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Contents of this webpageDefinitions bring to topGrounds for Annulment bring to top Authoritative Vatican Sources Cited, and Regional Sources (consistent with Rome) bring to top Definitions
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Grounds for Annulment
True Marriage is a lifelong partnership between a man and woman. Once a couple is married, they cannot be unmarried. One who chooses to be married as the Catholic Church understands marriage may mistakenly believe they are entering into a marriage with their fiancee, but because some kind of impediment exists at the time of marriage, it is impossible for the other person to enter into a valid marriage. Canon law defines these circumstances.If for example, a woman planned on marrying Bill, and at the hour of the wedding, Bill's identical twin brother showed up, fooled the bride, and said the vows; according to canon law, the woman would not be validly married to her fiancee's twin brother. Or, if a loaded gun was held to her head and she was ordered to say the vows, she would not be validly married. If her fiance deliberately lied to her when he said his vows, and he told a couple of his friends that he had no intention of being sexually faithful because he wanted to commit adultery throughout the marriage, that liar would be incapable of contracting a valid marriage.
The code of canon law requires that all marriages are assumed valid until proven otherwise. Most of the reasons for annulment are obvious and reasonable.
Two grounds for annulment, however, can be misinterpreted because the code refers to discretion of judgement, psychological causes, essential rights, obligations, elements, and properties which could be incorrectly defined by persons who contradict the intention of the legislator. For example, if one of the essential elements of marriage was to have a house with a white picket fence, any unhappy spouse could accuse the other of being incapable of contracting marriage because the fence was never provided. This sounds ridiculous, but there are those who conclude that all abandoning spouses, adulterous spouses or abusive or chemically addicted spouses were never really validly married - because if they were, they would not have committed their offenses against the dignity of their own family. Using twisted logic, those expecting automatic annulments argue that everyone who ever breaks a marital promise was actually never capable of making the promise in the first place.
The code of canon law originates from the Holy See and is generated by those who have the vested authority to teach the truth regarding faith and morals. The legislators who wrote and edited the law publish instructions to clarify the meanings of their words so those responsible for interpreting the law will do it correctly. Confusion is caused if teachers or regional judges contradict the instruction of the legislator and the highest court.
Authoritative Sources Cited
Pope to Roman Rota, Jan. 29, 2010
Pope Benedict XVI reminds tribunal judges, "One must avoid pseudo-pastoral claims that would situate questions on a purely horizontal plane, in which what matters is to satisfy subjective requests to arrive at a declaration of nullity at any cost, so that the parties may be able to overcome, among other things, obstacles to receiving the Sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist." . . . "In this sense, existential, person-centred and relational consideration of the conjugal union can never be at the expense of indissolubility" . . . "there is a grave risk of losing any objective reference point for pronouncements on nullity, by transforming every conjugal difficulty into a symptom of failure to establish a union whose essential nucleus of justice the indissoluble bond is effectively denied."
Pope to Roman Rota, Jan. 29, 2009
Pope Benedict XVI reminds tribunal judges that the behavior of a spouse years into marriage is not groungs for a can. 1095 annulment (Canon Law regarding mental incapacity). "To speak of capacity or incapacity, therefore, is meaningful to the extent that it concerns the act itself of contracting marriage, ... and its continuing validity does not depend on the subsequent conduct of the couple during their married life."
Pope to Roman Rota, Jan. 29, 2004
The pope cautions tribunal judges against presuming a marriage is invalid just because the couple (or one party) failed at keeping their matrimonial promises. Sin can be the cause of the breakup of families.
Pope to the Roman Rota, Jan 29, 2005
The Pope cautions those who believe there is a pastoral requirement to declare marriages invalid because there was a family breakup. Tribunals are tempted to simulate the judicial process to achieve this desired result, which would be a grave problem and the Bishops are responsible for ensuring their tribunal staff seeks objective truth.
Familiaris Consortio 1981
The Universal Church recognizes that marital breakdown does NOT equal invalid marriage. "Various reasons can unfortunately lead to the often irreparable breakdown of valid marriages. These include mutual lack of understanding and the inability to enter into interpersonal relationships" (Section 83).
Capacity to Consent, Mentality of Divorce. Vatican's Team of 1983 Canon Law Editor, Edward Egan
It is incorrect to believe that "When a couple consents to marriage, they do it .. by exchanging the right to some additional thing or things without which the marriage would be invalid. ... : an interpersonal relationship, a community of life and love, self-completion, self-development, and self-fulfillment."
