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MaryT777
Guest
The annulment process definitely needs to be streamlined. Maybe we could have faith in one court instead of first instance and second instance court that can disagree with each other. That was the most frustrating part for me. Plus it adds to the time frame significantly.
Not to change the doctrine of the Church by any means.
Mary.
Not to change the doctrine of the Church by any means.
Mary.
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JimG
Guest
There’s nothing inherently wrong in trying to improve the process for determining nullity Still, given the fact that Jesus was so emphatic on the permanence of marriage (Matt. 19:3–8; Mark 10:2–9; Luke 16:18), it seems rather strange that we find ourselves in the position of looking for better and quicker and easier ways to get out of putative maital vows.
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eightydeuce82
Guest
Maybe there is nothing wrong with the process and the problem is elsewhere…
Despite this decline, the United States, with 5.9 percent of the world’s Catholics, still accounts for 60 percent of the Church’s 58,322 declarations of nullity (2007 statistics in the Vatican Secretariat of State’s Statistical Yearbook of the Church).
Suudy
Active member
Well, there’s 2 ways to look at this statistic. Maybe it is because US Catholics are more faithful to Church teaching and are more likely to try and seek annulments?
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eightydeuce82
Guest
Pretty sure that’s not it but okWell, there’s 2 ways to look at this statistic. Maybe it is because US Catholics are more faithful to Church teaching and are more likely to try and seek annulments?
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SonOfMan
Guest
My suggestion:
-Make annulments easy to obtain
-Make Marriage very difficult to obtain
-Make annulments easy to obtain
-Make Marriage very difficult to obtain
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styrgwillidar
Guest
Could be many things, we have more Christian denominations/religions. So, for example- what percentage of annulments are for a prior marriage of a convert, or in the case of an inter-faith marriage? Does US have more ‘lack of form’ annulment requests?Well, there’s 2 ways to look at this statistic. Maybe it is because US Catholics are more faithful to Church teaching and are more likely to try and seek annulments?
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rose2
Guest
My suggestion:
-Make annulments easy to obtain
-Make Marriage very difficult to obtain
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JimG
Guest
The Church recognizes a right to marry between men and women. I would not make marriage difficult to obtain. I would make divorce–and annulment–very difficult to obtain. No fault divorce in effect nullifies marriage vows in advance. Make divorce difficult, and require sufficient grounds be shown. Make child support and alimony ironclad. Those things should make persons think very carefully before marriage. Marriage vows ought to be at least as binding as a long term mortgage. In practice, the vows are more binding than that–they commit a couple for life, but no fault divorce makes the vows meaningless.
Suudy
Active member
Hence thePretty sure that’s not it but ok
My response was sarcasm.
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Orogeny
Guest
Pretty sure that’s not it but ok
Sarcasm or not, there may actually be something to that. I know at three couples from European countries (2 from Italy and 1 from France) that have told me that annulments are very rarely considered in those countries. Each of those couples are married outside of the Church because one or both partners have previous marriages and have been divorced. I was really surprised the first time I was told that no one asks for annulments. All three couples have told me that they (and most people in those countries) don’t care what the Church teaches.
I know that is a very tiny sample set, but it suggests that Suudy’s original statement may not be completely wrong.
Peace
Tim
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NewEnglandPriest
Guest
While your statement was sarcasm, its actually most likely to be true. Comparing number or percentage of annulments between the USA and the rest of the world is unfair. Most of the world lives in much less mobile and technological societies than the USA. Living in a poor town a good distance from your diocesan marriage tribunal with few functional or safe roads in between does not help facilitate people seeking annulments. Poor record keeping and natural disasters can wipe away records in many parts of the world which is much less likely to happen in the USA. Ever try to get an annulment with little to no paperwork? Good luck. Poor dioceses also might not be able to send many clergy to study canon law which reduces the number of canonists, increases the backlog of cases and discourages people from obtaining annulments. Dioceses located in parts of the world without reliable electricity or phone lines creates obstacles that also discourage people.Well, there’s 2 ways to look at this statistic. Maybe it is because US Catholics are more faithful to Church teaching and are more likely to try and seek annulments?
The fact is, in the USA with full modern communications and mobility its relatively easy to assemble all the paperwork, witnesses, expert testimony, etc. that is currently required for an annulment. Catholics in the USA have few practical issues that would discourage large numbers of people from even trying to apply for an annulment.
Thus the USA can’t simply be compared to the rest of the world. The USA can be compared to Europe on the practical concerns since both are in similar situations in that regard. And here is where your statement is actually true. Catholics in Europe have generally abandoned the Church or caring about its rules or regulations. In the USA Catholics still care enough to apply for annulments and still try to be in “good standing” with the Church.
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