Question: Is this marriage valid?

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Hypothetical 1: Bob and Beth marry in the Church. They then divorce, seek an annulment and the annulment is granted based on some reason “A”.

Hypothetical 2: Jim and Joan marry in the Church. On their wedding day Jim and Joan have the same defect (reason “A) present as Bob and Beth. However, because of many reasons (love, faith, etc.) Jim and Joan overcome this defect and live happily ever after.

Is Jim and Joan’s marriage valid?

Thanks is advance for your answers.
 
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alms:
Hypothetical 1: Bob and Beth marry in the Church. They then divorce, seek an annulment and the annulment is granted based on some reason “A”.

Hypothetical 2: Jim and Joan marry in the Church. On their wedding day Jim and Joan have the same defect (reason “A) present as Bob and Beth. However, because of many reasons (love, faith, etc.) Jim and Joan overcome this defect and live happily ever after.

Is Jim and Joan’s marriage valid?

Thanks is advance for your answers.
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I am not a canon lawyer, but I’d say there is not enough info here to make that judgement. Certainly, the defect would have to be identified before anyone could give any type of advice.

What the defect is makes a difference.
 
total waste of time and useless. Every marriage situation is unique, and if either party has doubts about the validity it must be presented to the marriage tribunal of the diocese for a complete investigation, which covers much more than the bare facts presented here, for judgement. You did not present any testimony on the circumstances pertaining at the time of the marriage, so speculation is pointless.
 
My understanding of this very complicated area of canon law is that there is always a “presumption of validity” for a marriage. A marriage is presumed valid until proven otherwise (although declarations of nullity are not infallible). I think that the presumption of validity is why children of marriages declared null are not considered illegitimate.

I know this presumption does not quite perfectly answer your question, though, because if it’s valid, it always was valid, and if it’s not valid, it never was valid.
 
I think the thing is that “A” COULD have made either marriage invalid. In Bob & Beth’s case, it DID make the marriage invalid, possibly because of extenuating circumstances. In Jim and Joan’s case there could be extenuating circumstances that enabled them to have a valid marriage. I think very rarely is there one and only one reason why a marriage is able to be valid or invalid. Or, perhaps in the case of Jim and Joan, ignorance is bliss.
 
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TridentineFan:
My understanding of this very complicated area of canon law is that there is always a “presumption of validity” for a marriage. A marriage is presumed valid until proven otherwise (although declarations of nullity are not infallible). I think that the presumption of validity is why children of marriages declared null are not considered illegitimate.

I know this presumption does not quite perfectly answer your question, though, because if it’s valid, it always was valid, and if it’s not valid, it never was valid.
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However, your answer does help.
 
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