Mortal sin on wedding date ground for annulment?

[houston1]

Hi CAF members,

In regards to the divorce of two baptized person who desire to annul their marriage, can being in the state of mortal sin or having committed a grave sin which has not been absolved at the time of the time of the marriage ever be a grounds to annul the marriage?

I do know as a general rule that being in the state of mortal sin does not invalidate a sacrament. But, does this also apply to the sacrament of marriage where the bride and groom make vows to each other? It would seem to me that a grave sin would indicate a lack of the proper disposition necessary to make such a serious commitment as the sacrament of marriage.

Thanks for your help.

Kay Ann

 

[BoomBoomMancini]

Hi CAF members,

In regards to the divorce of two baptized person who desire to annul their marriage, can being in the state of mortal sin or having committed a grave sin which has not been absolved at the time of the time of the marriage ever be a grounds to annul the marriage?

I do know as a general rule that being in the state of mortal sin does not invalidate a sacrament. But, does this also apply to the sacrament of marriage where the bride and groom make vows to each other? It would seem to me that a grave sin would indicate a lack of the proper disposition necessary to make such a serious commitment as the sacrament of marriage.

Thanks for your help.

Kay Ann

My guess (and it is only a guess, you should probably ask a canon lawyer or a member of your diocese’s tribunal) is that it might if the mortal sin was particularly relevant to the marriage.

For example, say that one of the spouses had been carrying on with someone else behind the back of the other, and had no intention to stop sleeping with the third person after the marriage. In other words, they expected and planned to commit adultery. That might indicate a lack of the proper disposition to commit to marriage. In contrast, if the mortal sin was something less connected to the marriage itself (say one spouse was embezzling large amounts money from their employer) then I don’t see how that would invalidate the marriage.

But again, that’s only my layman’s guess.

 

[dans0622]

Hi CAF members,

In regards to the divorce of two baptized person who desire to annul their marriage, can being in the state of mortal sin or having committed a grave sin which has not been absolved at the time of the time of the marriage ever be a grounds to annul the marriage?

I do know as a general rule that being in the state of mortal sin does not invalidate a sacrament. But, does this also apply to the sacrament of marriage where the bride and groom make vows to each other? It would seem to me that a grave sin would indicate a lack of the proper disposition necessary to make such a serious commitment as the sacrament of marriage.

Thanks for your help.

Kay Ann

Hello,

No, unconfessed mortal sin is never “grounds to annul the marriage.” The presence of sin (mortal or venial) is never used to support any ground of nullity. More broadly, the topic of sin **never **comes up in a nullity trial.

A person’s actions might be sinful and might have something to do with the validity of the marriage but, again, “sin” is simply a word that is not used.

Dan

 

[houston1]

Hello,

No, unconfessed mortal sin is never “grounds to annul the marriage.” The presence of sin (mortal or venial) is never used to support any ground of nullity. More broadly, the topic of sin **never **comes up in a nullity trial.

A person’s actions might be sinful and might have something to do with the validity of the marriage but, again, “sin” is simply a word that is not used.

Dan

Dan, thank you. That makes sense. Boomboom’s response makes sense, also. But, I was thinking of the sinful actions of the persons entering marriage. So, suppose the couple were having premarital sex prior to marriage. Since having sexual relations affects us on a deep level, it seems to me that it would be a indicator that the couple had no clue as to what marriage really is. What do you think of this scenario?

Also, could the marriage be later annulled if one of the spouses had, at the time of the marriage, a condition of extreme anxieties concerning their interactions with others and was of an obsessive nature otherwise…with the consequence of the marriage later falling apart due to verbal and psychological abuse by that spouse?

How about an unnatural attachment to one or more parent where that spouse valued his or her mother’s and/or father’s opinion over his or her spouse?

Thanks for helping me here.

houston1

 

[MaryT777]

Houston ,

The best thing to do is contact your priest or a Canon attorney and discuss the possible grounds to file.

It’s nearly impossible to guess at every possible scenario on the Internet.

