Divorced non-catholic wants annulment

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My boyfriend was previously married to a Catholic woman but the marriage took place in the United church to which he belonged. The marriage has since ended due to infidelity on her part and the divorce has been finalized. I am a practicing Catholic and may, in the near future, wish to marry this man. I was just wondering how complicated the annulment process will be in this case since he is a non-catholic? I believe it is straight forward because of the lack of form but can he file for an anulment under such conditins or will his ex-wife have to do so.

-- Karla (k_dibartolo@hotmail.com), July 21, 2004

Answers

Bump.

-- ZAROVE (ZAROFF3@JUNO.COM), July 21, 2004.

Karla,

Your boyfriend can file for an annulment if he wants to. It sounds rather simple if the Catholic woman he was married to in a "United" church did not get a dispensation from her bishop. This would be a rather quick annullment process. Mere weeks. If she did have permission, then it could be much longer, or not available at all.

-- Pat Delaney (pat@patdelaney.net), July 26, 2004.


Canon Law does not allow for any such "dispensation". A Catholic "married" before a Protestant minister is not validly married, regardless of who gave "permission". Such permission itself would be invalid, de facto.

-- Paul M. (PaulCyp@cox.net), July 26, 2004.

You are probably right. I have no idea what "United" actually refers to. Some of the questions floating through are getting somewhat, shall we say, "imprecise"?

-- Pat Delaney (pat@patdelaney.net), July 27, 2004.

Paul, does that mean that any two non-catholics are not validly married in the eyes of the Catholic Church?

-- Oliver Fischer (spicenut@excite.com), July 27, 2004.


Oliver, no, it does not mean that at all. The question was about the purpoted marriage of a Catholic in a Protestant ceremony. My reply likewise addressed that specific situation.

-- Paul M. (PaulCyp@cox.net), July 27, 2004.

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