Ligamen?Annulment? and baptisimal certificates

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abbiegirl

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I have asked about and gotten answers regarding my annulment process. Actually it may be a ligamen - not really quite sure. Anyway, with either, we are being told, we need my fiance’s ex-wife’s baptisimal certificate. It is nowhere to be found. A bulliten has been sent to all the surrounding parish churches, with no response. She has lived in this area all her life. She, nor her family is being forthcoming with info.
Also, she was married before, and we are being asked to produce his (her ex-husband’s, not my fiance) baptisimal certificate. I’m not sure what the purpose of this is? What happens neither certificate can be located? Can we still be married in the Church? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
 
The purpose of the baptismal certificates might be to prove that your fiance’s ex is Catholic. Catholics are bound to be married inside the Catholic church. If they are not then its lack of form. My wife was married before. She is Catholic and was married outside the Catholic church. Here annulment took 3 weeks just because of lack of form. Thats about all I will comment without commenting on your specific case. I don’t want to mislead anyone either way.
 
Thank you so much for responding! My parish priest has sent out a bulliten to the archdioecese in the area. This, I was told, would go to all the Catholic churches and produce a baptisimal certificate - if she was baptised Catholic. There are no records as of such. She has not lived anywhere else in her life. Can it just be assumed that she was not Catholic? Or not baptised at all?
 
If she is Catholic then you want to prove she was because if she was married outside of the church its lack of form. If she is not Catholic then its a full blown up to two year investigation of ALL prior marriages. It can be complicated. ALL parties have to account for their validity of their marriage. The Church assumes ALL mariages are valid until proven otherwise. The diocese should have all Baptismal and Marriage records. Remember the wheels of the Church turns very slow. My annulment took 2 years. And nothing is guaranteed.
 
If she was not Catholic, and her ex was not Catholic, then their marriage was valid, I can understand that. But what does that do to the validity of her marriage to her 2nd husband (my fiance)? I know that Protestant religions accept this, but the Catholic Church does not. And since we are supposed to be going by the Church’s laws (for lack of a better word), shouldn’t she have gotten some sort of annulment or something to be free to marry the second time? And since she didn’t, her 2nd marriage was not valid? Is this the right way of thinking? Thanks so much!
 
Here is the dealio.

The Catholic Church will not declare your fiance’s prior marriage to be null without having definite proof of that fact. You have suggested two possible grounds for this nullity.

For lack of form, the required proofs are that your fiance’s ex-wife was Catholic, and that she did not receive a dispensation to marry outside the Catholic Church, and that the wedding did take place outside the Catholic Church. For the first two, a recent copy of your fiance’s ex-wife’s baptismal certificate from her parish is required. For the last, your fiance’s civil wedding certificate will suffice.

For ligamen, it must be established that your fiance’s ex-wife’s first marriage had at least the appearance of validity. If that wedding took place in the Catholic Church, or if a dispensation to marry outside the Catholic Church was granted, then that is assumed. Otherwise, it must be established that neither party was Catholic, and that the ex-wife’s first husband had no prior marriages himself.
 
Thank you so much! This has been really helpful, more info than I have received lately! Very much appreciated. Hope to move forward from this point soon.
 
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