Is and annulment needed?

[Sophie]

Is an annulment needed by the Catholic Church if a divorced Catholic’s first marriage to a Jew was performed by a Jewish rabbi without any permission having been granted by the Catholic Church for the first marriage? Would this Catholic be free to marry again in the Church without an annulment?

 

[Catholic2003]

In most dioceses, a person in this situation must submit some basic paperwork to establish the fact pattern that you’ve outlined, and that paperwork will go to the Church tribunal for verification. It is a quick, easy, and automatic process that is usually called a “lack of canonical form” annulment, but technically speaking, it is not a properly an annulment at all.

The paperwork consists of:

• A copy of the marriage certificate, to establish that the marriage was performed outside the Catholic Church.
• A copy of the final divorce decree.
• A recent (within the last six months) copy of the Catholic party’s birth certificate/sacramental record, to establish that the marriage was not recorded there.
• A signed affidavit from the Catholic party stating that a dispensation from canonical form was never obtained for the marriage, and that the Catholic party had not defected from the Catholic Church by a formal act.

 

[Catholic2003]

Sorry, I meant “baptismal certificate”, not “birth certificate”.

 

[otm]

Catholic2003:

Sorry, I meant “baptismal certificate”, not “birth certificate”.

My understanding is that it is necessary, but it is a short process.

 

[Catholic2003]

otm:

My understanding is that it is necessary, but it is a short process.

Correct. The process is necessary, and will typically take about a month or so. In dioceses that charge fees for formal case annulments, there is usually no fee for “lack of canonical form” cases (or if there is a fee, it is much smaller).

 

[Sophie]

Thanks so much for your answers to my question! They were truly helpful. God bless!