Question about necessity of annulment

[Jaelithe]

I, a Catholic, was married to a Catholic woman while we were both estranged from the Church. She had previously been married in a Catholic ceremony and never had it annulled (though obviously she’d gotten divorced), and so was still sacramentally married when we took our vows. In addition, our own marriage took place in a Unitarian Universalist church (and was conducted by a Unitarian Universalist minister), which I know is not considered a Christian ceremony (though the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit were invoked by name during the process). No dispensation was obtained before the ceremony. (As I said, we were both estranged from the Church at that time.)

She and I are now divorced for some years, and both of us have returned to Home Sweet Rome: She finally got her annulment, to her credit, and I am now in the process of developing a relationship with an attractive Catholic woman with whom I plan on remaining chaste until and unless we are wed (in a Catholic ceremony, of course).

Here’s my question: Since a Unitarian Universalist ceremony is not considered Christian, and the civil part of my marriage has been dissolved, do I actually need the lack of form version of an annulment, or am I already free to marry in the Catholic Church if I so desire?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Fr.Charles_Grondin]

Marriage is considered a public action by the Church. Your marriage outside the Catholic Church would be considered invalid by the Catholic Church. However because it was a public attempt at marriage it does require a lack of form annulment application. This is a fairly quick and painless process. It simply requires setting forth the facts that a Catholic attempted marriage outside the Church without dispensation.

On a side note, chastity does not mean lack of sexual activity. It means the proper use of our sexuality. Sexuality activity within marriage is chaste.