Can we do Radical Sanation instead of Convalidation of Marriage?

[txnoncatholic]

I was raised Chistian, but not part of any particular church. Last 20 yrs I have been researching religion on and off. Recently researching again for aggressively, trying to figure out where I stand on religion. My husband was raised Catholic, but was not practicing when I met him. We were married 12 years ago by a minister in a Christian ceremony without denomination. My husband recently rediscovered Catholicism & I am trying to do everything that I can to support him, even agreeing to raise our kids Catholic.

Husband currently can not take communion since our marriage isn’t recognized. He met with priest at his church & he was told that we had to have our marriage convalidated. We both met with him a few times since & started going through the process.

I do not understand why we were not offered a sanation. In order for the convalidation to be valid, I have to agree that our current marriage isn’t valid. After 12 yrs of marriage and being blessed with 2 children, I cannot, in my heart agree to that.

In our hearts, where it is more important, we believed we were married. Why does the Catholic church not recognize that when considering this and what can we do to have a sanation instead?

 

[Fr.Charles_Grondin]

Catholics are required to either be married in the Catholic Church or to receive a dispensation to be married elsewhere. Since your husband was baptized Catholic he was required to follow those rules. Failure to do so renders an attempted marriage invalid.

A simple validation is the easiest way to validate an invalid marriage. It merely requires some paperwork and the exchanging vows in front of a Catholic cleric. This process is relatively quick and painless.

A radical sanation requires the same paperwork but it also requires a serious reason to bypass the simple validation route. One spouse’s refusal to exchange the vows in a new ceremony would suffice for a serious reason. However, this process goes through the Bishop’s office not the pastor’s. The length of time it takes to be completed may turn out to be longer than a simple validation.

The Church regulates reception of the sacraments in a manner that is spiritually beneficial for the baptized. The Church’s marriage canons are designed to ensure that both parties of a marriage understand the Church’s teachings of marriage and what is expected of the spouses in marriage.