Psychological Reasons, and Lack of Discretion: Vatican's Team 1983 Canon Law Editor, Edward Egan, Rota's Scholarly Journal 1983
The valid psychological reasons acceptable to demonstrate a marriage is invalid are clearly limited. Canon 1095
Incapacity to Fulfill the Essential Obligations Vatican's Team 1983 Canon Law Editor, Edward Egan Rota's Scholarly Journal 1984
Exposes false discovery from the 60's and 70's that spouses didn't have the capacity to marry if they didn't achieve "their mutual fulfillment,Ê completion, integration, and enrichment." Canon 1095
Dignitasconnubii(Dignity of Marriage), Instruction Handling Nullity. Press Release VATICAN CITY, FEB 8, 2005
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Cardinal Herranz confirmed that in the context of a "divorcist" mentality, "even canonical nullity hearings can easily be misinterpreted, as if they were nothing more than ways to obtain a divorce with the apparent approval of the Church." The difference between annulment and divorce would thus be "purely nominal, and by the skillful manipulation of causes of nullity, all failed marriages would be nullified."
Annulment Reform Needed, Vatican Official Says September 17, 2004
Marriage tribunals in some countries are abusing Church laws regarding annulments, a leading Vatican authority has charged. ... That was the testimony of Joaquin Llobel, a canon-law instructor at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross and a member of the tribunal for the Apostolic Signatura.
Good of the Spouses. Lack thereof is NOT ground for invalidity. September 17, 2004
Roman Rotal Judge Cormac Burke's writings are searchable. Link to articles from 1989 to 2000 discussiong "Good of the Spouses."
Ruling by Tribunal of the Roman Rota, April 17, 1997
Roman Rota case corrects erroneous applicaition of grounds for annulment: "serious problems preventing rational judgments concerning matrimonial rights and duties (c. 1095, 1 and 2)", and of "psychological problems rendering [both parties] incapable of assuming the essential obligations of marriage (c. 1095, 3)"
Interview With Father Miguel Ortiz, Professor of Canonical Marital Law Rome Sept. 22, 2004
The failure of a marriage does not necessarily imply its nullity.
Catechism 2382
The Lord Jesus insisted on the original intention of the Creator who willed that marriage be indissoluble. He abrogates the accommodations that had slipped into the old Law. Between the baptized, "a ratified and consummated marriage cannot be dissolved by any human power or for any reason other than death."
Can. 1060
Marriage enjoys the favor of law. Consequently, in doubt the validity of a marriage must be upheld until the contrary is proven.
Pope to US Bishops, Blasts Number Of Annulments 1998
Pope John Paul II (bio - news), meeting with a delegation of US bishops on Saturday, expressed his dissatisfaction with the number of annulments being granted to Catholics.
Pope to the Tribunal of the Roman Rota 1978-2004
All of the address are on one webpage
Roman Rota Auditor, Rev. Msgr.. Cormac Burke
Lack of discretion or incapacity can invalidate consent. But only the incapacity to promise the essential rights and obligations of marriage: to promise exclusivity (no adultery), to promise procreativity (be open to children), and to promise marriage till death. Couples aren't expected to consent to promise to make the other happy, or promise to have children; these are the results (ends) of marriage. The ends of marriage are distinguished from the essential obligations of consent.
Roman Rota Auditor, Rev. Msgr. Cormac Burke, THE BONUM CONIUGUM AND THE BONUM PROLIS ENDS OR PROPERTIES OF MARRIAGE?
Former Rota Judge explains the meaning of the essential "properties" of marriage. It one is confused about these "properties" one will think marriages are invalid when they are truly valid.
Roman Rota Auditor, Rev. Msgr. Cormac Burke, Marriage, Annulment, and the Quest for Lasting Commitment January 1996, The Catholic World Report
Former Rota Judge explains the meaning of "good of the spouses," the "self-giving and accepting" of marital consent, and the "communion of life and love" and "married personalism."
Progressive Jurisprudential Thinking Cormac Burke
The Jurist 58 (1998:2). pp. 437-478 Former Rota Judge explains that the essential elements of marraige have not changed just because 1983 code was published. "The Good of Spouses" is not an essential element or obligation of marriage that must be present to have a valid marriage.
Msgr. Cormac Burke's Writings Member of the Roman Rota
Catholic United for the Faith, Fact Sheet
One cannot use the internal forum to decide that one's marriage is null based on one's own conscience. An adulterous spouse is not grounds for annulment and is not justification for marrying a new partner. Adultery occurs if one marries a second person, while the first marriage is valid, as all are assumed to be valid until proven otherwise as determined by Catholic Tribunal. Quotes Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger.
Marriage, Annulments, and Gobbledygook (6 MB pdf) Catholic World Report. March 1998 by Msgr. Clarence J. Hettinger
Reprinted with Permission. The key question for Church tribunals to answer is not whether a sacramental marriage has taken place, but whether there has been any marriage at all.
Too Many Invalid Annulments Homiletic and Pastoral Review. Dec 1993, by Msgr. Clarence J. Hettinger
Obviously the United States suffers from a divorce mentality. ... Now the American divorce mentality has found its exact counterpart in the scandal of a Catholic American annulment mentality, all the more scandalous because it has come to affect non-Catholics and non-Christians as well as Catholics.
