I will try to make this short as I can. I was married the first time in the Church. This lasted a short time and was later annulled in the Church. I then married a second time in Las Vegas by a justice of the peace. This also lasted a short time. I married a third time and the ceremony was conducted by a Protestent minister. This marraige lasted 17 years and ended. To make a long question short, to marry in the Church again, what marriages would I need to have annulled. This confuses me since the Church does not acknowledge other marriages (not allowing Catholics to receive the Sacraments) but yet annullments are needed to these unacknowledged marriages. I would appreciate some guidance. Thank you.

-- Marie Shields (mshields@ruraltel.net), September 18, 2001

Answers

Jmj

Hello, Marie.
It is not possible for me to answer your question without one or two key pieces of information that you did not give:
Have you always considered yourself a Catholic -- or, at some point in your life, did you make a formal break with Catholicism, making it clear that you no longer considered yourself a Catholic? If you left the Church, when did that break happen, with relation to the time of the three wedding days?
As soon as you provide these answers, I can give you a proper answer.
Thanks.
God bless you.
John

-- (jgecik@amdg.ihs), September 18, 2001.

To answer your questions, I have never made a break with the Church and am a practicing Catholic. It remains a big part of my life. I never stopped attending Church and have raised my kids as Catholic, even during the times when I have not been in good standing with the Church. I might add---I have learned much from my mistakes. Marie

-- Marie Shields (mshields@ruraltel.net), September 18, 2001.

Jmj

Thank you very much, Marie. I am glad that this was your answer. It will make matters much easier for you.

(1) Obviously, you don't need to be concerned about the first union at all, since the Church already declared that to have been null.
(2) Now, since you remained a Catholic, you were required either to get married in a Catholic church ceremony or you had to have your bishop's permission to marry in a non-Catholic ceremony, with Catholic witnesses.
(3) You did not marry (the second and third times) in a Catholic church. I have to assume that you did not have your bishop's permission to marry before a J.P. in Las Vegas nor before a Protestant minister. [If I am wrong, and you actually did have the bishop's permission, I will have to revise this reply completely.]

The conclusion is this ...
In the eyes of God and the Church, your second and third attempts to marry were unmistakably null (right from the "wedding" day), because they violated what is called "canonical form." This is the kind of situation that your diocese can study and rule upon (issuing a Decree of Nullity) much more quickly than any other (probably six months or less, though I am in no position to guarantee).

Marie, I recommend that you make an appointment to speak to your pastor about this as soon as possible. He will help you fill out some papers, which he will take (or send) to the bishop's office, so that a determination can be made. And he will offer you the Sacrament of Penance, if you are still in need of being reconciled with God and the Church.

St. James, pray for us.
God bless you, Marie.
John

-- (jgecik@amdg.ihs), September 19, 2001.

I do not have a response but rather a question. My daughter was scheduled to be married in the Catholic Church to a divorced man. He is Methodist and was married by a Justice of the Peace. She was told no problem and that they could be married in the Catholic Church. He was not sure of his first wife's religion, so he said he thought she was Methodist. Now the priest says that he needs an anulment. Does the Catholic Church anul Methodist marriages performed by a Justice of the Peace? The priest says that the church views his marriage as valid. Is the priest right?

-- Pat Kuzio (pelkuz@aol.com), October 21, 2002.

Hello, Pat. You wrote:
"Does the Catholic Church anul Methodist marriages performed by a Justice of the Peace? The priest says that the church views his marriage as valid. Is the priest right?"

He is almost right. The Catholic Church assumes a wedding of Methodists, even if the ceremony is before a J.P., to be a valid, sacramental marriage until it can be proved otherwise.
The Catholic Church cannot "annul" [make null] anything. Instead, a Church tribunal examines an apparent marriage (whether Catholic or not) and declares that it is valid -- or declares that it is a nullity if the couple were not really united by God on the wedding day.

God bless you.
John

-- J. F. Gecik (jfgecik@hotmail.com), October 26, 2002.