How long for Pauline Privilege (on average)?

[Tired_Mama]

DH sent in the paperwork for an annulment a few weeks ago and we just got a response yesterday. They are going to process his case under the Pauline Privilege and the letter said that all he needed to do was prove that he had not been baptized until after his divorce and that his ex-wife was never baptized.

Did anyone here go through the Pauline Privilege process? If so, how long did it take for you? I know that every diocese and case will be different but we’d like an idea about what other people have experienced.

DH is really relieved they are going down this path. It sounds so much simpler than an annulment. He only has to submit one form and provide the names of two witnesses who can testify to the fact that he had never been baptized before.

The letter said that once they had the proof his prior marriage would be dissolved and they would believe that our marriage in the Orthodox Church was valid. Therefore we wouldn’t need to get married again in the Catholic Church.

 

[dans0622]

Hello,

As you noted, it varies. The primary variable is the length of time it takes for the witnesses to supply the needed evidence. One diocese might be slower than another, also. If all goes well, it can take a month. If the witnesses are tardy, it can take longer–however long it takes for them to testify. An average time? Hard to say. For the privileges that are approved, I’d say it’s about a couple of months. The ones that take longer tend to never be approved because the witnesses will not respond and/or the non-baptism of a Party cannot be established.

I have not gone through the process myself but work on such cases.

Dan