Hello: I have been on this board before. I am in the process of annulment of my marriage. I am the respondant. I don't know where to go from the present stage of the annulment. A short outline history is below: 1.My wife patitioned for an annulment using Canon Law 1095.2 and I read her document at the Pastoral office. I submitted one as well. 2. Witnesses gave statement (she had three, I had one). 3. Nothing was heard for a few months, I gave a statement objecting to her witnesses (registered letter to clerk at office and another registered letter to the Defender of the Bond) 4.Asked the clerk and Defender of the Bond for a list or at least one advocate to help me. I received a letter back from the defender of the bond to contact the judicial advocate for help on this. 5. E-mailed the Judicial advocate and he said he would try to look one up. He didn't follow up on this. He included in his e-mail that I had the right ot view the "Publication of the Acts" as I had asked him if I could. I also asked the clerk the same thing earlier. 6.Sent the same registered letter to the Pastoral Center Clerk, the Defender of the Bond and the Judicial Advocate on March 30th saying that I would be out of the country and off the continent for three months and would be back at the end of June, 2004 and not to please do anthing with my case until I returned. 7. Returned home on July 1st and had a letter waiting for me dated June 11th, 2004 saying that the First Instance Decision was successful!!!!........... WHAT HAPPENED TO MY RIGHTS! The letter stated that I had 15 days to appeal after receipt of the letter. I wrote on the letter "received, July 1st, 2004 and signed it and then tried to make an apointment to see the clerk at the Pastoral Office. Tomorrow, I will try to see the clerk again. I want to appeal this decision. Is it too late? Can I stop the process and send it on to the Roman Rota if it has already gone to the second level? I never did see the "Publication of the Acts" and I didn't get an advocate. But the most important question (please help me) is how do to deal with "delaying tactics" which I know will happen on the part of the Pastoral Center? I need some help here, I am in a little town. Pat, can you direct me to one of those advocates you mentioned earlier. I still think that I have around 12 days left as the Judicial letter said that I had 15 days after receipt of the letter and I received it July 1st even though it was dated June 11th. I am starting to lose respect here for everyone in the Catholic community who works on annulment cases, even the ones with Canon Law Degrees. Dave

-- David Neil (summertime@ns.sympatico.ca), July 04, 2004

Answers

David,

According to the facts above you have until July 15, 2004 (15 days following your notification of a first instance decision) to file a letter with the first instance tribunal stating you are aggrieved and directing that your case be sent for second instance consideration at the Roman Rota. make the letter short and sweet. You must send the letter by Federal Express so that it can be tracked, and you have evidence when it was sent.

Do this right away and stop wasting effort trying to reason with the tribunal or communicate to them your intentions. Your job now is to develop evidence that you have properly filed an appeal.

Do not look to the first instance tribunal or the bishop of the diocese for any help. There is an inherent conflict of interest. And in addition, their agenda is pro-nullity. If you look to them for help, you will be "handled" in a way that deprives you of your right of defense.

What you need now is to get a good canon lawyer to help you. Email me privately and I will let you know of a good one I obtained through the Saint Joseph's Foundation in Texas. He charges $100 an hour and will communicate with you by phone, email and fax. He has no hesitancy in pointing out to a bishop when he has committed grievous errors in the administration of justice.

After the case is successfully filed in Rome (if you get this far), you can wait for an advocate to be appointed by the Rota. The Rota requires its own advocates be used so the canon lawyer in North America can only advise you at that point. Using the Rota-appointed advocate will be cheaper, but slower. You can also hire your own as I have done.

The sad fact is that almost all canon lawyers in my country (and Canada) are either pro-nullity, very badly trained or both. The Canon Law Society of America and diocesan tribunals will not help you.

Once your appeal is filed, you can expect a diocesan tribunal to play a lot of games and to intentionally delay the process. Don't try to deal with it yourself. In fact, if you do, you will like violate church protocol and stick your foot in your mouth. This will then be used against you. You should simply follow the advice of your lawyer.

Good luck with it.

-- Pat Delaney (pat@patdelaney.net), July 04, 2004.

David, The tribunal review process should not be thought of as adversarial.

It is not one party against the other.

The tribunal is reviewing the marriage itself.

Pat is wrong to suggest that there are not solid tribunals, there are.

May God bless you in your journey.

-- john placette (jplacette@catholic.org), July 04, 2004.

John is in no position to judge me. There may be some isolated dioceses in North America that do a good job with marriage cases. This is the exception, not the rule. Given this rarity, my generalizaton is appropriate. Neither side can prove the other right or wrong. The evidence is kept hidden (which is part of the problem).

-- Pat Delaney (pat@patdelaney.net), July 05, 2004.