Annulment - What it is...and what it isn't.

Annulment: What it is and what it isn’t.

by Rev. Patrick R. Lagges, J.C.D.

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN “LIGUORIAN” September 2000

Reprinted with permission from Liguorian, One Liguori Drive, Liguori MO 63057

How can you say my marriage never existed?”

The man on the phone was obviously upset. “I don’t believe in any of this annulment stuff. It’s nothing more than Catholic divorce. What’s the Church trying to do anyway?”

The latter question was the easier one to answer. The Church is actually trying to uphold the validity of this man’s marriage. The Church presumes that when two people exchange consent, a valid marriage bond is formed. However, if one party to the marriage asks the Church to take a closer look at that union, the Church agrees to do so through its tribunal. All the while, though, the Church maintains that the marriage is valid. It is up to the person who has petitioned the tribunal to present evidence that proves otherwise.

To do this, the petitioner is asked to submit personal testimony about the marriage and the personality of both spouses as well as a list of people who are also willing to give testimony. The tribunal gives the other party the opportunity to do the same. Both parties are allowed to read all evidence submitted, although the judge can restrict any testimony that is protected by civil law (such as counseling records) or that could cause serious harm if revealed. If the couple sought counseling and is willing to have those records released, the tribunal may also consult with the counselor to obtain additional information. Each party is represented by an advocate who argues the person’s position before the tribunal, while a representative for the Church, the defender of the bond, argues for the validity of the marriage. After a decision has been reached by the judge or by a panel of three judges, the case is reviewed by a second tribunal, which also consists of judge(s), advocates, and a defender of the bond. Both parties can participate in this second review just as they did in the first.

Throughout the tribunal process the Church tries to safeguard marriage, not undermine it.

The Church believes that when two people exchange consent to be married, they establish a sacred bond that does not depend on them alone. The Church teaches that God is the author of marriage, since God brought man and woman together in the beginning. Marriage is not something that someone just dreamed up or that society can define in whatever way it pleases. Marriage was established by the Creator and is governed not merely by human law but by divine law.

That is why the Church does not recognize the power of society to dissolve marriage. Marriage belongs to God; society can only specify what legal rights flow from a marriage. It cannot claim power over marriage itself At times the Church may dissolve a marriage-for example, if one or both parties were never baptized or if the marriage had not been consummated-but these are exceptional cases, and the basis for these exceptions is found either in Sacred Scripture or in the nature of marriage itself. For the most part, when two people exchange consent, the Church believes a sacred bond is formed that can be broken only by the death of one of the parties.

When both parties have been baptized, marriage takes on added significance, for then it becomes a sacrament. A sacramental marriage is a means by which God’s love becomes alive and active in the community. The Church teaches, therefore, that just as God’s love is freely offered and freely received and is a faithful, fruitful, and abiding love, the love of husband and wife must be freely offered and freely received and must be a faithful, fruitful, and abiding love.

This is why the Church does not permit remarriage after a civil divorce unless the previous marriage has been dissolved or declared invalid, It would contradict the sign of marriage and would say that the love of God is not permanent and is not faithful. It is the seriousness of the commitment the husband and wife make to each other and the sacredness of the bond that is formed between them that allow the Church to claim that marriage is indissoluble.

The Church realizes, however, that all marriages do not consist of that type of relationship. At times people enter into very destructive relationships, and some are compelled to marry by external circumstances. Others marry with no intention of accepting the things the Church considers essential for marriage. Sometimes these situations are apparent from the beginning of the marriage; at other times they become apparent only gradually.

When a relationship has become destructive and threatens the welfare of one of the parties or of the children, the Church permits separation. If a civil court action remains the only way the rights of the parties and of the children can be protected, the Church teaches that civil divorce is permissible. (See the Catechism of theCatholic Church, 2383.)

After separation and divorce, however, one of the spouses sometimes begins to question whether the marriage was valid in the first place and asks a tribunal to review the evidence he or she presents. The tribunal then examines various aspects of the marriage to see whether it could be declared null from the beginning.

It’s here that misunderstandings about declarations of nullity enter in. The tribunal does not look to see whether any relationship existed but what kind o relationship existed. Certainly no one could deny that something existed when two people exchanged consent to be married and that something existed when they lived together as husband and wife and perhaps had children. Many types of relationships exist in the world. Many of them are warm and loving, and all of them involve commitment to one degree or another. But not all of them are what the Church considers to be marriage.

