Diocesan Programs

Annulment process offers healing and closure

Annulment process offers healing and closure 
For Catholics whose dreams for a good marriage turn into the pain of divorce, the church's annulment process offers healing and a second chance at marriage in the Catholic Church, says Tina Newman, the notary of the diocese's marriage tribunal office.

For many of the people who come into her office, the in-depth interview that is part of the annulment process is the first time they speak about their marital problems in a private, confidential setting, said Newman, adding that, in this way, the process is a pastoral service.

Although many applicants are nervous when they begin answering the lengthy, standard questionnaire, "I've had lots of people say it was really hard but they're glad that they talked about it." Despite the pain and sadness behind their stories, "The flip side is you see that people have that resiliency. It's nice to see that people can bounce back from bad relationships and end up being happier."

Divorced herself, Newman sees her work as a way to help people "to achieve something that is important to them and to get through a new phase in their life, as most people applying for annulment are planning on a new marriage."

The diocesan office handles 30 - 40 cases each year, about 15 of them new and the remainder pertaining to ratifications (annulments that are granted) of applications made during the previous year or two.

When a divorced person seeks an annulment from the church, the marriage tribunal office researches the case to determine whether a valid sacramental bond existed at the time of marriage. "I think some of the values the church is trying to teach is that marriage should be held up as a very high sacrament, not to be taken lightly," said Newman.

By granting a declaration of nullity, the church declares the essential elements of a sacramental marriage were not there when the couple got married. The applicant and ex-spouse are then free to remarry in the Catholic Church.

Grounds for annulment include lack of sufficient use of reason, lack of discretion about essential matrimonial rights and obligations, and inability to assume the essential obligations of marriage due to psychological causes.

The validity of a marriage can be examined when there is a lack of consent, such as in the case of immaturity or psychic incapacity; a lack of knowledge, such as deceit or error about the person; or a lack of will, such as when force or grave fear is imposed or when there is intention against procreation.

The church recognizes the validity of a marriage between baptized non-Catholics, so if a Catholic wants to marry a divorced non-Catholic Christian, the non-Catholic must obtain a declaration of nullity before being able to be married in the Catholic Church. Newman estimated the number of non-Catholic applicants at 20 - 25 per cent.

Presumptions for nullity, which are not grounds for a declaration of nullity but can be used to argue the case, include: teenage marriage, premarital pregnancy, previous abuse, a very brief courtship, rebounding from a recent divorce or spouse's death, and "old maid" anxiety.

The first step in the annulment process is to obtain and complete the initial forms from the parish or diocese, including a summary of one's married life. Rev. Ghislain Gaudet, the diocese's judicial vicar, then determines the grounds for the case.

The applicant is interviewed and asked to provide names of potential witnesses to be interviewed -- people who knew the couple when they got married. This can be difficult, said Newman, particularly in cases that go back decades. When witnesses from the time of marriage cannot be located, sometimes an adult child will be a witness. When witnesses live in another diocese, that diocese is asked to arrange the interview and forward the paperwork.

Although the ex-spouse is invited to provide input, his or her involvement is not necessary and in fact is not usually part of the process, Newman said. After the interviews and paperwork are done, the case is forwarded to Regina, where a judge (usually a priest with a masters degree in canon law who is appointed by Regina's archbishop) makes a decision. An approved application is sent on to the appeal tribunal in Ottawa for ratification.

In the rare event that an application is not approved in Regina, it only goes to Ottawa at the request of the applicant, Gaudet said. Recently, an application approved in Regina was then turned down in Ottawa, a very rare situation, according to Newman. In such cases, she said the applicant has the option of reapplying for an annulment on different grounds.

In at least half of the annulments that are granted, Newman said restrictions are placed on either the applicant or ex-spouse regarding remarriage in a Catholic Church. One type of restriction requires consulting the judicial vicar beforehand. The other, more serious, requires the bishop's consent.

"That's sort of a red flag to the parish priest that would be handling this wedding that maybe there's issues that need to be dealt with yet before this person goes into another marriage," she said. "That's why marriage preparation courses are really important for people to take the time to go through and to take seriously."

The whole process of annulment takes one to one-and-a-half years and costs the church approximately $2,500. The applicant's fees are $800, payable in instalments, but applicants are never turned away for lack of funds, Newman said.

She said common problems in the marriages of those who apply for annulment are: immaturity at the time of marriage, premarital pregnancy, and resignation to marrying a certain person based on the belief that "there is no one else out there for them."

Annulment misunderstood by many

There is a surprising amount of ignorance about the marriage annulment process, says Rev. Ghislain Gaudet, the diocese's Chancellor.

"Especially in the older marriages, say 50 years ago, people got married for life. Even if they went through hell in their marriage, they never thought that something could ever be done," Gaudet said.

Some people also do not apply for a declaration of nullity because they believe it would make their children illegitimate. The children of a couple who obtains an annulment, however, are legitimate because the declaration does not destroy the legal validity of that marriage.

The church "doesn't look down" on divorced people. If they remarry without having obtained a declaration of nullity, however, they can no longer receive the sacrament of communion in the Catholic Church.

Almost everyone who applies for an annulment through the diocese's marriage tribunal office is granted one, Gaudet said, but he pointed out that many people who probably would not be granted an annulment do not even bother applying.

Gaudet has discouraged some applicants from pursuing their case because of insufficient grounds for annulment, although he acknowledged those situations are extremely rare, probably only two or three per cent. Most applicants "already know they have serious arguments (for annulment)."

In response to critics who say the church is wrong to declare there was never a marriage when a couple was married decades and had children and grandchildren, Gaudet said, "It's not the length of the marriage that makes it valid. If the elements for a valid marriage weren't there in the first place, well, they could have been together for 30 or 40 years, but the marriage wasn't sacramental."