Do I Need an Annulment if not married in the Church?

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thrasher59

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I was listening to relevant radio today,and it seems that non Church weddings aren’t considered valid by the Church. I’ve had two justice of the peace weddings that both ended in divorce. Am I still single in the eyes of the Church, or do I need an annulment?
 
thrasher59 said:
I was listening to relevant radio today,and it seems that non Church weddings aren’t considered valid by the Church. I’ve had two justice of the peace weddings that both ended in divorce. Am I still single in the eyes of the Church, or do I need an annulment?
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That’s a very broad statement, and while I’m not a canon lawyer, I think that’s a little too broad of one to make. I’d contact the Tribunal and ask them to investigate your marriage: they’d be the ones to know and that way you can be certain on whether you need one or not.
 
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Assuming that you were/are a baptized Catholic (before both marriages) & you didn’t receive permission from the Church to marry in the courthouse, then colloquially speaking:
  • Yes, you would not need an “annulment” but you would still need the tribunal to confirm your “decree of nullity based on lack of form.”
In other words, they would not have to go through the traditional “annulment process” but you will still need them to do the paperwork.

I hope I’m making sense.

Talk to your pastor right away.

God Bless
 
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thrasher59 said:
it seems that non Church weddings aren’t considered valid by the Church.
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Catholics are required to marry in Catholic form, or be dispensed from it, for their marriage to be valid.
thrasher59 said:
I’ve had two justice of the peace weddings that both ended in divorce. Am I still single in the eyes of the Church, or do I need an annulment?
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Depends on whether you or either of the people you married civilly are Catholics, and whether any dispensation from form was involved.
 
Reading through your past history, I would say, ask the marriage tribunal rep at your parish or Diocese. Don’t rely on strangers on the internet who do not know all the details
 
thrasher59 said:
Neither were Catholic.
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I see now that while neither marriage attempt was to a Catholic, YOU are a Catholic.

If you did not have a dispensation from your bishop to marry at the JP, neither of these attempts are valid.

You should contact your priest and follow his instructions for providing the necessary paperwork to the diocese to demonstrate there marriages were civil only (marriage certificate and divorce decree plus your sacramental records showing you were Catholic) and then they will do the paperwork on your freedom to marry.

It’s not a decree of nullity as there was no presumed valid marriage. It’s a paperwork process only and takes a few weeks.
 
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