The Annulment Mentality: What You Can Do About It Holiletic and Pastoral Review. Dec. 1994 by Msgr. Clarence J. Hettinger
... the excessive case-load of American tribunals is the cause of both the annulment1 mentality and its pervasive propagation throughout the body of the Church. ... the vast majority of annulment petitions never should have arrived at the tribunal ... a majority of those which got to the tribunal should have been rejected.
"Creative" Avenues to Remarriage after Divorce Homiletic and Pastoral Review. Dec 1993, by Msgr. Clarence J. Hettinger
... St. Raymond of Penafort-ABC-TV's
Why Marriage Annulments have Exploded Homiletic and Pastoral Review. Feb. 2002, by Sheryl Tamaat
Many have expererienced shock and disbelief when hearing of certain annulments being granted.
This article is republished with the permission of Homiletic & Pastoral Review, February, 2002. Editor: Kenneth Baker, S.J., published by Ignatius Press. San Francisco, CA
Judging invalidity the American Way Homiletic and Pastoral Review. Jan 2005, by Sheryl Tamaat
Article critiques the methods taught by Fr. Lawrence Wrenn, respected leader in the 501(c)(3) Canon Law Society of America. "... Rotal jurisprudence requires serious reasons for issuing declarations of nullity, whereas Fr. Wrenn is willing to include nearly everyone. Fr. Wrenn is willing to harden hearts. "
A Plan to Save Marriages (pdf 624 Kb) Homiletic and Pastoral Review. March 2006, by Sheryl Temaat
Priests have a moral obligation to use all possible means to persuade reconciliation between alienated spouses and return to conjugal life ... If the grounds for nullity as taught by the Church were used rather than abused by the American tribunals, the number of marriages declared null would go down dramatically.
The definition of marriage in the Code of Canon Law Homiletic and Pastoral Review. June 1996, by Ignatius Gramunt
Is the 1983 Code of Canon Law to blame for the marriage "annulment crisis" of the last twenty years? One side in the current debate in another Catholic publication1 seems to think that the law is at fault by having introduced in canon 1055 the concept of "the good of the spouses" as an end that defines marriage.
New commentary, Old nonsense (coming soon) Homiletic and Pastoral Review. March 2001, by Fr. John Trigilio
The new American commentary on canon law contains a plethora of speculative theology, dissident opinion and at times crass impudence.
This article is republished with the permission of Homiletic & Pastoral Review. Editor: Kenneth Baker, S.J., published by Ignatius Press. San Francisco, CA
Annulments in America: Rebutting a rebuttal Homiletic and Pastoral Review. mo. 199x, by Robert H. Vasoli
Far from a sudden rise followed by decline, American tribunals have been mass producing annulments without interruption for a generation.
Reasons for Annulment July 2005
Sheryl Temaat describes reasons for annulment while citing scholarly journal of the Roman Rota
American Annulment Mills Homiletic and Pastoral Review. Dec 2005, by Robert Kendra
It is anybody's guess how many valid sacramental marriages are nullified by phony annulments followed by remarriage.
The annulment crisis in the Church By Fr. Leonard Kennedy Catholic Insight: March 1999
Annulments booming The United States has 6% of the world's Catholics but grants 78% percent of the world's annulments. In 1968 the Church there granted fewer than 600 annulments; from 1984 to 1994 it granted just under 59,000 annually
30 days in the Church and in the World May 2004
Analysis of the data on the causes of marriage annulment broken down by nation
Internal Forum Solution what it is and is not
(Q) I've heard that instead of receiving an annulment, there's an "internal forum solution" that allows re-married Catholics to continue receiving the Sacraments without having to get an annulment of their prior marriage(s). Is this true? (A) Yes, and no. There is an internal forum solution, but it is probably not what you might think it is.
Vatican, Holy See, Upholds Marriage, despite Boston trying to annul Kennedy Wedding Time Magazine June 19, 2007
The most controversial "marriage that never was" in recent U.S. political history is back. Sources tell TIME that the Vatican has reversed the annulment of Joseph P. Kennedy II's marriage to Sheila Rauch. The annulment had been granted in ...
Canon Lawyer Phil Gray on "lack of discretion" Canon 1095 §2 (3-page pdf)
Canon Law provides a large number of potential grounds for nullity of marriage. It is beyond the scope and purpose of this opinion to address them all. I focus on one, simply because it is the most used, and most abused, among cases I have been involved with. Petitioners claim that one or both parties were "immature" or "lacked sufficient judgment" to enter marriage.
The Defenders' Page Defending Marriage Yahoo Group Contributors
Those who are defending or have successfully defended the validity of their marriage at the Rota offer original suggestions to their compatriots in the defending marriage yahoo group.
