If my marriage is not sacramental do I need an annulment?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Consoler
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
C

Consoler

Guest
I’m a Catholic. My husband is non baptized. We were married in the Church. Do I still need an annulment? If I do, does it make a difference that it is only a natural marriage?
 
Consoler said:
I’m a Catholic. My husband is non baptized. We were married in the Church. Do I still need an annulment? If I do, does it make a difference that it is only a natural marriage?
Click to expand...
My understanding about the nature of marriage is that if you were married in a catholic Church with a non baptized husband, you must have had a permission to do so, and then the marriage is a sacrament for you as a catholic, but not for the unbaptized husband.

What do you mean by, “it is only a natural marriage”?
 
“Marriage is a sacrament only between two baptized persons.
Therefore, the marriage is not sacramental. A marriage of this type is called a natural marriage.” got this from another thread.
 
Consoler said:
“Marriage is a sacrament only between two baptized persons.
Therefore, the marriage is not sacramental. A marriage of this type is called a natural marriage.” got this from another thread.
Click to expand...
What document is this from?

The Church gave you a dispensation, presumably, to marry this man in the Church. The Church does not call upon God to bless non-sacramental unions AFAIK.

Regardless, the dispensation to marry, and the fact that you married in the Church, means that the union is very likely not invalid unless there was some impediment other than the mere fact that he was not baptised.
 
“A Catholic can marry an unbaptized person, but such marriages are natural marriages only; they are not sacramental marriages. The Church, therefore, discourages them and requires a Catholic who wishes to marry an unbaptized person to receive a special dispensation from his or her bishop. Still, if the dispensation is granted, a non-sacramental marriage is valid and can take place inside of a Catholic church.”

catholicism.about.com/od/catholicliving/f/FAQ_Marriage.htm
 
Consoler said:
“A Catholic can marry an unbaptized person, but such marriages are natural marriages only; they are not sacramental marriages. The Church, therefore, discourages them and requires a Catholic who wishes to marry an unbaptized person to receive a special dispensation from his or her bishop. Still, if the dispensation is granted, a non-sacramental marriage is valid and can take place inside of a Catholic church.”

catholicism.about.com/od/catholicliving/f/FAQ_Marriage.htm
Click to expand...
Fairy nuff, not sacramental but valid, and therefore the mere fact that he is unbaptised is not grounds for an annulment.
 
That isn’t the grounds. We were married in the church with the dispensation. We’re getting divorced now and I was just wondering if anyone knew about annulments in this particular type of case.
 
Consoler said:
That isn’t the grounds. We were married in the church with the dispensation. We’re getting divorced now and I was just wondering if anyone knew about annulments in this particular type of case.
Click to expand...
Were both of you free to marry (ie no previous spouses still living)?
Did both of you freely consent and mean to honour your vows and obligations when you took them?
 
You need to talk to your priest. His not being baptized might change which process you have to go through, but you still have to go through a process to get it all sorted out.
 
Check with your church about the annulment process. They would be the best source of info. I will pray for you both. I was the unbaptized spouse when my husband and I married. I was baptized 2 years later which is when our marriage became a sacramental marriage. I am sorry that your spouse still does not see the wonder and beauty of God.
 
By “Church” I assume you mean “Catholic Church.” If that’s the case, your marriage is considered valid, and are not free to remarry. In order to remarry, an annulment will be required. Dissolution of the marriage under the Petrine Privilege is also a possibility, but this is much harder to obtain.
 
Consoler said:
I’m a Catholic. My husband is non baptized. We were married in the Church. Do I still need an annulment? If I do, does it make a difference that it is only a natural marriage?
Click to expand...
Yes you are validly married and therefore not free to marry anyone else.

You would require a decree of nullity to be free to marry. A natural marriage can be disssolved by the Petrine Privilege (i.e. by the Pope) in some cases, which would also make you free to marry.

Please go talk to your pastor. You are referring to him as your husband, which indicates you are still married. You have a duty to your marriage, so please focus on saving it.
 
Consoler said:
“Marriage is a sacrament only between two baptized persons.
Therefore, the marriage is not sacramental. A marriage of this type is called a natural marriage.” got this from another thread.
Click to expand...
Correct. Your marriage is not a sacrament, it is a natural marriage.

But that makes it no less valid.
 
I am sorry for your pain. Yes you would need to go through the process all things being equal.
 
It’s also possible for the valid natural marriage to be actually dissolved, but because one party was baptized, it would be through the Petrine Privilege (i.e. reserved to the Apostolic See). See your pastor and marriage tribunal for an exploration of this option.

However, I echo the advice given, with the caveat that we do not know the full story. Your first priority is to save the marriage first if this is still possible. The tribunal will likely tell you the same thing.
 
I am sorry to hear you are having difficulties. The Catholic Church asks spouses to work things out if at all possible. Sometimes, though, it is unsafe or morally impossible to remain living together and the Church understands that. People normally petition for declarations of nullity for one of two reasons. They feel they need closure and want to know their status (single/married) in the Church but don’t have a prospective spouse in mind. Or, they do want to immediately/eventually get married in the Church. So, the very first question I would have is why would you “need” a declaration of nullity? If your circumstances require separation (even a civil divorce), then you can always apply for permission to live separately from your bishop. If you believe your current status is single even though you are presumably married, then, yes, by all means petition for a hearing on your marriage after you get a civil divorce (talking USA here). Or, if you simply want closure after the divorce, again, you can file your petition at your Tribunal. 99.99% of the time, if you are challenging the validity of your bond of marriage to get a declaration of nullity (what is popularly known as an “annulment”) after the wedding ceremony in the Church, you will need to go through what is called the formal process. As others have pointed out, since you are in a natural marriage, you “might” be able to get a Petrine Privilege but that is dependent upon several factors, including your being an innocent spouse. It usually takes as long to get a decision on the Petrine dissolution as it does for a formal trial of nullity. Hope that is helpful.
 
Well, he basically defrauded me because he never had any intention of staying married to me for life. I know that for a fact. We were only married and living together for barely three months before he cheated on me and told me he wanted a divorce. I asked him repeatedly to work things out and he refused. He admitted that he was going to divorce me but that he just thought it wouldn’t be so soon.
I was just hoping that since it is only a natural marriage that the process might be shorter or something.
 
So if I married a non baptised person, and then got a dispensation for disparity of cult because I wanted to go back to the Church and take the sacraments,( assuming they allowed this…) if we later divorced, without a convalidation, would I be able to get an annullment?
 
Deltadeliquent said:
So if I married a non baptised person, and then got a dispensation for disparity of cult because I wanted to go back to the Church and take the sacraments,( assuming they allowed this…) if we later divorced, without a convalidation, would I be able to get an annullment?
Click to expand...
You’d have to get the dispensation prior to the marriage. If you attempted an invalid wedding, then you would either get a convalidation or a radical sanation so that you could return to accepting the Eucharist.

You could always petition for a decree of nullity, but there would need to be sufficient proof that the marriage was not valid in order for one to be granted.
 
Deltadeliquent said:
So if I married a non baptised person, and then got a dispensation for disparity of cult because I wanted to go back to the Church and take the sacraments,( assuming they allowed this…) if we later divorced, without a convalidation, would I be able to get an annullment?
Click to expand...
You are not understanding what a dispensation from disparity of cult is.

You are in an irregular marriage because of previous marriages. It is a different situation.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top