What to expect with non-Catholic annulment

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Reynard

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I would like to return to the Church; however, I married a non-Catholic in a civil ceremony. I now understand that he needs an annulment from a former marriage that was also a
non-Catholic ceremony. My husband has never been baptized in any religion, but is very supportive of our marriage being blessed in the Church. He has no idea where his former spouse is. He is British and was married there in England over 20 years ago. I feel defeated in beginning the annulment process due to his circumstances. Any suggestions?
 
I have a friend who was in somewhat of a similar situation but she was married the first time much more recently. She married a Catholic and was not Catholic herself. I strongly suggest you approach your parish priest and start there. Each situation is very unique. There are different types of annulments from what I remember and there is a specific one where if you husband was to become a Christian, the annulment would likely be granted under a certain guideline ( of course nobody on here can tell you for sure ).

Start with your priest. Each city has a tribunal that will decide.
 
Sina,
Thank you for your advice. I am new to this site and happy for your help. I have contacted the parish priest but the British situation has him thrown. Called the marriage tribunal and they referred me back to the local priest. So we’ll keep trying! Thanks again!
 
Your husband can have the case heard either by the tribunal where he lives currently or the tribunal where he was married. He also doesn’t have to have it heard by a Roman Catholic Tribunal, provided his ex was not Catholic. It could be heard by a tribunal of a different rite, like a Maronite or Ruthenian rite, whose tribunals are less busy.
 
Dulcissima,

I appreciate your (name removed by moderator)ut. His ex was not Catholic. So I will investigate your suggestions. We live in Pennsylvania, but will travel to do whatever needs to be done. God willing! Thank you.
 
It may not be necessary to travel. Frequently it can be handled through the mail.

Take a look at this link which has some more information.

stmaron.org/tribunal_materials.html

You may also want to look on the website for the tribunal for your own archdiocese to see what information they have available online.
 
Reynard said:
I would like to return to the Church; however, I married a non-Catholic in a civil ceremony. I now understand that he needs an annulment from a former marriage that was also a
non-Catholic ceremony. My husband has never been baptized in any religion, but is very supportive of our marriage being blessed in the Church. He has no idea where his former spouse is. He is British and was married there in England over 20 years ago. I feel defeated in beginning the annulment process due to his circumstances. Any suggestions?
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Your situation will unfortunately be quite difficult. You will need to be proactive and persevere if you want to obtain a successful conclusion. I suggest you find a good canon lawyer to help guide you through the possibilities.

The Catholic Church doesn’t want people from other countries coming to America to get a “quickie” annulment here, so the process will have take place in England. As it will be a quite lengthy process, there probably isn’t much point in traveling to England unless you are willing to stay there several years.
 
Just Lurking,

Interesting, very! I guess this is why no one here in Pennsylvania, ie. local priest and the marriage tribunal (who referred us back to the local priest) can give us any guidance. I was hoping to get a canon lawyer thru the marriage tribunal. We are not seeking to do anything sneaky. My husband is NOW an American citizen and just doesn’t have any ties with his ex-wife. Neither are Catholic. He has never been baptized in any faith. I am the one who is feeling the need to rejoin my faith. I never had any idea that his previous marriage would be such a problem. So do we contact a Catholic diocese in England? He’s not Catholic…so I’m confused as to whom in England would do what? Many thanks for your insight.
 
Just_Lurking said:
The Catholic Church doesn’t want people from other countries coming to America to get a “quickie” annulment here, so the process will have take place in England.
Click to expand...
Do you have documentation on that? From my experience (which, admittedly, is limited and you may be absolutely correct), the Tribunal that hears a petition of annulment can be in any of the following:
  • The (arch)diocese in which the petitioner currently lives (most typical); or
  • The (arch)diocese in which the former spouse lives; or
  • The (arch)diocese in which the marriage in question took place.
 
