Civil Marriage Valid or not? Kind of complex

[phantom87]

Hi all

So I have a question, say girl is married to a divorced catholic and this copy then in turn separates… There was no annulment to the first marriage and it’s been years since the second marriage split up … The girl in question is a non catholic and the wedding took place in a civil setting, my question is would the church’s position be that the second marriage never happened since no annulment was granted for the first? Would the second marriage even be valid if for no other reason then because it took place in a Civil ceremony>

 

[1ke]

The person in question needs to sit down with the local parish priest, explain the entire situation, and begin the process of having the entire situation examined.

No one here can answer with certainty. There are too many variables, and that is what the information and paperwork gathering process is for.

Regarding civil marriage, non-Catholics marry validly when they marry other non-Catholics civilly (provided there were no other impediments like a prior marriage).

But, in the situation you describe a Catholic was involved. Catholics are governed by canon law.

The only way to obtain a defnitive answer is to submit the entire case to the Catholic tribunal and let them rule on it.

 

[chevalier]

Hi all

So I have a question, say girl is married to a divorced catholic and this copy then in turn separates… There was no annulment to the first marriage and it’s been years since the second marriage split up … The girl in question is a non catholic and the wedding took place in a civil setting, my question is would the church’s position be that the second marriage never happened since no annulment was granted for the first? Would the second marriage even be valid if for no other reason then because it took place in a Civil ceremony>

Firstly, you’d need utmost clarity with the facts. I can’t get that from your description but I’m not sure you got all the relevant facts from that girl either. If you tell it chronologically, it should help. So point by point, each marriage, every situation. Then I might be able to give you an approximate answer.

 

[joanofarc2008]

I agree with Chev it would be better if you wrote it chronologically. After reading it several times it sounds like it could be a ligamen case but she should speak to a priest to be sure. There are many different factors involved. God bless,

 

[venite_adoremus]

All putative marriages need to be disposed of by appropriate authority, in the order in which they occurred in time. If the divorced Catholic male had a valid and sacramental first marriage, and the first spouse is living, this invalidates the attempt to enter a second one, even civilly, but the second one still needs to be declared null in its own right. Only a canon lawyer and the marriage tribunal can help you tell for sure, because invalid and illicit marriages are not the same thing.