Remarried / Annulment?

[dutchessmom]

I am new to this site and forum. Please bear with me. I was raised in the roman catholic faith but fell away from the church in my early adult life. In my 20s, I was not a practicing catholic but I met a man who was 11 years older than me, who was raised as a roman catholic, but he was also not practicing. We were considering a civil marriage ceremony which his parents were against, so we “compromised” by getting married by an orthodox catholic priest in an outdoor wedding ceremony. We did not have any pre-cana classes, but we did discuss and agreed that we both wanted children. A few years after we were married, he “changed his mind” about having children. We subsequently divorced but I did not pursue an annulment. In my early 30s I remarried a man who was also raised roman catholic but was not practicing. He was also previously married and divorced. We were married in a civil ceremony. Fast forward… I have been trying to live as a catholic wife and mother for the last 12 years. My daughter was baptized, received her first penance and communion, and I have tried to faithfully live up to the promise of raising her as a catholic. My husband has not been supportive and I have basically been “on my own” with regard to her attendance at mass, religious education, etc. Six years ago I learned that my husband had been unfaithful. He also has struggled with pornography and drug addiction. After 6 years of trying to forgive him and save our marriage (he continued to use drugs and cheat on me with the same woman), I finally left him. Now that we are separated, I am considering a divorce. I spoke to my pastor about my marriage / separation / plans for divorce. He mentioned that I might consider pursuing an annulment at some point in the future (which I had never really thought about before). Now I am wondering… my second marriage was not valid in the first place, so if I ever wanted to be free to marry in the catholic church in the future, would I have to get my FIRST marriage annulled? Or was that marriage also not valid because it was performed by an Orthodox catholic priest? Am I still spiritually married to my first husband? I very much want to grow in my faith, set a good example for my daughter and get this all straightened out!

 

[achmafooma]

Hello and welcome to the forums.

The best person for you to speak to is your priest. I recommend making an appointment with him to discuss what course of action you should take.

If I understand you correctly, you are a Baptized Catholic (even though you fell away), but both of your weddings were in non-Catholic ceremonies. If that is correct, most likely you will be able to receive an annulment of both marriages for a ‘lack of form.’ Catholics must be married in a Catholic ceremony in order for the marriage to be presumably valid, unless they receive a dispensation (from the Bishop, I believe). So it sounds like your marriages were both canonically invalid, and can probably be annulled fairly easily on that basis.

If your first marriage was a Catholic marriage (I am not sure what you mean by ‘Orthodox catholic priest’), then that could make things a bit more difficult to resolve. If that’s the case, it will require a more thorough annulment investigation to determine whether or not that was a valid marriage. You would likely receive an annulment for the second marriage very easily, since you would be presumed not to be free to have married him (since you would still have been married to your first husband)…and for the lack of form, which would still apply there. But the first, it would depend on the circumstances, which would have to be investigated.

This is all just conjecture though, to try and give you an idea of what to expect. The best thing for you to do is meet with your priest and begin the process. He will be able to guide you based on your individual circumstances.

I know this is all very difficult to deal with, but you are not alone. I am the coordinator of the RCIA program in my parish, and each year we have at least one or two people with similar situations that need to be worked out (either converts from non-Catholic Christianity, or Catholic ‘reverts’ like yourself). Have faith and be patient; the annulment process sometimes takes some time, but I think it will be good for you to get everything straightened out. God bless you!

 

[1ke]

You need to have both marriages reviwed by the tribunal. Certainly your second is not valid on multiple grounds: Ligamen (his prior bond) and form (not married according to Catholic form). This should be a fairly straightfoward paperwork process on your part after your divorce.

Your first marriage may or may not be valid depending upon what you mean by an “orthodox catholic priest”. It is an investigation best taken up by those qualified in canon law at the tribunal.

I do suggest you pursue the nullity of your first marriage so you will know with certainty whether or not you are free to contract a new marriage in the future.

 

[dutchessmom]

Thank you so much for replying to my post. I have tried unsuccessfully to locate the church and the priest who performed my first marriage ceremony. The church was called 'Shrine of St. Jude Chapel" in Margate / North Lauderdale, Florida. The only records I can find on the internet are: 1. An “inactive domestic nonprofit corporation” called “Diocese of Florida, Inc.” and 2. A listing on the National Center for Charitable Statistics for a religious organization called “Catholic Orthodox Church Shrine of St Jude Chapel” founded in 1990 as a 501-C3 charitable organization. I will definitely speak to my priest about this. Thank you for the replies!

 

[SerraSemper]

Thank you so much for replying to my post. I have tried unsuccessfully to locate the church and the priest who performed my first marriage ceremony. The church was called 'Shrine of St. Jude Chapel" in Margate / North Lauderdale, Florida. The only records I can find on the internet are: 1. An “inactive domestic nonprofit corporation” called “Diocese of Florida, Inc.” and 2. A listing on the National Center for Charitable Statistics for a religious organization called “Catholic Orthodox Church Shrine of St Jude Chapel” founded in 1990 as a 501-C3 charitable organization. I will definitely speak to my priest about this. Thank you for the replies!

Just call the Catholic Diocese of that location and ask whether that Shrine was Roman Catholic. If it wasn’t (it probably wasn’t), go ahead and contact your diocesan tribunal. More than likely your situation will take little more than filling out a form, your baptismal certificate (get a recent copy from the Church you were baptized in), and marriage/divorce certificates/decrees and possibly a nominal filing fee on your part. It shouldn’t take too long to process if it is simply a lack of form/ligamine case for your two civil marriages.

 

[joanofarc2008]

YOu should speak to your priest. God bless you for trying to do the right thing and good luck in your upcoming journey.

 

[1ke]

Just call the Catholic Diocese of that location and ask whether that Shrine was Roman Catholic. If it wasn’t (it probably wasn’t), go ahead and contact your diocesan tribunal. More than likely your situation will take little more than filling out a form, your baptismal certificate (get a recent copy from the Church you were baptized in), and marriage/divorce certificates/decrees and possibly a nominal filing fee on your part. It shouldn’t take too long to process if it is simply a lack of form/ligamine case for your two civil marriages.

The OP definitely needs to discuss this situation with the tribunal. The crux of the matter will be whether or not this priest is an actual Catholic priest or not (not whether or not the shrine is/was affiliated with the diocese). There are priests who have left the Catholic Church who advertise themselves and marry people. This could bring up some issues surrounding validity (versus licety). This is simply one of those situation that requires some close scrutiny by a member of the tribunal for further direction.

 

[Corki]

The OP definitely needs to discuss this situation with the tribunal. The crux of the matter will be whether or not this priest is an actual Catholic priest or not (not whether or not the shrine is/was affiliated with the diocese). There are priests who have left the Catholic Church who advertise themselves and marry people. This could bring up some issues surrounding validity (versus licety). This is simply one of those situation that requires some close scrutiny by a member of the tribunal for further direction.

When it comes to marriages, the priest needs to not only be validly ordained but also to have faculties from the local Bishop. Even if the priest was a validly ordained priest, if he officiated the marriage without faculties, it would still fall into the lack of form category. The legal marriage license usually lists the officiant of the marriage. The diocese should be able to determine fairly easily if that officiant had faculties to marry anyone in the diocese.

But yes, the OP needs to start with her priest who can get clarification from the chancery and/or the tribunal.