Rota overturns decree of nullity

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Well, in 1960 and earlier, there were something like 300 annulments per year granted in the U.S. Now it is something like 60,000 per year.

I would like to see a bar graph of the annulments by year for the past century, but statistics are hard to find.
 
Given the deplorable state of lay catholic knowledge and apathy towards KNOWING church teaching, is it any wonder that so many nominal catholics today have a genuine impediment to marriage?

IMO, the scandal is less about how easily annulments are granted than about how carelessly couples are granted what SEEMS to be catholic weddings!
 
manualman said:
Given the deplorable state of lay catholic knowledge and apathy towards KNOWING church teaching, is it any wonder that so many nominal catholics today have a genuine impediment to marriage?

IMO, the scandal is less about how easily annulments are granted than about how carelessly couples are granted what SEEMS to be catholic weddings!
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JimG said:
Well, in 1960 and earlier, there were something like 300 annulments per year granted in the U.S. Now it is something like 60,000 per year.

I would like to see a bar graph of the annulments by year for the past century, but statistics are hard to find.
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Bingo Manualman. The increase in annullments is more a reflection of poor catechesis and understanding of the Sacrament of Marriage than anything else.
 
manualman said:
Given the deplorable state of lay catholic knowledge and apathy towards KNOWING church teaching, is it any wonder that so many nominal catholics today have a genuine impediment to marriage?

IMO, the scandal is less about how easily annulments are granted than about how carelessly couples are granted what SEEMS to be catholic weddings!
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Standing up and cheering for that one!!! 👍 I think you are dead on with that. If it took a couple a year to prepare for and discern marriage, just as it does to pursue a declaration of nullity, I think there would be far fewer divorces out there.

People today live a sound bite mentality - if they can’t have everything they want in 30 seconds, then they will find a way to make it happen come hell or high water. And that’s when they end up making bad decisions.

~Liza
 
What’s interesting about the Joe Kennedy case is that his ex-wife, being outraged by a declaration of nullity of a marriage that she believed to be valid, appealed to the Roman Rota, and WON!

I suspect that there are a lot of spouses in that situation. Husband (or wife) walks out of the marriage, files for divorce (no fault, no problem), then seeks an annulment so that they can get married again in the Church.

Now, with the Kennedy case being reversed by the Rota, maybe this is something that could catch on?
 
When I convalidated my marriage in 2005, DW and I had a counseling session with Fr. Pastor-Man and it was put to us very clearly what the Catholic meaning of marriage is. We were asked directly questions about the sanctity of life, the sacramentality of marriage, the obligation to be open to new life in the relationship. We all talked for a couple of hours and then had to sign paper work stating we understood what was discussed.

I think this is all being done to cut down on annulments in the future. I could be wrong, of course. It wouldn’t be the first time.
 
JimG said:
What’s interesting about the Joe Kennedy case is that his ex-wife, being outraged by a declaration of nullity of a marriage that she believed to be valid, appealed to the Roman Rota, and WON!

I suspect that there are a lot of spouses in that situation. Husband (or wife) walks out of the marriage, files for divorce (no fault, no problem), then seeks an annulment so that they can get married again in the Church.

Now, with the Kennedy case being reversed by the Rota, maybe this is something that could catch on?
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Good point. The argument is that poor catechesis leads to huge numbers of decrees of nullity. The last Pope spoke to this scandal at least twice.

My question is if the Church is “failing” in catechesis why is it wrong to conclude the Church may be “failing” in the tribunal process as well?
 
manualman said:
Given the deplorable state of lay catholic knowledge and apathy toward KNOWING church teaching, is it any wonder that so many nominal catholics today have a genuine impediment to marriage?

IMO, the scandal is less about how easily annulments are granted than about how carelessly couples are granted what SEEMS to be catholic weddings!
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A very good explanation.

A true Catholic Sacramental Marriage should require knowledge of all the teachings of the Church. Refusals for the marriage “ceremony” for those that don’t intend to follow those teachings should become common. The man and woman asking for permission to marry in the Catholic Church should know that this is not between the two humans only.

A Sacramental Marriage is between God, a man and a woman. So it is a threesome with God at its head.
 
fix said:
Good point. The argument is that poor catechesis leads to huge numbers of decrees of nullity. The last Pope spoke to this scandal at least twice.

My question is if the Church is “failing” in catechesis why is it wrong to conclude the Church may be “failing” in the tribunal process as well?
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Certainly possible that the Church is failing in both. However, it is logically and rationally improper to link the two as they have distinct different factors that affect “success” or “failure”.

The failure of a wedding to be a sacramental union is rooted in the failings of one or both of the individuals at the time of the wedding. They are the primary active participants while the Church is a more passive participant.

The failure of a tribunal to properly grant or deny a request for an annullment is rooted in the failure of the clergy involved in the process. In this case, the couple are the passive participants while the Church is the active participant.

A comparable analogy (not perfect) would be I give my blessing to my adult daughter’s decision to get married. The marriage fails because her husband intractably continues to abuse her and her children. While I might have failed her by not doing my part in properly preparing her for spouse selection, it doesn’t change that it is not a good thing that they continue to be subjected to the abuse.