Another misunderstanding is the belief that tribunals try to decide “what God has joined together.” Tribunal judges cannot read the mind of God and do not claim to speak for God in their decisions. Rather, they try to determine whether a particular relationship had the qualities required of sacramental marriage or whether some other type of relationship had been formed.

A tribunal focuses its investigation on three principal areas, or grounds.

First, it deals with the capacity of each party to enter into marriage as the Church understands it. Since marriage involves a commitment of the whole person for his or her whole life, it is a commitment that demands serious deliberation. Some people are incapable of this sort of deliberation. Sometimes they are not mature enough to make such a commitment at that time in their life, or other factors cause them to rush the decision-making process. When the process is rushed, people fail to consider carefully all the facts, thereby compromising their freedom to make a well-informed decision. Others may be unable to make a reasonable decision at the time of the marriage because their psychological state is disturbed either permanently (through mental illness) or temporarily (through drunkenness or other altered mental states). Others may have serious psychological disorders that prevent them from accepting the essential obligations of marriage, which are freely giving oneself totally to another and receiving that person totally in return, forming a permanent and faithful relationship, and caring for the children.

Next, the tribunal considers the intentions of the parties. To enter into a valid marriage, both people have to intend a permanent, faithful, and fruitful relationship. At times, people may leave one or more of these elements out when they give their consent. For example, some agree to marry “for as long as we both shall love” rather than “for as long as we both shall live.” Some have a concept of fidelity that is different from what the Church means by fidelity, such as the person who claimed to be faithful despite his sexual encounters outside of marriage since the others “didn’t mean anything” to him. In other cases, a person may retain the right to decide when and if children will be born of the marriage with little or no regard for the wishes of his or her spouse. Some place conditions on their consent, stating that they will marry “as long as” something happens or doesn’t happen. Others enter into marriage out of fear because someone is forcing them into making the commitment. In all of these cases, an essential aspect of marriage is missing. The person gives consent, but the consent is not to marriage as the Church understands it.

Finally, the tribunal looks at the knowledge of the parties. There are not many marriage nullity cases heard under these grounds, since it is presumed that people have at least a minimal knowledge of what marriage entails and that they know each other well enough to give themselves in marriage. At times, though, people are in error or are deceived about the person they are marrying and discover something right after the wedding that seriously disturbs married life.

If the tribunal finds sufficient evidence in its investigation to indicate that one or more of these essential elements was missing from the very beginning, then the marriage can be declared null, or invalid.

However, such a declaration does not release the parties from obligations which resulted from that relationship, particularly the obligations that are owed the children of the marriage. Civil law and Church law agree on this matter. Also the obligations to a former spouse who may be left with limited resources after a civil divorce do not cease if the Church declares the marriage null. Furthermore any children born of a marriage that is found to lack essential marital elements are still considered legitimate.

While it might seem that the grounds listed above could mean that just about every marriage could be declared null, the facts indicate otherwise. Only about 10 percent of divorced Catholics have their marriage declared null. The number of declarations of nullity is high in the United States simply because the number of divorced Catholics is high.

While the tribunal process can be personally demanding for those seeking a declaration of nullity, it can also contribute to the healing that people seek after a divorce.

Some people find that just the writing out of their testimony is helpful in putting their life back together because it enables them to see what went wrong and why. Others have commented that the tribunal process allowed them to tell their whole story for the first time and that they felt good that someone was willing to listen to them or to read their story. Still others have found in the marriage nullity process the final “letting go” of the former relationship and the freedom to go forward in their life.

For the most part, a declaration of invalidity doesn’t tell people anything they didn’t already know. They realized that the relationship they had was not what the Church means by marriage, and it certainly was not marriage as God established it in the beginning. To have that confirmed by the Church brings a sense of relief and comfort to people whose lives have been turned upside down by the failure of a relationship that began with so much hope.

Rev. Patrick R. Lagges, J.C.D., is the judicialvicar of the Archdiocese of Chicago, Illinois.

Permission to reprint was granted by “Liguorian” 9-1-2000

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