Divorce and Annulment RCIA September 17, 2015

What’s the Big Deal? Matthew 19: 3-9 Some Pharisees approached him, and tested him, saying, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?" He said in reply, "Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator made them male and female and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate." They said to him, "Then why did Moses command that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss (her)?" He said to them, "Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery.”

Marriage has two aspects: Religious Civil (Legal) An annulment is a process internal to the Catholic Church It has no bearing on the civil or legal aspects of a marriage or divorce The children produced by a marriage that is subsequently declared invalid are still legitimate offspring of the marriage Determinations by the court are still recognized and in force: Alimony, Child support, custody, etc

Canon Law Though the process of annulment has no impact on the legal system outside the Church, the Church has its on set of laws referred to as Canon Law. To be a Catholic one must obey the laws of the Church. There are many laws that must be obeyed for a marriage to be considered valid in the Church An annulment (Declaration of Nullity/Invalidity) is not a Catholic divorce When a marriage is considered null/invalid the Church is essentially stating that conditions existed at the moment vows were exchanged rendering the marriage invalid.

Declaration of Nullity or Invalidity Not based on events that occur following vows being exchanged Based on conditions that existed before the couple said “I Do” Decided by the Diocesan Tribunal in Savannah Based on testimony of the petitioner, respondent and witnesses.

Every marriage is presumed by Canon law to be valid and binding. Therefore, compelling proof of invalidity must be presented by the petitioner to the tribunal. It is essential to have knowledgeable witnesses who will corroborate your story. Tribunal process is an impartial search for the truth on the part of the Church.

Conditions for a Valid Marriage 1.The consent of the bride and groom (free without coercion or other factors) 2.Legitimately manifested (following the proper form as outlined by the Church) 3.By those qualified according to the law (No impediments) If any of these are defective, a marriage was not brought about Defects in these three conditions require different types of cases 1. Defective consent cases (Formal Case) 2. Lack or defect of form cases 3. Impediment cases

Defective Consent (Formal Case) The Church holds the exchange of consent between the spouses to be the indispensable element that makes the marriage. If consent is lacking there is no marriage. Consent is an internal commitment that is outwardly expressed – “I take you…” Consent must be an act of the free will of each of the contracting parties, free of coercion or grave external fear The ability to validly consent requires that one has a minimal amount of: Maturity (Psychological stability) Knowledge Intention Freedom

Lack or Defect of Form At least one party must be Catholic Proper form must be followed Priest or Deacon and two witnesses in a Catholic Church Marriage outside the Church can occur with dispensation granted by Bishop Marriage not subsequently convalidated in Catholic Church

Impediments to a Valid Marriage Divine or Natural Law (may not be dispensed) Certain degrees of consanguinity (NL) Impotence to have intercourse (not sterility) (NL) Prior valid marriages (DL) Church Law Marriage between Catholic and non-Catholic without dispensation Holy Orders Public perpetual vow of chastity Abduction for purposes of contracting marriage Conspiracy or Murder for sake of marriage Affinity (in-law relationships) Age

Other impediments Fraud – person fraudulently misrepresents them self in order to marry Error concerning the unity, indissolubility or sacramental dignity of matrimony – marries believing that divorce is an option if the marriage fails; not open to children Conditional – I will marry you depending on… Due to force or fear- “Shotgun wedding” Interfaith union (Disparity of Cult)

Ligamen Prior bond The Catholic Church teaches that in order to be free to enter into marriage a person may not have an obstacle (impediment) which prevents that person from entering into a valid marriage. One such impediment is a prior bond ( Previous valid marriage ). Joe wants to marry Susie in the Catholic Church However, Joe had previously been married to Donna. A valid marriage that would require an annulment. Joe could not marry Susie due to his prior bond to Donna The Ligamen enters in if Donna had been validly married prior to her marriage to Joe. This prior bond makes the marriage of Joe and Donna invalid so he is free to marry Susie “Clear as mud…right?”

Pauline Privilege Two non-baptized persons marry. One chooses to become baptized. The two cannot live in harmony and are divorced. The marriage can be dissolved when the baptized person marries another baptized person.

The purpose of this presentation is not to make you experts on the process of annulment but to emphasize the complexity of the process. If you are presently in an invalid marriage this has to be resolved before you can enter the Church It does not matter if your previous spouse was not Catholic. The Church views ALL marriages as valid and as stated before compelling evidence must be presented for the marriage to be declared invalid This process takes time. Depending on the type of case presented it may take over a year for the Tribunal to come to a decision. Therefore, it is urgent that we start immediately on the paperwork and get this submitted ASAP. I will be glad to meet with you or you can contact a priest or another deacon. Meeting with clergy will help you to focus on the details that need to be presented to the Tribunal and determine the type case to be presented.