Marriage Question

[Krypt]

I am a catholic and I was married about 8 years ago. I was not married through the catholic church though. I was married through a justice of the peace. I am divorced now and was wondering since I was not married through the catholic church, if I would be able to remarry this time through the church. If anyone can help answer this…it is appreciated!

 

[thewanderer]

If you or your spouse were a baptized Catholic at the time of your marriage then your marriage would not be viewed as valid by the Church and you will be considered free to marry in the Church. However, I do believe you will still need a declaration of nullity, though in your case it should be fairly simple and short process to get as you can apply because of a “lack of form”.

 

[Gorgias]

Go have a talk with your parish priest. thewanderer is right; it does sound like it may be a ‘lack of form’ case. We can’t really tell you for sure – only your parish priest, with whom you’ll share all the details, will be able to lead you through the process…!

 

[TheWarriorMonk]

If you were Catholic at the time of this civil marriage, and did not have the proper dispensations to do so, you are not considered married in the eyes of the Catholic Church. You will need to have this matter addressed if you wish to marry in the Catholic Church. Your situation would be referred to as a “lack of form” case, which is handled rather quickly relative to other marital investigations. If you intend to remarry, I would recommend discussing this matter with your pastor and handling it sooner rather than later. Your premarital prep can’t start without being declared free to marry.