Why don't remarried just pursue an annulment?

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Often in news stories can be found where Pope Francis either says that the remarried (civilly, of course) ought to possibly be admitted to communion (something that needs to be investigated), or that the Church ought to be more compassionate toward them.

My question is this: why would a Catholic, who desires Communion, attends Mass, etc. not simply file for an annulment? I don’t get it. If you have such an observant Catholic, why don’t they take this step?
 
TheAdvocate said:
Often in news stories can be found where Pope Francis either says that the remarried (civilly, of course) ought to possibly be admitted to communion (something that needs to be investigated), or that the Church ought to be more compassionate toward them.

My question is this: why would a Catholic, who desires Communion, attends Mass, etc. not simply file for an annulment? I don’t get it. If you have such an observant Catholic, why don’t they take this step?
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Well there are all kinds of reasons. Some reasons I can think of:

They don’t think they qualify. (Perhaps they left what they think was probably a valid marriage but they don’t want to leave their current one.)

They think it costs more money and takes more work (doing research, filling out forms) than they want to deal with.

They think the process would upset the person to whom they are currently civilly married.

They previously spoke to a priest who told them they probably had no chance of obtaining a decree of nullity.
 
TheAdvocate said:
Often in news stories can be found where Pope Francis either says that the remarried (civilly, of course) ought to possibly be admitted to communion (something that needs to be investigated), or that the Church ought to be more compassionate toward them.

My question is this: why would a Catholic, who desires Communion, attends Mass, etc. not simply file for an annulment? I don’t get it. If you have such an observant Catholic, why don’t they take this step?
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I have one at least one answer. This scenario involves someone divorced from an abusive spouse. Pursuing an annulment has not been done in this case due to fear of retribution from the abusive ex.
 
Annulment is only possible if there were grounds for such .
 
TheAdvocate said:
Often in news stories can be found where Pope Francis either says that the remarried (civilly, of course) ought to possibly be admitted to communion (something that needs to be investigated), or that the Church ought to be more compassionate toward them.
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He has never said that they should be admitted to Communion. He has, in fact, taken great pains to explain why the Church cannot do that. The mass media , in turn, seems to go to great pains to avoid reporting this part of his comments.
 
SMHW said:
Well there are all kinds of reasons. Some reasons I can think of:

They don’t think they qualify. (Perhaps they left what they think was probably a valid marriage but they don’t want to leave their current one.)

They think it costs more money and takes more work (doing research, filling out forms) than they want to deal with.

They think the process would upset the person to whom they are currently civilly married.

They previously spoke to a priest who told them they probably had no chance of obtaining a decree of nullity.
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Some might believe it would affect children of the former marriage. The Church says it doesn’t, but many people still believe it does. The belief itself might cause harm.
 
SMHW said:
Well there are all kinds of reasons. Some reasons I can think of:

They don’t think they qualify. (Perhaps they left what they think was probably a valid marriage but they don’t want to leave their current one.)

or been told they didn’t qualify by someone not properly educated about the grounds and process

They think it costs more money and takes more work (doing research, filling out forms) than they want to deal with.

By “don’t want to deal with” do you mean those who simply cannot afford the fees? I’ve talked to a lot of people who probably should seek annulment and who believe it’s so expensive they could never afford it. An awful lot of folks do not know the fees can be waived or a payment plan made.

They think the process would upset the person to whom they are currently civilly married.

They previously spoke to a priest who told them they probably had no chance of obtaining a decree of nullity.
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The first marriage was so long ago there are no living Witnesses left and/or the ex and only possible Witnesses are unable to be located.

A spiteful ex who has said he/she would sabotage the process just for giggles.

The think (wrongly) that an annulment would make their children bastards/illegitimate.

Getting a Decree of Nullity would upset the children and/or other family members.
 
An annulment is not a divorce or a right. You can only get one if, as everyone else said, there are grounds for it. And frankly, I personally think that annulments are given out too easily as it is. Remember the Kennedy annulment? The Vatican found the marriage valid and overturned the annulment.
 
TheAdvocate said:
Often in news stories can be found where Pope Francis either says that the remarried (civilly, of course) ought to possibly be admitted to communion (something that needs to be investigated), or that the Church ought to be more compassionate toward them.

My question is this: why would a Catholic, who desires Communion, attends Mass, etc. not simply file for an annulment? I don’t get it. If you have such an observant Catholic, why don’t they take this step?
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In the case of a lady friend of mine, she said, “I’m not going to get an annulment since my kids would be bastards.” As in, she thinks it would make her first marriage illegitimate so her kids would become illegitimate. Her second marriage was performed in a courtroom.

Ed
 
My dad’s two sisters are both divorced.

One didn’t peruse an annulment because she thought it would mean that she needed to see her ex-husband and be in contact with him.

The other didn’t peruse one because someone had already told her that she was excommunicated.

Additionally, both of my aunts are very stubborn and head strong. The idea of submitting to the Church is not something they (nor my dad) are really willing to do.

However, I also believe that some parishioners make it worse for them. Women on the rectory would give them the cold shoulder, etc. My aunts felt like people were judging them, and it was hurtful to them because one aunt was physically abused and the other was literally abandoned (she came home to find the locks on the doors changed, a girlfriend had moved in with her husband, and the bank accounts emptied).
 
phil19034 said:
My dad’s two sisters are both divorced.

One didn’t peruse an annulment because she thought it would mean that she needed to see her ex-husband and be in contact with him.
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There would be no reason for her to contact him. My friend’s husband received notice that his marriage had been declared null and didn’t even know what that meant.
 
masuwerte said:
Some might believe it would affect children of the former marriage. The Church says it doesn’t, but many people still believe it does. The belief itself might cause harm.
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Yes. People still carry around that old saw about children becoming illegitimate.
They do not.
 
-Person may wrongly think an annulment makes the children considered as out of wedlock.
-Person may not want to pay or can’t afford the fees.
-Person may not want to fill out all the forms and since they aren’t consistent from place to place, some archdiocesan forms are more invasive than others.
-Person may not think they qualify so why bother.
-Person my have been in an abusive relationship and can’t risk having ex-spouse know where they are (yes, even mail that comes from an archdiocese is too much a risk because it gives a clue as to the area the person lives in).
-Person may not want what they write to be read by the spouse (and yes the spouse can do that).
-Person’s spouse may object, especially if spouse is not Catholic and doesn’t want to fill out paperwork on their side for a previous marriage.
-Person may have left the Church and come back much later and witnesses have either died or person has lost contact and so doesn’t know where they are.
-Person thinks the whole requirement for annulment is ridiculous in the first place.
 
Phemie said:
There would be no reason for her to contact him. My friend’s husband received notice that his marriage had been declared null and didn’t even know what that meant.
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I know, but this what she thought
 
TheAdvocate said:
If you have such an observant Catholic, why don’t they take this step?
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If you are an observant Catholic then you probably “followed all the rules” when you were originally married (or obtained any necessary dispensations beforehand). You probably didn’t elope with a Buddhist in Vegas at the Chapel of Elvis.

Observant Catholics tend to contract valid marriages. The Church cannot annul a valid marriage (because annulment means the marriage was never valid in the first place).

People can be dispensed from their marital obligations for just cause (such as abuse) and they may obtain a civil decree of divorce, but the marriage itself cannot be set aside if it is valid.
 
pianistclare said:
The tribunals make provisions for those who say they cannot afford fees.
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My point was my friend’s soon to be ex-wife emptied their bank accounts at some point shortly before he found out she was cheating on him.

Ed
 
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