The difference between me and the Church is that I am not empowered to determine whether the elements of a sacramental union existed or not. This is a charism given to the Church and I’m called to accept their decision. Either way, I’m called to assist my daughter and grandchildren from the abuse.

P.S. For clarification lest my daughter read this and she think people might think something is amiss in her marriage, this is a fictional analogy and in no way reflects reality. I love you Kitten and your hubby! 😃
 
Orionthehunter said:
Certainly possible that the Church is failing in both. However, it is logically and rationally improper to link the two as they have distinct different factors that affect “success” or “failure”.

The failure of a wedding to be a sacramental union is rooted in the failings of one or both of the individuals at the time of the wedding. They are the primary active participants while the Church is a more passive participant.

The failure of a tribunal to properly grant or deny a request for an annullment is rooted in the failure of the clergy involved in the process. In this case, the couple are the passive participants while the Church is the active participant.

A comparable analogy (not perfect) would be I give my blessing to my adult daughter’s decision to get married. The marriage fails because her husband intractably continues to abuse her and her children. While I might have failed her by not doing my part in properly preparing her for spouse selection, it doesn’t change that it is not a good thing that they continue to be subjected to the abuse.

The difference between me and the Church is that I am not empowered to determine whether the elements of a sacramental union existed or not. This is a charism given to the Church and I’m called to accept their decision. Either way, I’m called to assist my daughter and grandchildren from the abuse.

P.S. For clarification lest my daughter read this and she think people might think something is amiss in her marriage, this is a fictional analogy and in no way reflects reality. I love you Kitten and your hubby! 😃
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I do not mean to argue this point strongly and each time I am involved in a thread like this good folks who have received a decree of nullity seem to take offense.

My point is there is a huge increase in these things in recent decades. The last Pope spoke seriously about it. It is a complex problem. I think the usual answer of poor catechesis is overly simplistic. I, also, think from reading about the topic there may be “issues” with the current tribunal process.
 
fix said:
My point is there is a huge increase in these things in recent decades. The last Pope spoke seriously about it. It is a complex problem. I think the usual answer of poor catechesis is overly simplistic. I, also, think from reading about the topic there may be “issues” with the current tribunal process.
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I agree that it is overly simplistic and not the entire thrust of the problem. But what I do know is that the Pope and the Church has the exclusive perogative on the process of nullity. However, catechesis is the responsibility of us all.

No matter what my views on the tribunal process, I know that there is a role I can play to prevent non-sacramental marriage. First, I can be a diligent parent for my children so they are properly catechized. I can participate in my parish as a CCD teacher or Marriage Prep Couple. And, I can pray for engaged couples. After that, I’ll just place it all in God’s hands.
 
The Roma Rota’s ruling, written in Latin, was reached in 2005, and had been kept secret while the official written notice was being prepared, said a source in Rome familiar with the case.
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Why did this take two years?

Also, considering that she successfully appealled the ruling, is she now committed to never re-marrying, herself?
 
I did not mean to imply that all annulments are validly granted! The annulment is an individual discernment process, not a general doctrinal matter. As such it is NOT infallible and the words of the paper will be no defense to anyone who uses trickery, distortion or clever rationalization come judgement day.

People better take it seriously because it is entirely theoretically possible for someone to be granted a decree of nullity and actually commit adultery when they remarry. Only God knows the true hearts of men. The annulment process is merely the church doings its best to help the individual discern the truth. It can easily be ‘gamed’ if the individual pushes for a certain outcome instead of searches for the truth.
 
chicago said:
Also, considering that she successfully appealled the ruling, is she now committed to never re-marrying, herself?
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Presumably so, since the orignal marriage is declared still valid. However, she is not a Catholic, so perhaps she doesn’t believe in the permanence of marriage. I’m not familiar with the case in detail. Possibly she was more opposed to the annulment than she was to the divorce.
 
JimG said:
Presumably so, since the orignal marriage is declared still valid. However, she is not a Catholic, so perhaps she doesn’t believe in the permanence of marriage. I’m not familiar with the case in detail. Possibly she was more opposed to the annulment than she was to the divorce.
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It just seems to me that she is more against the Church’s idea of annulment and dissolution of the bond, than anything. A lot of people have an emotional reaction to the concept, reasoning that the Church is devaluing their relationship over several years. Yet do they really understand what makes a marriage, especially a sacramental one?

Also, is it possible that she is resentful of him or his new relationship and trying to take out her angst in this way by preventing him from getting remarried in the Catholic Church?
 
Orionthehunter said:
Bingo Manualman. The increase in annullments is more a reflection of poor catechesis and understanding of the Sacrament of Marriage than anything else.
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No it is not only that.

Many of the American decrees of nullity would never be granted by the Rota or even overturned, this is a great disgrace for the Church in America.
 
Something to remember is that the size of the population has a lot to do with the number of annulments granted.

More people request in the U.S…there are more people.

Also in the US, we have a tribunal in almost every diocese, something that a lot of European countries do not have.
 
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