Validity of Annulments

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I am often asked by Protestants to explain annulments to them. I try to tell them that an annulment does not mean that a couple wasn’t legally married and that their children are illegitimate. It means that in “God’s eyes” or the Church’s eyes that the marriage never took place and was never valid.

I often wonder why Catholics are the only religion who have the practice of annulments? Is their anything in the scripture that refers to annulments, or is this just a tradition started by the Catholic church with no Biblical backing?

I understand how annulments can be issued if someone :
  1. Does not have “free will” or is not mentally capable of making that kind of commitment before God
  2. If a spouse refuses to have children ( since this is God’s plan for marriage)
However, why are annulments so easily granted for other reasons? The Bible says “What God has joined, let no man separate.” I don’t notice the Bible giving exceptions like " Well, you can separate if your husband cheats on you, or if you fall out of love, etc."

I’d like to have a better understanding of this so I can explain it to my Protestant friends.

Thanks so much for your help!

Karen
 
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SWTHRT:
However, why are annulments so easily granted for other reasons? The Bible says “What God has joined, let no man separate.” I don’t notice the Bible giving exceptions like " Well, you can separate if your husband cheats on you, or if you fall out of love, etc."
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The Bible does make exceptions for divorce in the case of marital infidelity (cf. Matthew 19:9), as well as a marriage where the non-Christian party opts for divorce (cf. 1 Corinthians 7:12-15).

Also see this link for a good explanation of annulments:
ewtn.com/expert/answers/annulment.htm
 
Deus Solus:
The Bible does make exceptions for divorce in the case of marital infidelity (cf. Matthew 19:9)
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Just to avoid any confusion: But not, of course, divorce and remarriage, which is what the question is truly about.

(And an interesting [to me] little side note: the NJB gives such a different translation of this passage, that if I were to go by that alone I would say it’s not allowed.)
 
I copied the following from the EWTN website provided above:

What a decree of Nullity Is. An annulment, properly called a Decree of Nullity, is a finding by a Church tribunal that ON THE DAY VOWS WERE EXCHANGED at least some essential element for a valid marriage was lacking, such as, one of the parties did not intend lifelong fidelity to the other person or excluded children entirely. Another example would be that one of the parties was incapable of marriage (due to some constitutional weakness, such as mental illness or some psychological condition that prevented making the marital commitment - gross immaturity, homosexuality, etc.).
None of these conditions are assumed they must be proven. A Decree of Nullity does NOT dissolve the marriage, it cannot. It is a reasoned judgement that one never existed, and as such is capable of human error. If the tribunal is fastidious to Church law and theology and the couple and their witnesses are honest, the decision can be followed in good-faith, including a new marriage. If someone is ABUSING the process through deceit, however, it would be a very grave sin for that person. A person who innocently enters a second marriage would not be guilty of sin, but the person who abused the process to fraudulently obtain a decree in order to remarry would commit adultery by remarrying.

An “annulment” does NOT concern whether the marriage was a happy one, whether one of the spouses LATER became unfaithful, or LATER decided not to have children, but only their INTENTION on the wedding day. If a marriage was made THAT day it is a life-long bond, irrespective of what happened later in the marriage. To “annul” a marriage based on “failure to achieve communion” or some other factor not recognized by the Holy See (as has been done) is not a decree of nullity at all but a divorce. Such decisions are a source of grave scandal in the Church and are both canonically and morally invalid.

END OF QUOTE

This article stated what I have always been taught:
  1. That someone does not have the mental ability, etc. to make that kind of commitment at the time of marriage
  2. One of the parties is not willing to have children
My question is this:

I know VERY MANY Catholics who have had successful annulments who have not fallen under these two categories. Most I know file because their spouse left them, was unfaithful to them, etc.

So, why are these people given annulments WITH the permission to remarry?

This is really confusing to me!

Karen
 
Actually, one does not get an annulment for a cheating husband, or falling out of love.

Things which happen AFTER the marriage MAY have an impact in the sense that they relate to the person’s state of mind or character BEFORE the marriage.

IOW, if the “cheating” husband had never intended for the marriage to last forever, the annulment would not be granted because he cheated, but because the marriage lacked validity from the first because the husband NEVER MEANT IT TO BE A MARRIAGE.

But if a husband cheats, had not thought of cheating, had MEANT the marriage to last forever, then there might not be an annulment.

It’s not the cheating that matters (I know that sounds harsh, and yes it certainly matters to the people involved) but the marriage itself. Either you have people who honestly and validly are married, but sin in the marriage. . .still is a marriage. . .
OR you have people who are not validly married, one person was honest and the other not, sin happens, it is determined that there wasn’t a marriage in its valid sense to begin with.

