Marriage and the Catholic Church, Part 4

Most couples enter into marriage with good intentions. In an ideal world, a couple who marries shares the same values, has excellent communication and conflict resolution skills, and agrees on the handling of finances. But the world we live in is often far from ideal. There are many things that are unknown at the time of the wedding that eventually come out – things that, had they been known at the beginning, would have led the couple down separate paths.

Deciding to divorce is not easy, and couples who are discerning separation often seek pastoral guidance in making the choice. Good people often find themselves in bad marriages and have to determine a course of action. When a couple makes that painful decision to end their marriage, the first step is filing for divorce. This does not happen in Church – it happens in a court of law. A divorce, which is granted for a variety of reasons, legally dissolves a civilly-recognized marriage.

A common misunderstanding is that a Church annulment is a “Catholic divorce.” This simply isn’t true. While a divorce ends the legally-contracted marriage, a Church annulment is a decree that a marriage was invalid from the beginning. What would make a marriage invalid? There are many reasons. It may be that one of the spouses doesn’t see the value in being faithful or independently decides not to have children. Or you discover that the person you have married is actually a close biological relative, or that your spouse is already legally married to someone else, a practice known as bigamy.

A Church annulment contends that an important element was missing at the time of consent, even if it wasn’t apparent then. So an annulled marriage is one in which a covenant never actually existed because it couldn’t, under the circumstances. This would be akin to receiving a diploma when you hadn’t completed the requirements for graduation. You may have walked across the stage and received a certificate, but you didn’t actually graduate, and so the diploma is not valid.

The annulment process ordinarily begins after a legal divorce has been granted and finalized. It is important to know that following divorce, a person may continue to receive the sacraments, including Eucharist. However, the Church requires that before one of the couple remarries, an annulment is granted. This can take some time, but it also offers an opportunity for reflection and healing.

There are misconceptions about what annulment means for the children of a marriage, and who exactly needs to seek an annulment. Next week, our series will end with a look at these two issues.