Is an Annulment Just A Catholic Divorce?

"Sounds to me like the annulment process is just a 'Catholic divorce.'" This is a statement I've heard repeatedly over the years and it's not surprising. The Catholic Church has always upheld the teaching that marriage is a permanent bond between a husband and wife that can only be dissolved by death. That is the truth Christ gave us and nothing can change that. So how can the Catholic Church grant annulments that allow divorced couples to remarry in the Church?

The simple answer to that question is the annulment process doesn't dissolve a marriage bond, it simply determines whether or not a valid marriage bond took place on the day of the wedding. If no valid marriage took place, then the spouses were never bound to each other in the eyes of God and are free to marry. The tribunal will issue a declaration stating this is the case, and this is typically what people call an annulment.

Usually, this answer prompts many more questions about how the process works and if you have more questions, I'd like to share two answers with you that came from my recent discussion with Jacqueline Rapp, JD, JCL, MCL. Jacqui was kind enough to let me ask her some of the important, but not-so-common questions about the annulment process that really shed some light on what's going on.

Jacqui is an accomplished canon lawyer who received her canon law degree from St. Paul University, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and her civil law degree from Regent University, in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She has served as a judge, advocate and defender of the bond in first and second instance for dioceses across the United States and in Toronto, Canada. Jacqui is also a published author with many more credentials that lend to her expertise. Here is some of our Q & A:

Many people are confused about the difference between a valid marriage and a sacramental marriage. Would you explain the difference?

It's important to understand that when you talk about valid vs. sacramental, you are speaking about two very different things. You're talking about apples and oranges. In the annulment process, the tribunal is not looking at whether or not a marriage was sacramental because that simply refers to whether or not you were baptized. A sacramental marriage occurs between two baptized people; between two Catholics, or two Baptists, or between a Catholic and a Baptist, etc. A sacramental marriage does not take place between a Catholic and a Buddhist, or two Hindus or two Jews. But, tribunals that preside over annulment cases are not looking to see whether or not a marriage is sacramental, they are looking to see if a natural marriage took place and whether or not it was valid.

A natural marriage bond refers to what God intended marriage to be from the very beginning: a union that is permanent, exclusive, open to children, and ordered to the good of the spouses.

The term 'valid' means, for lack of a better way to put it, that two people stood in the right place, said the right things and meant the right things. If any of these attributes are missing, you do not have a valid marriage, and this is what a tribunal is trying to determine.

It's really important for people going through the annulment process to get an advocate because the jargon can be intimidating. Tribunals usually will appoint an advocate to a petitioner, but if you haven't been appointed one, call the tribunal and find out how you can contact your advocate.

There seems to be a trend of people being told that if they claim "lack of form" as grounds for annulment, all they will need to do is file some paperwork a few weeks before their wedding and an annulment will be automatically granted. Can you shed some light on this?

If the marriage is truly lack of form, then yes, all that is required is paperwork. You would need to provide the baptismal certificates of the spouses, the marriage license and the divorce decree along with the required paperwork to file.

Catholics are required to go through a canonical form of marriage, which means a priest or deacon and two witnesses must be present at the ceremony. If no priest or deacon is present, and if no dispensation from the bishop has been obtained in advance for this, then the marriage is considered lack of form. Therefore, the marriage is invalid automatically if a priest or deacon is not present and there is no dispensation.

However, it's not a good idea to wait until a few weeks before the wedding takes place to get this done. Never put wedding plans before the clarification of your status because what appears obvious to you may not be that obvious or simple when a tribunal examines the case. Your status in the church is of utmost importance. It's not really the place (beach, golf course) that's important, it's who is present.

I'm grateful to Jacqui for taking the time to do the interview. You can hear the entire podcast version of the interview here.

If you are interested in Jacqui's book, Annulment – 100 Questions and Answers for Catholics, or would like to ask her a question or bring her to your parish to speak, visit her website at kycanonist.com.