Hello. I am Protestant and married a Catholic in a Protestant ceremony. She decided she didn't want to be married to me anymore and sought a divorce which was granted. I now have fallen in love and wish to marry my girlfriend, who is Catholic. As I understand it, I need to seek an annulment of my previous marriage by the Catholic church. Since my previous marriage to a Catholic was not performed by a Catholic priest in a Catholic church, is it true that the marraige was not of Canonical Form and therefore was never valid in the eyes of the church? If so, is the annulment process less complicated? Thanks for your help...

Jim

-- J. Anderson (jda6w@virginia.edu), October 06, 2002

Answers

Hi Jim here are a couple of posts from people that might help you. Good Luck and God Bless

The following, I believe, is a reliable principle: "Any time a person has gone through any kind of wedding ceremony (Christian or non- Christian, whether according to Catholic canonical form or not) with a person who is still alive, those two people cannot attempt marriage to anyone else without first obtaining a Decree of Nullity, issued by a bishop after the work of a marriage tribunal."

Therefore, you need to visit your pastor as soon as possible and explain the whole situation to him. Please brace yourself now, because I have to say a few tough words ...

If your friend is not willing to seek a Decree of Nullity, then the two of you will not be able to get married. Even if he does seek one, but is not granted one (because the Church determines that he is still married, in God's eyes), then you will not be able to marry each other.

That is why it is not possible to speak of yourself as "engaged" or to set even a tentative date. (He may still be married. Divorces are not recognized by the Catholic Church, except as civil proceedings. Only God can divide, by death, what he has joined.) It is impossible to know (1) how long the Nullity procedure will take (usually 6 to 18 months, depending on the complexity) and (2) what the outcome will be. If the tribunal decides that there was no valid marriage, then your friend will be free to marry you -- after your diocese's required pre-marriage instructions, which may last six months. [I don't know if your bishop would permit you to take these instructions during the nullity process. I doubt it, because of the potential for an even more devastating letdown if the Decree of Nullity is not granted.]

I'm sorry if I have painted a bleak picture, but I wanted to be fully honest with you.

God bless you. John

-- J. F. Gecik (jfgecik@hotmail.com), September 19, 2002.

In light of the string of recent questions concerning annulments, I wanted to post a very simple sentence or two on what I think it is / is not. An annulment is NOT a decree stating that a valid marriage is now invalid. It is not a "divorce" in the Catholic Church.

An annulment IS a decree stating that a marriage was NEVER valid to begin with. (Therefore, if one was to get an annulment, one would automatically WANT to recieve the sacrament of reconciliation for the sin of premarital relations.)

What does this mean?

This means that the Bishop researching one's case is not looking merely at recent events to decide if the marriage should be invalid NOW. The Bishop MUST research past and present events to make SURE that the marriage was NEVER valid. He (and no person) has the authority to divide what God has put together. He merely has the authority to review the details and pray that God gives him the grace to decide correctly on the case. If a Bishop grants an annulment wrongly, he is in essense commiting a sacriledge and wrongly representing Christ. Therefore...

What does this mean (more)?

This means that the Bishop isn't skimming through some papers on what you think your wife did to wrong you (or vice versa). This means that the Bishop isn't going to spend five minutes and come to a conclusion. If he does, not only is he damning himself, but he is putting your soul in sin too! This does meant that the Bishop will be scrutinizing detail upon detail of your wedding and marriage past and present. Therefore, one must understand that this process could, in the more complicated cases, take a very long time. This should NOT be taken to be the fault of the Church, or the fault of the Bishop presiding over your case. He wasn't with you during your wedding, and certainly not during your marriage (valid or not).

In a nutshell: annulments take long, mean that your marriage never actually happend, and are not the fault of the Church or the priests invoved in your case.

Hope this is helpful.

In Christ.

-- Jake Huether (jake.huether@lamrc.com), August 05, 2002

-- Kiwi (csisherwood@hotmail.com), October 07, 2002.

Jim,

As long as your first wife never formally left the Catholic Church, then it does sound like a lack of canonical form is involved. Visit your girlfriend's pastor to begin the process. It can take anywhere from 6-18 months.

-- Glenn (glenn@nospam.com), October 07, 2002.

Kiwi, I don't mind if you quote from my previous replies to people [in fact, I am honored] ... but I would only ask that you try to find a case that is closer to the one in the new question -- here, the situation being faced by Jim Anderson. I fear that my reply to another person may have confused Jim or made him worry unnecessarily.

In the message that you quoted, I had to warn a woman of potential difficulties and consequences involving her divorced, non-Catholic male friend -- who might not be willing to proceed with a nullity case. I believe that he had wed a non-Catholic woman before, so they had not been required to follow Catholic canonical form.

But the present case with Jim Anderson is quite different. Here, there is a non-Catholic man who appears to have attempted marriage with a Catholic woman (not following the required canonical form), and he seems willing to proceed with the nullity process.

Glenn, I agree with what you told Jim. I believe that, if his is a "lack of form" case, it is much more likely to take close to the six months you mentioned (on the low end) than the eighteen months (on the high end).

God bless you.
John

-- J. F. Gecik (jfgecik@hotmail.com), October 07, 2002.

Sorry John(and Jim)whoops,best I leave such things to the experts.

-- Kiwi (csisherwood@hotmail.com), October 07, 2002.

It is possible that your previous marriage to a Catholic in a Protestant church may not have been licit unless the Catholic party had obtained a proper dispensation.

Don't take my word for it but check out what the Catechism of the Catholic Church has to say on this question. You will find the information you need in number 1635 especially.

If my interpretation of this is correct, you would not need an annulment since you were not licitly married in the first place.

Do check that out with a priest though. I may not be interpreting this correctly.

God bless!

Monique

-- Monique Lavoie (Maria3Reina7@msn.com), October 10, 2002.