The purpose of this article is to offer a brief introduction to the Church’s judicial process and explain a declaration of marriage nullity, more commonly referred to as an “annulment”. It will also share the reasons for which marriages can be declared null by the Church. The article will conclude by answering a common question about the process.
“If your brother should commit some wrong against you, go and point out his fault, but keep it between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. If he does not listen, summon another, so that every case may stand on witnesses. If he ignores them, refer them to the Church” (Matt 18:15-17). In a way, Jesus’ words offer some principles of procedural law. We know that people dispute matters like property, business torts, contract violations, etc. If they are unable to settle their affairs privately, they often bring their matters before the court. Once there, the parties are able to have legal assistance and sometimes witnesses are introduced to offer testimony within the trial. The trial is under the oversight of a judge who gives his or her judgment at the conclusion. In certain circumstances a jury is also used. I disclose that I am no civil lawyer. My concentration is on Canon Law rather than the Civil Common Law. In short though, we see that contentious parties can place their cause before an authority who is competent to resolve the matter.
For her part, the Church also has a judicial process and tribunals to which all the faithful have a right to make a claim. Canon 221 § mentions, “The Christian faithful can legitimately vindicate and defend the rights which they possess in the Church in the competent ecclesiastical forum”. Canon 1401 no. 1&2 also states, “By proper and exclusive right, the Church adjudicates: cases which regard spiritual matters or those connected to spiritual matters or violations of ecclesiastical laws”. Even in the Church, people can bring their disputes before a competent tribunal. For example, they can bring a dispute over matters like the violation of Church law, denial of a sacrament, property, or a threat to one’s right to a good reputation. The most common disputes handled by Church courts though are causes of marriage nullity (annulments). Like the Civil forum, Canon Law permits the parties to have canonical representation before the judge or college of judges. The parties may appoint an advocate or a procurator to help them argue their cause. In addition, witnesses may be introduced. At the end of the canonical trial, the judge weighs all the proofs and gives his definitive sentence to the parties. The goals of the judicial process are truth and justice.
There are three reasons for which a marriage in the Church can be declared null. Unfortunately, I cannot go into all their details in this short article, but I will at least outline them.
The first is called the “Lack or Defect of Form”. Basically, Catholics are bound to “canonical form” (c.1108). This means that Catholics are to get married in the presence of the Church’s minister (priest of deacon) and at least two witnesses. However, if a Catholic marries outside the “canonical form”, like in front of a Justice of the Peace, the Church would declare that marriage invalid. There was a failure to observe canonical form. As Catholics, we have rights and obligations in the Church. One obligation is marrying in the canonical form. Therefore, a lack or defect of form can lead to the annulment.
The second reason is “defect of consent”. For a valid marriage to occur, the parties must understand what marriage truly is and its demands. They must also be willing to exchange the rights and obligations of the marriage covenant. If a party lacks understanding about marriage or refuses one of its essential elements, then that party does not contract a valid marriage. For instance, a man gets married while still intending to have a 3rd or 4th party lover on the side. He refuses to be faithful to his wife alone. He reserves the right to have conjugal acts with other women. This is a clear defect of the man’s consent since in marriage, parties normally intend to be faithful to each other. They promise that their conjugal life will be totally exclusive. A defective consent invalidates marriage.
The third reason is the existence of an “Impediment”. An impediment is a disqualification. If one marries while he has an impediment, this party cannot marry validly. Even Civil Law has impediments for marriage. For example, a 12year old is disqualified from getting married. There is an impediment of age. The Church also lists several impediments that disqualify people from marrying validly.
One big misconception is that an annulment is basically “Catholic divorce”. I have heard people say, “How can that person remarry in the Church? Isn’t it until death do us part?”.
Fr. Michael Foster in his book The Wedding That Was explains it well. “A civil divorce is a dissolution of a civilly valid marriage contract. No human power can dissolve a valid, consummated sacramental marriage. A declaration of nullity [annulment] is not a dissolution of a marriage. Rather, it is a judicial pronouncement that a valid marriage had not been brought about on the wedding day” (Foster 175). When the Church grants an annulment, it declares that the couple had a wedding, but not a marriage. There was no marriage from the beginning! There was a priest, witnesses, and a party, but for one of the three reasons explained earlier, the couple did not validly enter a true marriage. Let us take another “defect of consent” example. A couple got married at Kristo Rai Church, but during the vows (the moment of consent) the husband refused to be open to children. He thinks and decides, “My wife wants them, but I do not. I’ll use every means possible to prevent the possibility of conception. I really don’t want children”. In this case, the man positively and willingly refused to hand over the right to be open to children. He excluded openness to children. His will was contrary to the nature of marriage. As canon 1055 states, “the matrimonial covenant by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole life and which is ordered by its nature to the good of spouses and the procreation and education of offspring”. In this case there was a wedding, but no true marriage.
In conclusion, the people of God can turn towards the Church to adjudicate matters for which the tribunal is truly competent to address. These include spiritual matters or violations of ecclesiastical law. The most common matter disputed in the Church is the declaration of marriage nullity/annulment. A person’s marriage can be invalid for three main reasons, the lack or defect of canonical form, defect consent, or the existence of an impediment. When one gets an annulment, it is not the same as a civil divorce. Rather, through a judicial process and investigation, the Church declares the truth of the matter. There may have been a wedding, but not a marriage as defined by the natural law and the Creator.