RCIA leader asked lots of anullment ?s

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funnyyetsavvy

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I called the RCIA teacher yesterday and was surprised that she asked a lot about my anulment status including personal questions about the circumstances, previous marriages, etc. I knew she’d want to know that I was going through the process, but why would she need to know my details?
Is that normal?

I’m kind of private, and I was starting to feel like SHE was deciding whether my petition should be granted…at one point she even said, “Oh, well, that’s going to take a year or more before they decide that case.”
 
funnyyetsavvy said:
I called the RCIA teacher yesterday and was surprised that she asked a lot about my anulment status including personal questions about the circumstances, previous marriages, etc. I knew she’d want to know that I was going through the process, but why would she need to know my details?
Is that normal?

I’m kind of private, and I was starting to feel like SHE was deciding whether my petition should be granted…at one point she even said, “Oh, well, that’s going to take a year or more before they decide that case.”
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There are two types of annullments. One is pretty quick and the other can drag on or not be granted. She may have been trying to determine the urgency of your conversion process. What I’m trying to say is… you could end up going through RCIA but maybe not be able to enjoy the sacraments at the end due to this issue. I know that they wnated my anullment in process prior to RCIA enrollment. But mine was “cut and dried” so it would not be a barrier to me becoming Catholic at the end of RCIA.

It may be she’s looking at the program, who would be a good sponsor for you or if there is even enough sponsors to go around.
It may well take a long time for your enrollment. I encourage you to start RCIA anyway. Even if you have to switch programs. While you may not be able to join the Church immediately, if the annulment goes through, you can join then if you decide to do so.
 
Possibly she was asking because of her last comment. She wanted to know if you would be coming into the Church soon or if it would be a year or more.

I know that I’ve run into situations where I have an initial interview with someone and think to myself “he’s ready now…this won’t take long.” And then I ask about prior marriages and find out that it will take longer after all because he’ll have to file for a declaration of nullity. I’ll also ask if the ex-spouse was Catholic in the hope that if they weren’t married in the Church there will be an easy way out. It sounds nosy but I have to know whether to refer the inquirer to the pastor to talk about marriage issues and what to tell the inquirer about RCIA and timelines.

If someone said they had filed for a declaration of nullity I might also ask about the circumstances just to make sure they understand how long it might take and what that means in terms of RCIA. To quote your RCIA director, “Oh, well, that’s going to take a year or more before they decide that case” and I would add something about not being received into the Church until that happens.
 
Thanks for the explanations…sometimes it feels like th whole world wants to know the details:o

I knew they need to know what’s going on (of course!) with the status of things. I hadn’t thought about how it would affect my entrance into the church after the class:o

Oh, I am very excited to be starting this Thursday - :bounce: I was overjoyed to hear that they would work with me on the schedule conflict.
 
funnyyetsavvy said:
I’m kind of private, and I was starting to feel like SHE was deciding whether my petition should be granted…at one point she even said, “Oh, well, that’s going to take a year or more before they decide that case.”
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Obviously, she can’t make the decision - but she was probably thinking out loud about how long it will be before you can be received into the Church - assuming your petition is granted, of course!
 
Details of pending (or non-pending) annulment proceedings are probably needed in order to know whether or not a candidate can be admitted to the sacraments. It would not be wise to wait till the last minute to obtain this information.
 
If an annulment is pending and the person is already remarried, where must the RCIA process stop? At the Rite of Acceptance/Welcoming, or the Rite of Election/Calling, or the Scrutinies, or the actual Sacraments of Initiation at the Easter Vigil?
 
Just_Lurking said:
If an annulment is pending and the person is already remarried, where must the RCIA process stop? At the Rite of Acceptance/Welcoming, or the Rite of Election/Calling, or the Scrutinies, or the actual Sacraments of Initiation at the Easter Vigil?
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The documents tell us that persons who are not eligible to become Catholic should not proceed beyond the Period of Inquiry, since the vows made at the Rite of Welcome/Rite of Acceptance assume that the candidate/catechumen is prepared to complete the journey to its end.

In practice, most RCIA coordinators just assume that the Inquirer will automatically receive his/her Declaration of Nullity, and that it is only a matter of time. I have seen people received into the Rite of Election/Call to Full Communion (six weeks away from the Sacraments) who were still waiting for a ruling from the Tribunal.

I always wonder what would happen to those people if the Tribunal came back and said, “No, you cannot become a Catholic; your first marriage was valid, and you are in an ongoing state of the sin of adultery, until the death of all of your spouses except one.”
 
Is there a timeline or list of the sequence of the process somewhere?
 
funnyyetsavvy said:
Is there a timeline or list of the sequence of the process somewhere?
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I would check your Diocesan web-site or call them to see if they have such a timeline for you.

Having never gone through one nor been a witness in one I only know to send someone to the Parish Priest to get started.

Sorry I couldn’t help you more.