Dear IrishAM,

Thank you for helping with my situation. My husband and I will do whatever it takes to
try to have our marriage blessed in the Church. I feel that God is calling me to re-join the fold and I am to trying learn how to proceed as my husband doesn’t have witnesses, his ex-wife’s address,etc. And most marriages in the UK are civil, so he is just trying his best to understand the annulment process with regard to the Church. I know this is for the tribunal is decide, but if he has no info except her name is that enough? I just want to be prepared and follow the proper course. The only two Catholics I know are my 80 year old mother and her sister. So I appreciate the knowledge of everyone, so thanks again!
 
Reynard said:
Dear IrishAM,

Thank you for helping with my situation. My husband and I will do whatever it takes to
try to have our marriage blessed in the Church. I feel that God is calling me to re-join the fold and I am to trying learn how to proceed as my husband doesn’t have witnesses, his ex-wife’s address,etc. And most marriages in the UK are civil, so he is just trying his best to understand the annulment process with regard to the Church. I know this is for the tribunal is decide, but if he has no info except her name is that enough? I just want to be prepared and follow the proper course. The only two Catholics I know are my 80 year old mother and her sister. So I appreciate the knowledge of everyone, so thanks again!
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At whatever “jurisdiction” the Tribunal sits, they will attempt to locate and inform the former spouse so she has the opportunity to respond to the questionnairre as well. Who knows? She may have converted to Catholicism and had the marriage declared null years ago and your husband doesn’t even know it! Obviously, the more information your husband can give as to the location of his ex will make the process go more quickly. He must know more than “just her name” – perhaps where she was born, where her parents lived and their names, any siblings, etc. In this day of the internet, it is much easier to “find” people than ever before. And we are a universal church; there are Tribunals in every country of the world. The UK isn’t exactly another planet, so don’t be so discouraged before you even begin.

Speak with your parish priest and find out the procedure; once the paperwork is filed, things will progress as they do . . . Excruciatingly slowly if you are anxious about it; quickly if you are not. Rather the “watched pot” syndrome . . . .

Best wishes on your journey.
 
Reynard said:
So do we contact a Catholic diocese in England? He’s not Catholic…so I’m confused as to whom in England would do what? Many thanks for your insight.
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I would think that your priest should be the one to make contact with the diocese in England, but there is certainly nothing stopping you from making contact yourself. The particular diocese would be one in which the civil ceremony took place.

If you can locate the ex-wife, then you could also use the diocese where she currently resides.
 
IrishAm said:
Do you have documentation on that? From my experience (which, admittedly, is limited and you may be absolutely correct), the Tribunal that hears a petition of annulment can be in any of the following:
  • The (arch)diocese in which the petitioner currently lives (most typical); or
  • The (arch)diocese in which the former spouse lives; or
  • The (arch)diocese in which the marriage in question took place.
Click to expand...
The particular canon law is (see here):

Can. 1673 In cases concerning the nullity of marriage which are not reserved to the Apostolic See, the following are competent:

1/ the tribunal of the place in which the marriage was celebrated;

2/ the tribunal of the place in which the respondent has a domicile or quasi-domicile;

3/ the tribunal of the place in which the petitioner has a domicile, provided that both parties live in the territory of the same conference of bishops and the judicial vicar of the domicile of the respondent gives consent after he has heard the respondent;

4/ the tribunal of the place in which in fact most of the proofs must be collected, provided that consent is given by the judicial vicar of the domicile of the respondent, who is first to ask if the respondent has any exception to make.

Thus, unless the ex-wife now resides in the U.S., the annulment cannot be obtained in the U.S.
 
Dear IrishAm,

Ah, yes, the “google” info. Never would have thought of it. Thank you! And just when I told my husband that we would have to live as “brother and sister” for me to return to the Church and the Sacraments, you have given me hope. We are a patient couple; we waited a long time to find each other, overcoming obstacles and this shall just be one more in our journey. God bless you! And thanks for teaching me.
 
