Q U I C K S C A N

What might make a marriage contract invalid?
What is involved in the annulment process
Does an annulment cause illegitimacy?

Readers reflect on Friar Jack’s musings

by Friar Jim Van Vurst, O.F.M.

This reflection is on annulment, which some people unfortunately refer to as “Catholic divorce.” This is not accurate. A civil divorce breaks a marriage bond. However, an annulment, which is granted by the Church, declares that a marriage was invalid from the beginning for reasons that came to light only during the course of an annulment investigation. Keep in mind that marriage is a sacrament, covenant and a contract.

What might make a marriage contract invalid?

Any contract needs to meet certain conditions to be valid, and a contract is not valid when just one condition is missing. Here are some reasons why a marriage contract might be invalid:

a) A person marries only under severe pressure from family. He really doesn’t want to but does it to make others happy. The marriage contract must be freely entered.

b) A person is immature and does not have a sufficient understanding of the seriousness of the marriage contract.

c) A person enters marriage with plans to leave if certain problems arise. One entering a marriage must intend to be committed for life.

e) A person enters a marriage without guaranteeing his or her fidelity. Fidelity is an absolute condition for marriage contracts.

f) Mental illness present at the time a couple is married goes undetected and comes to light only later in the marriage. However, one can detect symptoms in the past when looking back.

g) One spouse is an angry, violent person and becomes abusive after the couple is married. This calls into question the suitability of the spouse at the time of marriage.

These are some issues that most reasonable people would deem worthy to vitiate a marriage contract. You may wonder why these conditions are not discovered before weddings. Often they are, which is the reason why the Church wants couples to spend time preparing for this all-important commitment. Six months may seem like a long time to prepare, but it is not when you remember that marriage is for life.

What is involved in the annulment process?

The annulment process determines if any condition (like the ones mentioned above) was present at the time of the wedding that might render a marriage invalid. This determination may be made after a marriage of just a few years or many years has ended.

A person seeking an annulment fills out a long questionnaire in which he or she describes the marriage, its preparation and the grounds for the annulment. Witnesses who can support the petitioner are questioned. Also, an attempt is always made to contact the other spouse (and the spouse’s own witnesses) so that he or she can agree, object or provide a personal opinion.

If the other spouse refuses to become involved after several attempts to make contact, this does not automatically stop the investigation. If the annulment case is found to have merit, it is processed through the courts of the marriage tribunal. After a judgment either for or against the annulment is made, the person seeking the annulment and the spouse are informed of the decision.

If the annulment is granted, the petitioner and the former spouse are free to marry again. However, in light of the causes behind the prior marriage’s failure, some kind of counseling may be required of the parties involved before remarriage is permitted. Some cases are long and involved and may take several years. In cases where the evidence is very strong, the annulment process is surprisingly short. Most annulment cases fall somewhere in the middle.

Because it will often bring up deep hurt and anger from the past, seeking an annulment can be a very painful experience. Whoever is helping the person with the questionnaire and the annulment process must be very compassionate and understanding. Even though we speak of contracts, we should not lessen the pastoral care given during this time.

Does an annulment cause illegitimacy?

Finally, it is important to note that the granting of an annulment in no way changes the legitimacy of the children born of that annulled union. Because it was a legal union recognized by the state, even though the Church did not recognize it, all offspring are always considered legitimate. Legitimacy is significant because of issues such as child support and inheritance.

For further reading on annulment:
“Ten Questions About Annulment”
“Bringing Your Marriage Into the Church”

Friar Jack’s Inbox

Readers respond to Friar Jack’s musings on
“The Buried Treasure Is Always Available.”

Dear Friar Jack: Thank you so much for the article on the Kingdom of God/heaven. It is helping to clear up much confusion I’ve wrestled with over the meanings of the phrases. I feel this is one of your best articles. God bless you and thanks be to God for pouring his Spirit out upon you so mightily! In his service, Gary

Dear Friar Jack: I am a Sister of Charity of Halifax. We were trained in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where our motherhouse is. Now, young women are trained locally. I turned 92 years old yesterday and have had great religious training all my life. I appreciate all the messages you write on the computer. I especially am inspired by this latest message of yours, “The Buried Treasure Is Always Available.” Thanks so very much, Friar Jack. God bless you! I was in need of that message just at the time I read it.
Sister Ann

Dear Friar Jack: I enjoyed and learned much from your treatise on the Kingdom of God. I am stymied, though as I try to apply the substitution that you suggested in your E-spiration. It is Matthew 13:47-53, which starts: “The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown in to sea….” Your suggested substitution would change it to: “God’s saving presence is like a net thrown into sea, which collects fish of every kind. When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away…angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace…” To me, this puts a negative spin on God’s saving presence. It seems as if the Kingdom of heaven is weeding out the good from the bad. Could you comment on this passage? I would appreciate it. Celia

Dear Celia: Thanks for your comments and question. I had a feeling that some of you might experience difficulties in applying my suggestion of substituting the words God’s saving presence whenever they encountered the phrase Kingdom of God (or Kingdom of heaven) in the Gospels. It’s a little tricky at times because of the poetic nature of Jesus’ parables, but I think my suggestion can usually be made to work. Here’s the way I would look at the Kingdom of heaven in terms of the “net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind.” The net, as a whole, represents God’s Kingdom, that is, God’s saving presence and God’s wish that all human beings be gathered into God’s saving presence and come to healing and salvation. However, as human beings we are free to accept or resist God’s healing. God’s Kingdom or saving presence is always at hand—always among us—ready to save us. But God respects our gift of freedom and doesn’t force us to accept his invitation to the Kingdom. The bad fish are those who reject the Kingdom, which nevertheless remains graciously among them awaiting their conversion.

A similar parable is that of the weeds among the wheat. This appears a little earlier in the same chapter of Matthew’s Gospel. Jesus says, “The Kingdom of heaven is like a man who sows good seeds in his field,” but his enemy comes and sows weeds throughout the wheat. Again the good seeds represent those who collaborate with God’s saving presence in their midst, while the weeds represent those who do not wish to be part of God’s saving plan. In some cases it takes a little juggling for my suggested “substitution device” to work. It may not always work perfectly, but it has helped me in my own understanding of a very central theme in Jesus’ teaching, namely, the Kingdom of heaven.

Let me add a word of thanks to the many good readers who responded to my last E-spiration (July 28) with many interesting e-mails. May the Risen Jesus bless you and gather you all into his loving and healing presence! Friar Jack

For further reading:
“What Is ‘the Kingdom of God’?”

Send your feedback to friarjack@franciscanmedia.org.

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