Brenda V.
 
funnyyetsavvy said:
I called the RCIA teacher yesterday and was surprised that she asked a lot about my anulment status including personal questions about the circumstances, previous marriages, etc. I knew she’d want to know that I was going through the process, but why would she need to know my details?
Is that normal?

I’m kind of private, and I was starting to feel like SHE was deciding whether my petition should be granted…at one point she even said, “Oh, well, that’s going to take a year or more before they decide that case.”
Click to expand...
yes it is entirely necessary for the RCIA coordinator, deacon or whoever the pastor designates to find out the details of your status. if she has the record of decree of nullity she should not need other info, but she must be assured you are properly disposed for the sacraments because she must assure the pastor or celebrant.

it is her job

does she need to know grounds for annulment, no, nor does she needs details of breakdown of the marriage, she only needs what she needs to determine your canonical status. she may very well have experience with the tribunal in your diocese and be able to give an informed opinion (not assurance) of when you may expect a decision. But she must follow up on the process to make sure the “right rites are done right” at the right time.

the alternative to her not asking the appropriate questions is that you are all prepared for Easter sacraments only to be told at the last minute you cannot be received into the Church because your annulment has not yet been granted and your marriage cannot be convalidated.

Ideally these questions should only be asked by the pastor, but these days pastors rarely handle these things personally and delegate someone else. no comment on the wisdom of this practice (don’t get me started).
 
jmcrae said:
The documents tell us that persons who are not eligible to become Catholic should not proceed beyond the Period of Inquiry, since the vows made at the Rite of Welcome/Rite of Acceptance assume that the candidate/catechumen is prepared to complete the journey to its end.

In practice, most RCIA coordinators just assume that the Inquirer will automatically receive his/her Declaration of Nullity, and that it is only a matter of time. I have seen people received into the Rite of Election/Call to Full Communion (six weeks away from the Sacraments) who were still waiting for a ruling from the Tribunal.
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I think we have had some who simply elected to stay in RCIA while waiting for a nullity decision. If it did not come through in time, they continued RCIA but did not enter the Church; then went through the process again the following year.

On the other hand, I was assigned as a parish sponsor once to a guy who had a prior divorce but did not apply for an annulment. After a meeting with the priest when he discovered the need to apply for a declaration of nullity, he became quite upset, and simply dropped out of RCIA, saying that was behind him and he did not wish to bring it up again.
 
Unless I am missing something, unless funnyyet has remarried or intends to re-marry, the decree of nullity timing will have nothing to do with her reception into the Church.

I do agree that the RCIA director is just trying to get the facts so she can assist and support you in the process.
 
JimG said:
I think we have had some who simply elected to stay in RCIA while waiting for a nullity decision. If it did not come through in time, they continued RCIA but did not enter the Church; then went through the process again the following year.
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What happens if your guy turns out to be one of the 5% who is denied his petition for a Declaration of Nullity?
On the other hand, I was assigned as a parish sponsor once to a guy who had a prior divorce but did not apply for an annulment. After a meeting with the priest when he discovered the need to apply for a declaration of nullity, he became quite upset, and simply dropped out of RCIA, saying that was behind him and he did not wish to bring it up again.
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People do get really upset about things like this - and it’s certainly a real minefield to try to approach someone with the facts about this kind of thing - your guy’s reaction was completely natural. Hopefully, some day, he will think it all through in a rational way, and realize that it is not the Church’s fault that he got divorced at some point prior to wanting to convert. Or else maybe he had some misconceptions about what a declaration of nullity is, and thought that he was going to be publicly blamed for the failure of the marriage - who can say? People often get odd notions into their heads, too.
 
jmcrae said:
What happens if your guy turns out to be one of the 5% who is denied his petition for a Declaration of Nullity?
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I don’t know, as I was not usually privy to the details of this sort of situation. I would only note that divorce in itself, is not a bar to entering the Church. But if a prior marriage is determined to be valid, one would not be free to remarry.

As to the guy who dropped out of RCIA, I was disappointed because he seemed eager to learn about the Faith. At least it happened rather early in the process. This is one reason I think that a priest ought to address possible marriage issues at the very start of the program.
 
JimG said:
I don’t know, as I was not usually privy to the details of this sort of situation. I would only note that divorce in itself, is not a bar to entering the Church. But if a prior marriage is determined to be valid, one would not be free to remarry.

As to the guy who dropped out of RCIA, I was disappointed because he seemed eager to learn about the Faith. At least it happened rather early in the process. This is one reason I think that a priest ought to address possible marriage issues at the very start of the program.
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This is actually supposed to happen privately, at the entrance interview. If the entrance interview doesn’t occur before the person enters RCIA, then it should occur at some point early on during the Inquiry period.
 
As for the question about remarrying, when the priest asked me about that I said didn’t really know what might happen in the future but that that possibility could exist…
 
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