Joining the Catholic Church

[GG1429]

Hello,

I’m not sure if I have the correct forum, please move if this is not the appropriate forum.

My wife and I are both Protestants and are interested in joining the Catholic Church. We were both married before approximately 20 years ago in Protestant ceremonies with both ending in divorce. We’ve been married 19 years.

Will we have to obtain an annulment of our first marriages before we can join the Church?

Thanks

 

[WesleyF]

Will we have to obtain an annulment of our first marriages before we can join the Church?

An annulment means that there was no valid marriage in the first place. Even if you were married in a Protestant church, your marriage is still valid and therefore you cannot have an annulment.

 

[GG1429]

Let me rephrase or be more concise.

How do we join the Church, (Convert) knowing that we are currently married and have both been divorced?

Edit: Not the conversion process, just what we would have to do, if anything, as it relates to our past marriages.

 

[Windfish]

Interesting question. That you were Protestants when the divorces happened makes the situation a bit confusing. I was under the impression that no annulment was necessary, but I could be wrong. Have you considered calling Catholic Answers Live?

 

[puzzleannie]

An annulment means that there was no valid marriage in the first place. Even if you were married in a Protestant church, your marriage is still valid and therefore you cannot have an annulment.

incomplete and misleading answer

OP is not clear but it seems you were both married and divorced previous to your current union. The Catholic Church considers those first marriages to be valid until proven otherwise. So objectively, before our current marriage can be convalidated, those marriages have to be investigated by the canon law tribunal to determine validity.

You need to visit the priest of the parish where you plan to join the Church. There are so many variables involved there is not much use exploring them here. He can get you started with what, if anything, needs to be done.

some, but not all, of what needs to be established
baptismal status and freedom to marry of all parties to past marriages
whether full consent and intent were present at the time of the original contracts

quite often such situations are much easier to resolve than might first appear. Please see the priest soon. and do submit in humble waiting to whatever is required to bring you fully home, you will find even the waiting and effort times of grace.

 

[GG1429]

Interesting question. That you were Protestants when the divorces happened makes the situation a bit confusing. I was under the impression that no annulment was necessary, but I could be wrong. Have you considered calling Catholic Answers Live?

I’m not familiar with this opportunity. Are they affiliated with this website?

Thanks

 

[GG1429]

incomplete and misleading answer

OP is not clear but it seems you were both married and divorced previous to your current union. The Catholic Church considers those first marriages to be valid until proven otherwise. So objectively, before our current marriage can be convalidated, those marriages have to be investigated by the canon law tribunal to determine validity.

You need to visit the priest of the parish where you plan to join the Church. There are so many variables involved there is not much use exploring them here. He can get you started with what, if anything, needs to be done.

some, but not all, of what needs to be established
baptismal status and freedom to marry of all parties to past marriages
whether full consent and intent were present at the time of the original contracts

quite often such situations are much easier to resolve than might first appear. Please see the priest soon. and do submit in humble waiting to whatever is required to bring you fully home, you will find even the waiting and effort times of grace.

Thank you for your thoughtful response. Yes, we were both married and divorced before our current marriage.

 

[Windfish]

I’m not familiar with this opportunity. Are they affiliated with this website?

Thanks

Oh, I am sorry! For some reason, I assumed that most people who come to the Catholic Answers Forum did so because of the Catholic Answers Live radio program. My bad!

Anyway, yeah, Catholic Answers Live is the radio arm of catholic.com. They are great! They are able to answer all your questions in a jiffy! Anyone have the number so she can call in during the program?

If you have an iPod, I really recommend subscribing to the show on iTunes. In the mean time, check out their archive of previous shows:

catholic.com/radio/calendar.php

Why are you considering the Catholic Church? I just assumed it was because of Catholic Answers Live!

 

[LOCO]

Hello,

I’m not sure if I have the correct forum, please move if this is not the appropriate forum.

My wife and I are both Protestants and are interested in joining the Catholic Church. We were both married before approximately 20 years ago in Protestant ceremonies with both ending in divorce. We’ve been married 19 years.

Will we have to obtain an annulment of our first marriages before we can join the Church?

Thanks

First of all, welcome and I wish you both well on your journey home to Rome.

I just had a look at the Vatican website on Communion of Divorced and Remarried and my mind boggled.

So, I’m just going to advise you to see the priest of your local Church, explain the situation to him and he will seek the advice of his Bishop who decides whether the marriages were ‘valid’.

May I ask which ‘ecclesial community’ all marriages occurred in? There are a few that are not recognised by the CC e.g. Mormons, JW’s in which case your baptisms and marriage may also not be considered ‘valid’.

 

[Prayer_Warrior]

An annulment means that there was no valid marriage in the first place. Even if you were married in a Protestant church, your marriage is still valid and therefore you cannot have an annulment.

This is incorrect. You cannot conclude, on behalf of the Church, that the marriages were valid. The Church will review a marriage that was conducted by a judge, in a protestant Church or in a Catholic Church. As PuzzleAnnie stated, certain conditions may exist which would lead the Church authority to conclude that the marriage may be annulled. They are presumed valid until they are investigated and determined null.

To the OP, I strongly urge you to talk to a knowledgeable priest regarding the matter. Annulments are misunderstood and sometimes confusing. Here and here are links which may help you. From the second link there is this paragraph which states the common reasons for annulment and one of them may be applicable to you:

Some common reasons for annulment in the Catholic Church are:

At least one partner didn’t fully & freely consent.
Someone wasn’t mature enough to understand the full extent of what they were doing.
There was never intent to be faithful.
One or both partners did not intend to be open to children.

 

[pablope]

I’m not familiar with this opportunity. Are they affiliated with this website?

Thanks

CA Live is the broadcast arm of this website. Go to hom and look for “Radio” and they will have the phone number. Tuesdays and Thursdays are their open lines and you can ask any subject.
I have heard, on occasion, callers calll in with questions such as yours and they will usually refer you to a canon lawyer. I think CA also a on board canon lawyer.

You can also try EWTN Radio, they have open lines where callers call in with questions.

I think your best option is to make an appointment with a priest in your area and he could advice you. Dioceses usually have priests or lay persons who are experts in such matters and you could also be referred to them.

God bless in your journey.

 

[GG1429]

Thank you all for your answers, kind words, and willingess to help. I will contact our local priest and contact Catholic Answers Live.

To answer a few of the questions.

We were raised and baptised in the UMC and Presbyterian Church respectfully. She was married in the Presbyterian Church and my first marriage was in the Episcopal Church.

We both entered into our previous unions willingly with full consent and intent.

We have been “led” to the Catholic Church after careful study and faithful prayer. The more we learn and grow spiritually, the more we are drawn to Catholicism.

Thanks again.

 

[Michael_Francis]

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