That is sweet. I hope and pray you can be together in marriage.
Reynard said:
Dear IrishAm,

Ah, yes, the “google” info. Never would have thought of it. Thank you! And just when I told my husband that we would have to live as “brother and sister” for me to return to the Church and the Sacraments, you have given me hope. We are a patient couple; we waited a long time to find each other, overcoming obstacles and this shall just be one more in our journey. God bless you! And thanks for teaching me.
Click to expand...
 
dulcissima said:
It may not be necessary to travel. Frequently it can be handled through the mail.

Take a look at this link which has some more information.

stmaron.org/tribunal_materials.html

You may also want to look on the website for the tribunal for your own archdiocese to see what information they have available online.
Click to expand...
Dulcissima,

Thanks for the link. Unbelievably, there is a church in my neighborhood! Will my Roman Catholic background make a difference to them?
 
Latest update! We do not have a parish priest per se as we have many churches in our area and are seeking the right one for us. We hope to find one where hopefully my husband can pursue becoming a Catholic as he is now interested. I guess my love of it is rubbing off on him. I am an old-school Catholic and so I am looking for a very traditional church. No guitar masses for me! If I could find a church with an altar rail, the Mass in Latin and I could wear a chapel veil, I would be in heaven, no pun intended. So we are still looking for the right one.

Now to the annulment: we contacted a canon lawyer at the marriage tribunal who informed us that it will take them two years at least before they could even begin to review his application and suggested we go directly to England. Last week we received my husband’s divorce decree from Her Majesty’s Court in England with all the info he needs to begin.

As the Catholic diosese in England is ever, so ever, so nice (as the British are!), we are now ready to begin the process. My husband was in England last week and future travel
there is not a problem.

So the journey continues…

Many blessings,
Reynard
 
Reynard said:
Latest update! We do not have a parish priest per se as we have many churches in our area and are seeking the right one for us. We hope to find one where hopefully my husband can pursue becoming a Catholic as he is now interested. I guess my love of it is rubbing off on him. I am an old-school Catholic and so I am looking for a very traditional church. No guitar masses for me! If I could find a church with an altar rail, the Mass in Latin and I could wear a chapel veil, I would be in heaven, no pun intended. So we are still looking for the right one.

Now to the annulment: we contacted a canon lawyer at the marriage tribunal who informed us that it will take them two years at least before they could even begin to review his application and suggested we go directly to England. Last week we received my husband’s divorce decree from Her Majesty’s Court in England with all the info he needs to begin.

As the Catholic diosese in England is ever, so ever, so nice (as the British are!), we are now ready to begin the process. My husband was in England last week and future travel
there is not a problem.

So the journey continues…

Many blessings,
Reynard
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I am glad you updated this thread and that you are pursuing the annulment. I am surprised that in Pennsylvania they are telling you it would take two years to even review the application. Here in Michigan, I got an affirmative decision (stating that the marriage was invalid) about six months after I first submitted everything. Now I am waiting on the final review. I guess that some places are busier than others for this sort of thing?

May God bless you.
 
AnotherChance said:
I am glad you updated this thread and that you are pursuing the annulment. I am surprised that in Pennsylvania they are telling you it would take two years to even review the application. Here in Michigan, I got an affirmative decision (stating that the marriage was invalid) about six months after I first submitted everything. Now I am waiting on the final review. I guess that some places are busier than others for this sort of thing?

May God bless you.
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Hi AnotherChance,

From what I understand every annulment is sent to another diosese for a second opinion
before it is finalized. Since we (Pennsylvania) are considered part of the EAST coast, the dioseses have a kind of round robin happening up and down the coast. For example, Pittsburgh reviews Philadelphia, Philadelphia reviews Miami, Florida,and so on. I mean these are large cities with double the work to do. The good news is that England is a small country about the size of Pennsylvania so we are optimist.

I am so happy that yours is going alot faster!!

Many blessings,

Reynard
 
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