Does this person need to get an annulment?

[Schwonk]

Hello. I heard of a person who had a friend who was about to be deported and did not want to have to leave the country, so they legally got married to prevent the other person from having to be deported. They never had sex, dated, were in love, or ever intended on spending the rest of their lives together. The only reason they got legally married was to prevent the person from being deported.

Would that person still need to get an annulment even though they were not married in the church, neither person had any intentions on actually uniting themselves with or getting married to the other, and it was only a legal marriage to prevent someone from having to go back to an impoverished country?

The way I see it and the persons involved see it is that it was an act of charity to try and help the other person, who was going to be deported, and their family.

They are now divorced and the other person has his green card.

 

[Fr.Eric_Filmer]

Hello Schwonk,
According to the Code of Canon Law:

Canon 1060 - Marriage possesses the favor of law; therefore, in a case of doubt, the validity of a marriage must be upheld until the contrary is proven.

This is customarily interpreted in the following manner:

Once it has been properly celebrated, a marriage is presumed to be valid unless the contrary is proven. When doubts are raised about its validity, this presumption requires that the validity of the marriage be upheld by refusing to allow the celebration of a new marriage until the invalidity or dissolution of the previous union has been demonstrated legitimately and certainly according to the norm of law…

• John P. Beal, James A. Coriden, Thomas J. Green, eds., New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law (Paulist Press: Mahwah, N.J., 2000), 1256.

Simply put, in the eyes of the Catholic Church, all marriages are initially presumed to be valid, and the only thing that breaks a sacramental bond of marriage is the death of a spouse. Nevertheless, if the validity of a marriage is in question (such as due to the notable issues you raised) then a diocesan tribunal can investigate it to see whether or not it was, indeed, valid. This is what is commonly referred to as an annulment investigation. As it stands now, the husband and wife you mentioned are not permitted to presume that their marriage is invalid, forego the annulment process, and attempt to contract marriages with other people. The fact that they got a divorce does not change this.

Those who need an annulment investigation should make an appointment to speak with a priest or deacon in their parish.