Same for “falling out of love”. Civil divorce will accommodate this in “no fault” states, but you can’t get an annulment because you or your spouse “falls out of love”.

Just wanted to clarify.
 
Karen, an annulment procedure is very, very detailed. They look into a lot more than just one circumstance. They are very well qualified, far more than we, and they look at a very, very detailed questionnaire.

I would be very careful of “judging” my friends the way you appear to be doing.
 
I am not “judging”. I am simply getting an explanation so that I can better explain annulments to my Protestant friends.

Karen
 
My parents were divorced and have an annulment. Their annulment was always easy for me to understand.

My mother suffers from severe chemical depression, and she has had emotional problems her entire life. She had a very bad childhood ( mother was an alcoholic), and her mom died when she was young. She has told me many times that she DID love my dad, but it was never the kind of love a woman should have for her husband. It was more of a fatherly love – love you have for someone who could “rescue” you from your bad family life. She said she knew she was making a mistake the moment she walked down the aisle.

I believe my mom never had the mental or emotional ability to truly commit herself to my father and to God in marriage.

I was just wanting to understand the basis for other annulments.

I guess it makes since that many marital problems that “seem” to occur later in marriage actually did exist at the time the marriage vows were being made, thus making it not a valid marriage in God’s eyes.

Karen
 
Well, Karen, you got the information you needed from the EWTN site. It is quite correct and reliable.

Now, I hope I don’t express myself badly, but it seems to me that what you are saying is, while the EWTN site says something, YOUR personal experience regarding your FRIEND’S ANNULMENTS contradicts what EWTN or official Catholic teaching on annulments is.

Now, we all know that abuses occur everywhere. Just because a Church says it’s a Catholic one doesn’t mean that the Mass said there is valid or that the priest is orthodox. . .

But here’s the crux:

No matter what happens in an individual person, place or thing, what matters is the truth of the TEACHING.

If your friends somehow seem to have “gotten away with something”, it’s not because the CHURCH “let them”; if in actual fact they did NOT (and remember, you don’t know ALL THE FACTS) play by the rules and yet got an annulment “wrongly”. . .it doesn’t mean the CHURCH is wrong or its official teaching is somehow made NULL because somebody flouted it.

P.S. Please excuse my “all caps” on some words: I am not “shouting”, but I’m rushed for time and it is quicker for me to make the emphasis that way rather than italicize, bold, etc. My bad, and my apologies. Of course, I think you’ve already understood, and understood well (my sympathy to you on your parent’s situation, rough for all of you, and God bless you all).
 
Thanks for the info all of you have given me. It really helped me to understand things better.

The REAL reason so many people have a problem with annulments is because they THINK “Oh, his wife left him for another man, so that must be the basis of their annulmnet.”

What you all are saying is more the truth. Something that happens LATER in marriage may be a direct result of something that was missing at the time the marriage took place. Now that makes sense to me ( Let’s hope I can explain it to others).

I am sure there are some individuals who have “lied” in order to get an annulment, but like someone stated above, God knows the truth and woud still hold them to their marriage vows.

Thanks for giving me such useful info!

Karen
 
I believe it’s already been said, but annulment decisions are not infallible. They are made in many cases by the diocesean tribunal, while others must be sent to Rome for confirmation. But they are not in any way infallible. So, if someone lies, as you said, they still have to answer to God.

And as has been said, there have been cases of declarations made where they ought not have been given. The same applies here, with an extra load of guilt on those who misuse their position and fail to uphold the teachings of the church. Such things cause scandal and lead to challenges for those of us who know and love the church.

I pray that my weaknesses do not lead to scandal for the Church.

CARose
 
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SWTHRT:
My question is this:

I know VERY MANY Catholics who have had successful annulments who have not fallen under these two categories. Most I know file because their spouse left them, was unfaithful to them, etc.

So, why are these people given annulments WITH the permission to remarry?

This is really confusing to me!

Karen
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Karen,
When an annulment is granted , it does not necessarily allow a person the ability to get married again in the church as easily as you think.

For example, I am annulled and have the church’s permission to marry. My ex-husband cannot marry in the church again until he provides proof of extensive therapy. The therapy is defined in my decree of nullity.
 
Does anyone know of any websites that list the percentage of annulments applied for that are actally granted?

Thanks,
Karen
 
Yes, my mom had stated to me previously that some people are given an annulment with permission to remarry and some are not given permission to remarry.

I think that is something that Protestants definately do not know.

Thanks,
Karen
 
I would be greatly surprised if such stats were posted, on the web or elsewhere.

I also believe that you’d find that different diocese have very different results, depending on the orthodoxy of the members appointed to the Tribunal.

CARose
 
There are all sorts of statistics, that are interpreted by people with all sorts of agendas.

Here is one paper by Ed Peters on the annulment stats.
 
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