Is annulment information public?

[anytimequilter]

I know this may seem like a silly question, but I am wondering so I have to ask. I am divorced and received my church annulment 10 years ago or so.

My questions are , are church annulments public information?

Can someone look somewhere and see my annulment?

How about if someone started an annulment can someone look somewhere and see one has been started?

 

[Fr.Charles_Grondin]

All testimony given by the Petitioner and/or the Respondent, as well as their witnesses, can be seen by the Petitioner, the Respondent and the Tribunal officials. All Tribunal personnel (secretaries, interviewers, judges) take an oath of confidentiality. Neither witnesses, family members, parish priest, nor anyone else is given access to annulment files. No one, except those directly involved in the annulment, would have any way to know that a process was started.

The decree of nullity itself is a public act of the Church, just as marriage is a public act. The decree of nullity is sent to the church of marriage as well as the churches of baptism of both spouses and is recorded in the sacramental books. Should someone who received an annulment request their baptismal record, the certificate will note the wedding and that it was declared null by a tribunal.

Sacramental records are usually only issued to the individual that received the sacrament or to another parish for various reasons. Outside of real extenuating circumstances, I can’t think of a way that a third party would be able to know whether someone received an annulment.