Catholic Teachings on Divorce and Annulment

After last week’s homily, several people approached me with specific questions regarding annulments. I know that this topic is one which has prompted many conversations around your dinner tables or in neighborhood coffee shops and ball fields. Every family these days seems to be touched by divorce and the question of "What happens now?" I thought that a few points about divorce, annulment and remarriage could be helpful.

The Church still does not recognize divorce as the ending of a marriage. Divorce ends the legal bond between husband and wife, but does nothing to the apparent sacramentality of the marriage, the part of marriage that the Church is striving to promote and sustain.
The divorced person’s status in the Church, i.e. his or her ability to celebrate the sacraments, is not altered solely through the divorce. It is not until the divorced person is remarried or begins to live as husband or wife in a new relationship without the blessing of a Church marriage, that his or her status changes. This change is the same for any Catholic person who is living as husband and wife outside of marriage, divorced or not.
A Church annulment acknowledges the fact that the marriage did indeed take place, but states that all the criteria for a valid, sacramental marriage were not in place at the time of the marriage. The basic criteria for a valid, sacramental marriage being:

Both parties enter into marriage of their own free will.
Each party is capable of understanding and accepting the rights and responsibilities of marriage.
An openness on both parties’ part to bear children and raise them in the faith.
Intending a marriage that is permanent, lasting until death.
Celebrated in the presence of the Church’s minister and two witnesses.

A Church annulment addresses the sacramentality of the marriage, not the legality.
An annulment does not alter the legitimacy of children born to the marriage.
The annulment process cannot begin before a legal divorce is finalized.
The process must take place through the diocese in which either the marriage took place, or the ex spouse is presently living. The paperwork can usually be handled in your own parish, and will be processed through the correct diocese.
There is a fee for an annulment to help cover the cost associated with its processing. Presently in the Diocese of Providence, applicants are asked to pay $750, though the actual cost of the process is over twice that, and the Diocese of Fall River, up to $550. Other dioceses will vary. All fees are paid in installments if more convenient, and at no time is the lack of ability to pay a reason to stop the process from either beginning, or coming to completion.

Every person’s situation is different, and all cases vary from one to the next. These points are made to help you or a loved one, but should not be seen as the end of all discussion. The best way to get all the information needed to help heal and celebrate God’s grace fully in the Church, is to set up a time to sit with me or Deacon Jesse, or the priest in any other parish you may choose. It is never too late to start, or even to begin again.