St. Daniel Catholic Community, Clarkston, MI (Archdiocese of Detroit)
Annulment of a Marriage
in the Catholic Church
The Catholic Church understands marriage as a sacrament that images God's covenant with His people, a covenant of love and for a lifetime. Once a valid marriage covenant is made, it is a commitment for life to faithfulness and the good of the spouse and children.
But for a marriage to be truly valid (with the Catholic understanding of covenant) both parties must be capable of such a commitment, fully aware and freely giving consent. Sometimes one of these conditions is not present and therefore something is wrong from the beginning, something is lacking. In such a case there never was a valid marriage bond from the beginning. One or both parties may not have been capable of full consent for a number of personal reasons. Or there may have been undue external pressure.
An annulment process is aimed at establishing that the marriage bond was invalid from the very beginning. Something was missing from the marriage commitment, something was lacking with the consent or one or both of the parties lacked capability for unconditional commitment to a community of love.
QUESTION: When should I apply for the annulment?
Answer: You can only apply after your divorce is final. Go to a parish near you and ask for the application form. A priest, deacon or pastoral staff person will assist you with the process. You do not need to be a member of the parish in order to apply for an annulment. However, you should apply within the diocese where you live, or where you were married.
- Answer: There no cost to the petitioner in the Archdiocese of Detroit. CSA funds are used to support the Archdiocesan Tribunal. Other dioceses may have fees, but parishes may offer assistance.
- Answer: Approx. 12 months in the Archdiocese of Detroit. In some dioceses it may take longer, especially if the witnesses don't return the questionnaires promptly. The case can be held up indefinitely if not enough witness testimonies are returned.
- Answer: Yes. But the ex-spouse cannot prevent an annulment. The decision is based on facts only.
- Answer: NO! This is a grave misconception. The marital status of the parents does not affect the status of the children. All children are created in God's image and have equal status in the church. Neither civil law nor church law considers the children of an annulled marriage illegitimate. Nor does the annulment imply that the children were not the fruit of a genuine human love. Annulment is simply a decision on the circumstances surrounding a marriage that could prevent that marriage from being a sacramental marriage.
QUESTION: My spouse is applying for an annulment. How does that affect me?
Answer: Actually you'll reap benefits without having to do the paperwork. Once the Decree of Annulment is granted, it is granted to both spouses. With the decree that your ex-spouse applied for, you too can marry again in a Catholic Church -- without having having to do all that paperwork. Just cooperate with the process by responding when necessary to the letters you receive. I say "when necessary" because sometimes they just offer you another "opportunity for more input" and if you don't respond the process continues after the waiting period with or without further input.
In the word's of Bishop O'Malley
(ORIGINS, June 19, 1997):
"An annulment in the church is not a divorce, but rather a re-examination of the marriage at the time it was contracted to determine if for any reason it was not a sacramental marriage. Perhaps many years have passed, children could have been born of the union, but an annulment process is always an examination of the marriage at its beginning. Subsequent behavior sheds light on the beginnings. A 20-year history of adultery in a marriage indicates that the person taking the vows had not the intention or had not the capability of fulfilling the marriage vows, and therefore an annulment might be possible many years after the fact."
In the first generation of Christians some pagans were baptized and subsequently abandoned by their pagan spouses. St. Paul allowed these marriages to break up, indicating a distinction between a natural marriage bond which existed since creation and a sacramental marriage. A sacramental marriage between two baptized Christians cannot be broken except by death.
Although the church tries to prepare people well for marriage, it is possible that some people go through the marriage ceremony and not contract a sacramental marriage. For instance, if a sea captain's widow remarries 20 years after her husband disappears at sea, everyone presumes she is a widow. She marries with a priest, everyone believes she is married sacramentally. Suddenly her husband is found on a desert island. She is no longer a widow and her second marriage is invalid (non-sacramental) and can be annulled. Sometimes the obstacles are not so external, but more psychological, such as inability to keep a marriage commitment or lack of knowledge of the full extent of such a commitment, or internal or external pressures that impede freedom as in a "shotgun" wedding..
"The annulment process rightly understood should demonstrate two aspects of the life of the church:
1. its desire to be faithful to Christ's teaching concerning the permanent nature of a sacramental marriage and
2. to have the pastoral solicitude of St. Paul for Catholics who are in non-sacramental marriages.
More Questions?
Directory of Links to Annulment information: www.annulmentdir.com
By Frieda Arpoika, St. Daniel Catholic Community, Clarkston MI
Pastoral Minister, Archdiocese of Detroit