Might these circumstances have grounds for annulment?

[MartySchmitz]

A young woman was coerced into marriage before being allowed to return to the US from Morroco. Once back in the US, she never lived with her husband. She was a baptized Lutheran who has since become a Catholic. He was a non-practicing Muslim. The marriage was a civil ceremony. Four years have past and a civil divorce has recently occurred. Might these circumstances have grounds for annulment?

 

[Jim_Blackburn]

It sounds as though this marriage may not have been valid due to the coercion you describe. Code of Canon Law (CIC) states, “No marriage can exist between a man and a woman who has been abducted or at least detained with a view of contracting marriage with her unless the woman chooses marriage of her own accord after she has been separated from the captor and established in a safe and free place” (CIC 1089). Also, “A marriage is invalid if entered into because of force or grave fear from without, even if unintentionally inflicted, so that a person is compelled to choose marriage in order to be free from it” (CIC 1103).