I say this because I have a decree of nullity and the sooner you get the process going the better.

I wish you the best with gaining insight into the process and answers to your ?'s from a real life person.

God bless,
Mary.

 

[joeybaggz]

Dan, thank you. That makes sense. Boomboom’s response makes sense, also. But, I was thinking of the sinful actions of the persons entering marriage. So, suppose the couple were having premarital sex prior to marriage. Since having sexual relations affects us on a deep level, it seems to me that it would be a indicator that the couple had no clue as to what marriage really is.

houston1

Seems your question answers itself. If the couple was having sex in willful disobedience to Church teaching, or if they were having sex with others (really wild bachelor/bachelorette parties), it my be an indicator of gross psychological immaturity thus nullifying the ability to properly understand the sacred and exclusive nature of marriage. However, it would be the immaturity that would be the cause for the issuance of a decree of nullity and not the sin of fornication.

Oh and I agree with above posters, see a priest or a canon lawyer with this question. Your best option.

Just my two cents.

Shalom.

 

[houston1]

Thanks everyone for your comments. My husband and I are not divorcing but we are definitely having significant marital problems which are related to conditions which existed at the time that we married. My questions are for my understanding what the sacrament of marriage is and what it is not. Knowing all this will help me better work thing out with my husband.

 

[eamonnroma]

It would depend on the sin…

 

[dans0622]

…But, I was thinking of the sinful actions of the persons entering marriage. So, suppose the couple were having premarital sex prior to marriage. Since having sexual relations affects us on a deep level, it seems to me that it would be a indicator that the couple had no clue as to what marriage really is. What do you think of this scenario?

Also, could the marriage be later annulled if one of the spouses had, at the time of the marriage, a condition of extreme anxieties concerning their interactions with others and was of an obsessive nature otherwise…with the consequence of the marriage later falling apart due to verbal and psychological abuse by that spouse?

How about an unnatural attachment to one or more parent where that spouse valued his or her mother’s and/or father’s opinion over his or her spouse?

…

Those things can have some pertinence in a nullity trial but it’s not as though a marriage is declared invalid because of a particular sin or attachment or anxiety. Such qualities/actions are evidence that can support an actual “ground” of nullity.

I hope and pray you are able to overcome the present difficulties in your marriage.

Dan

 

[houston1]

Those things can have some pertinence in a nullity trial but it’s not as though a marriage is declared invalid because of a particular sin or attachment or anxiety. Such qualities/actions are evidence that can support an actual “ground” of nullity.

I hope and pray you are able to overcome the present difficulties in your marriage.

Dan

Thank you, Dan. All of this has been very helpful. Thank you for your prayers.

In the interim, I found this link on ewtn which discusses psychological disorders as grounds to annul a marriage. Here it is. ewtn.com/v/experts/showmessage.asp?number=448492&Pg=&Pgnu=&recnu

At the time of our wedding, my husband exhibited many qualities of avoidant personality disorder and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. Here are links to descriptions of those.

psychcentral.com/disorders/avoidant-personality-disorder-symptoms/
psychcentral.com/disorders/obsessive-compulsive-personality-disorder-symptoms/

Knowing all of this gives me peace of mind and I believe I know what to do to help my husband work through these things. He is now open to reading books with me and to go to counseling, if it becomes necessary. For us, the book will be a better start since it is about knowing my husband and having my husband come to know me. Our arguments have suddenly ceased. That is why I don’t think is counseling since our communication lines are now open.



houston1

 

[BoomBoomMancini]

Thanks everyone for your comments. My husband and I are not divorcing but we are definitely having significant marital problems which are related to conditions which existed at the time that we married. My questions are for my understanding what the sacrament of marriage is and what it is not. Knowing all this will help me better work thing out with my husband.

I think the point is that “sin” isn’t really the proper framework to analyze the problem through. It’s more about the mindset of the people, not whether or not they were in a state of sin. But yeah, talk to the tribunal.