Was this marriage a sacrament?

[FrankR]

Dear Father,

I was married in the Catholic Church and am now divorced. My ex-wife was married previous to our marriage by a Justice of the Peace.
Because I will be interested in marriage within the Church, I have investigated an Annulment.

Two priests told me that my case would be pretty informal because she was previously married, and we did not disclose it to the Church when we wed.

I spoke to the marriage tribunal to begin my annulment and they said, “Since the Catholic Church does not recognize marriages outside of the church, the only sacramental marriage that occurred was the one that I was involved in”

I’m terribly confused… Was my marriage sacramental or not?
I had come to believe that I was not free to marry her in the Catholic Church, and now the marriage tribunal leads me to believe that she could have been married and divorced from 100 protestant men prior to our marriage.

Father please help!

 

[Fr.Vincent_Serpa]

Dear Frank,

You don’t mention if you ex-wife is a Catholic. If not, then her previous marriage would be considered valid unless proven otherwise. If both she and her ex-husband were baptized, the marriage would even be considered sacramental even if a judge presided at the wedding. (The Church does recognize the marriages between non-Catholics as valid. If both parties were baptized, it recognizes such marriages as sacramental as well.) BUT–if she is a Catholic, then that first marriage would not be sacramental or even valid.

The fact that you withheld important information when you were married certainly throws some doubt as to whether you had an appropriate attitude with which you and your ex approached the altar.

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.