I have received an annulment from the Catholic church but am told that I can’t marry my non-catholic husband through the Catholic church unless he gets an annulment also through the Catholic church. He was married to his 1st wife by an all Denominational church and has been divorced for over 31 yrs. As I understand a marriage through the Catholic church is a sacrament, we believe we receive the true body and blood of Jesus Christ during the ceremony which makes it a sacrament. Are we not the only religion that practice and believe this? The church he once belonged to did not and does not believe this to be true. So how can that marriage be a valid one in the eyes of the Catholic Church and warrant an annulment through the Catholic church so that we can marry in the Church. Please help me understand.
It’s all quite logical, really. The Catholic Church recognizes the marriages between non-Catholics to be valid. But it holds Catholics to a more stringent standard. Since they are Catholic, they must marry under the auspices of the Catholic Church. Since your husband is a non-Catholic, the Catholic Church would ordinarily consider his marriage to another non-Catholic to be valid. What his Church teaches regarding marriage is not pertinent to these particular concerns of the Catholic Church. To marry validly in the Catholic Church both parties must not be married to someone else.
A Catholic annulment is not a kind of Catholic divorce. We believe that what God has joined together, no man may put asunder. But if some essential element was absent at the time the marital vows were made, and this can be objectively proven, then the marriage can be declared invalid.
By the way, the Catholic Church teaches that marriage is a sacrament because it is a sign of the relationship Jesus has with His Church—not because the bride and the groom may receive Holy Communion during the wedding ceremony. I suggest that you read the book, “Good News about Sex and Marriage” by Christopher West. It’s available through shop.catholic.com. It gives a good understanding of how the Catholic Church understands this whole subject in a very readable and inspiring way.
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