On Uncooperative Witnesses

  • Thread starter Thread starter beverly1014
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
B

beverly1014

Guest
I am a relatively new Catholic from a mostly nominally protestant family, with a few atheists mixed in. I’d like an annulment from a marriage that ended before I joined the church, but I’m finding it hard to get witnesses to follow through. They mostly think it is ridiculous - my mother laughed at me about it - so it has been like pulling teeth. Is there any allowances for this kind of thing? The only witness that followed through was a protestant that married into a Catholic family who understood why this is important to me. On top of that, my ex is basically anti-Catholic so I don’t expect much cooperation from him. Thoughts? Advice?
 
Was your marriage valid at the time you got married? If so what makes it invalid now?
 
I was baptised in a Baptist church as a child. I know my ex became a protestant while he was in the military but I don’t know if he was ever baptised. His mother was a devout Baptist from what I can tell.
 
If neither of you were you may try Petrine/Pauline privilege, but it doesn’t look like that would apply.

Would the Protestant who did cooperate be able to influence the others?
 
I cannot imagine laughing at my family member’s or my friend’s faith. How sad.

Surely you have another friend or family member who respects you and will answer a few questions simply out of love for you.
 
He was not open to life. (That is the only one I KNOW to be grounds)
I also knew he wasn’t a fan of the Catholic Church but I did not expect to be not allowed to attend mass when I wanted to from time to time. If we didn’t divorce I would be still in a Baptist church.
 
“Mom, I know you love me. Will you please sit down this weekend and answer the questionnaire? Do it for me, consider it my birthday present.”
 
Yes he has children.
I had a crisis of conscience at one point and I broached the subject of ending birth control but he said no. Incidentally, my son was a birth control failure. Go figure.

As far as a questionnaire, my diocese asks for an actual written statement.
 
Last edited:
beverly1014 said:
As far as a questionnaire, my diocese asks for an actual written statement.
Click to expand...
Have you talked to the Judge handling your case (or to some other person in authority over your case) regarding your predicament with witnesses? If not, maybe that is a place to start. If you have, what was the response?

Dan
 
Please, talk to your Tribunal Advocate wrt your grounds. If a person has had children at any point in their life, it is not really possible to claim they had a permanent intention against children.
 
I just emailed the advocate at the local diocese. We will see what she has to say.

I’m not sure if I will have valid grounds but I have to try; I don’t want to be canonically tied to him for the rest of my life.
 
TheLittleLady said:
If a person has had children at any point in their life, it is not really possible to claim they had a permanent intention against children.
Click to expand...
Well, I’d have to say that it is possible since I’ve seen it happen all the way up to the Roman Rota and they said there was such an intention. Certainly, this is not a typical fact pattern, though. Whether or not this particular case will go ahead on those grounds, who knows.

Dan
 
Do our baptisms OUTSIDE the Church have anything to do with this?
 
Last edited:
Only if your ex was a Baptized Catholic.

In all, begin the process of annulment with your parish priest.

Put it in God’s hands and I’m sure it will go smoother than you expect.

Jim
 
The whole thing makes me kind of sad. I wish I had listened to myself when I considered cancelling at the last minute. I also didn’t find out until after it was over that my father didn’t approve. I wish he had said something back then.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top