another symptom of the liberalism/relativism among many in the Church today.

The entire marriage process is not taken seriously enough to begin with and then we have to grant annulments.

How many couples are told that contraception is a sin before the marry and that if they are entering marriage with intention to contracept then there marriage is not valid? How many? 10% I really don’t know, Then we wonder why we have to grant annulments - because people were not taught correctly to begin with. If you go into marriage with a selfish approach should there be any surprise that you want to split upon the first problems.

I’m not saying there aren’t valid cases and I am happy for those who were validly granted annulments.

I’m saying we need to do a much better job with the entire marriage process and this needs to be corrected ASAP.

 

[LeahInancsi]

Coder:

My point is that we as a Church need to do do much better job at clearly stating the expectations of a Catholic marriage.

As it is, I think we have too many cases of not holding to Catholic standards, allowing marriage, then allowing annullments later.

Just another symptom of the liberalism/relativism among many in the Church today.

The entire marriage process is not taken seriously enough to begin with and then we have to grant annulments.

I’m saying we need to do a much better job with the entire marriage process and this needs to be corrected ASAP.

I planned to marry once. If I blew, then that was it. Even if the marriage lasted a week, I only got once chance. I knew that from the beginning.

Fortunately or unfortunately, I didn’t even take that one chance.

 

[Coder]

I planned to marry once. If I blew, then that was it. Even if the marriage lasted a week, I only got once chance. I knew that from the beginning.

Fortunately or unfortunately, I didn’t even take that one chance.
[/quote]

If it is God’s will for you to marry, I hope you find a wonderful spouse!

 

[LeahInancsi]

Coder:

If it is God’s will for you to marry, I hope you find a wonderful spouse!

Thank you, but I don’t think it is.

 

[puzzleannie]

Coder:

What if people had a Catholic ceremony, have no intention/desire to separate, yet there marriage could be annulled if it were requested/reviewed?

Does this mean that all people should have their marriages reviewed because they may not have a valid marriage and not know it or care?

My point is that we as a Church need to do do much better job at clearly stating the expectations of a Catholic marriage.
.

the Catholic Church assumes every marriage is valid until proven otherwise. No, someone should not have their marriage reviewed on the off chance it might be invalid. The Church has a process for marriage preparation, as for preparation for all the sacraments. Individual parishes, and the persons responsible for the implementation of these processes (like moi) do their best.

Whether or not the couple, the parents, sponsors, candidates or others involved in the participation endeavor to accept what they are taught and to get the most out of the teaching is another matter. Talk to any Catholic who has left the Church and you are quite likely to hear that barriers placed in front of those wishing to marry are the number one reason, and barriers placed against those approaching other sacraments are second.

 

[Coder]

puzzleannie:

the Catholic Church assumes every marriage is valid until proven otherwise.

So if it is invalid then the couple will not be held to judgement for living in an invalid marriage? Or is it valid because the Church says it is (assumes) even though it could be annulled?

I’m trying to understand the concept and principles at work here.

 

[Coder]

Can anyone answer the above question? Thank You.

 

[1ke]

Coder:

So if it is invalid then the couple will not be held to judgement for living in an invalid marriage? Or is it valid because the Church says it is (assumes) even though it could be annulled?

When the marriage takes place it is presumed valid. Therefore it is valid unless and until it is examined.

If and only if the marriage is examined by the tribunal can it be declared invalid. A marriage is not examined by the tribunal except upon petition of one of the spouses, and usually not unless the marriage has already been dissolved via civil divorce or legal separation.

If a marriage is declared null, it is only in retrospect invalid from the beginning. It is what is called a putative marriage. There is no “judgment” on the couple for living in what they thought to be a valid marriage during the marriage.

I highly recommend the book Annulment: The Wedding That Was by Michael Smith Foster. It can likely give you a much better understanding of annulment.

 

[picomo]

Coder:

Thank you. Do family members such as brothers and sisters of a spouse have a right to know why a marriage was declared null?

I think it is best not to know the reason. I am an adult child of parents who just went through the annulment process. My dad felt he needed to explain why and I wish he didn’t. It was devastating to find out he cheated on my mother through out their marriage.

I pray that whatever your situation with annulment is, that you find peace. It can be confusing and painful for some.

 

[Coder]

1ke:

There is no “judgment” on the couple for living in what they thought to be a valid marriage during the marriage.

Yes but it would seem that with all the annulments today, that perhaps Catholic couples should have their marriage re-evaluated to make sure they are valid. Is it not possible that there are happily married couples whose marriages could be declared null if evaluated? Wouldn’t it benefit people to review this so that they can re-marry validly? Perhpas this could also be a means to prevent further annullments?

 

[1ke]

Coder:

Yes but it would seem that with all the annulments today, that perhaps Catholic couples should have their marriage re-evaluated to make sure they are valid.

No.

First of all, it would not be a “re-evaluation”.

Second, you have to have a specific reason-- called grounds-- that make you believe your marriage is invalid. You don’t just have a tribunal investigate a marriage randomly. There has to be specific evidence, witnesses, testimony, and a specific reason that goes before the tribunal.

Coder:

Is it not possible that there are happily married couples whose marriages could be declared null if evaluated?

Yes, it is possible that there are married people who could have some defect that would lead to a declaration of nullity should it be presented to a tribunal.

Coder:

Wouldn’t it benefit people to review this so that they can re-marry validly?

There is a process for those who married invalidly-- such as a lack of form. It is called convalidation. Those who married validly already have a valid marriage.

Coder:

Perhpas this could also be a means to prevent further annullments?

Putting every marriage through a tribunal process is not only impractical it is also counter to the theology of marriage. The marriage is valid unless counter evidence is presented.

 

[Coder]

Thank you.

Is the marriage by definition valid because a.) it has no defects in origin or b.) because the Church authority recognizes it as valid?

Also, couples could review their marriages with a priest and only go to tribunal if problems are fairly obvious.

With all these annullments, I think it is a good idea to be proactive.

I also don’t understand why it does not require a tribunal to declare the marriage valid to begin with. Perhaps we need to improve the process whereby a priest can marry people and the same day of the wedding a tribunal could find that it is invalid (which is the case for any marriage that has been annulled - the day of the wedding a tribunal could declare it invalid).

I would think we should be able to have a process whereby once the Sacrament is celebrated, it is known to be valid with very very few exceptions.