Second Marriage without an Annulment Tribunal?

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Cashew79

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Hello,
I am Catholic and engaged to an Episcopalian who was previously married. She had a non-religious wedding ceremony to a non-Catholic. We are wondering if there is a way for us to get married without going through the annulment process. Partially because it is time consumer and partially because the tribunal process is invasive on the prior relationship (i.e. the Church having to reach out to the prior spouse). Is there any other way for us to have a valid Catholic marriage? Can a priest deem their marriage invalid with out going through a tribunal? I know this question has been asked in other ways, but not directly as this.
Thank you,
 
Her first marriage is presumed valid, so the answer would be no, you can not circumvent the process.
 
I think my aunt ultimately found this process to be very beneficial and cathartic.
 
The ONLY way this could conceivably work would be if she was baptized, her previous spouse was not, AND she was not primarily responsible for the breakdown of the marriage. Then she would be eligible for the Petrine privilege.

Otherwise, no, it is not possible. She would need to go through the formal nullity trial.

In terms of it being invasive, while the Church is required to contact her former spouse, SHE is not required to contact him personally. Nor is she required to see him at any time. The tribunal will contact her former spouse. He will have the right to present evidence if he wishes, and to review the evidence presented (if there was a major issue such as abuse, some of the evidence might be redacted for her personal safety). But the tribunal won’t require them to be in direct contact. There’s no “courtroom” procedure for a nullity trial, at least not one in which both parties have to be physically present at the same time. Most of it is done through paperwork. There may be face-to-face interviews required with a member of the tribunal and/or one’s parish priest, but she and he can have those interviews conducted separately.
 
Cashew79 said:
We are wondering if there is a way for us to get married without going through the annulment process.
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No. If you are to be validly married, you would have to be declared free to marry and so would the person you intend to marry. Given she has a prior bond, that would have to be looked at prior to any marriage attempt.
Cashew79 said:
Partially because it is time consumer and partially because the tribunal process is invasive on the prior relationship (i.e. the Church having to reach out to the prior spouse).
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Determining freedom to marry is the first step. It’s not possible to marry someone already validly married to someone else.
Cashew79 said:
Is there any other way for us to have a valid Catholic marriage?
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No.
Cashew79 said:
Can a priest deem their marriage invalid with out going through a tribunal?
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No.
 
His_helpmeet said:
Then she would be eligible for the Petrine privilege.
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While the Petrine Privilege might be an option, even the Petrine Privilege has steps that must be followed. And petitioning the Pope will require some time, albeit possibly not as long as a tribunal case.
 
For what it’s worth, my annulment was very quick and simple…a documentary case. I filled out a total of 4 pages of paper with very brief statements from my ex and I. We included all relevant certificates in the package. No witnesses. No tribunal. I received the decree of nullity in 3 weeks. Now granted, our case was a bit of a “slam dunk” in terms of being invalid…no doubt about it, but I wanted to let you know the process is not always arduous. Blessings!
 
That wouldn’t be the case here, though. His fiancee is Episcopalian, so was not required to observe the Catholic form of marriage. Assuming that marriage was the first for both of them, it would be presumed valid and would need a formal investigation by the Tribunal.
If his Episcopalian fiancee was married to a man who’d had a prior marriage, that would be different.
 
The best thing to do is to discuss this with the person in charge of the annulments at the parish and explain all the details to him or her and then you can go from there.
 
That’s great. However, a documentary case is not a decree of nullity and does not go through the tribunal process.

It is a submission of paperwork only. In Europe it is handled by the parish pastor, in the US and Canada it is sent to the diocese to confirm.
 
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