If I was married outside of the Catholic church, then divorced, do I need to have the marriage annulled?

J B

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But, biblicall, annulment means NOTHING. It's a totally Catholic (made up) thing. You were still previously married. Annulments are a lie. If you're divorced, just be regular-divorced and marry outside the Catholic church again.
</quote>

This is not correct.

A declaration of nullity means that a putative marriage has been examined and that some defect was found such that while all parties involved may have believed otherwise, the marriage was never sacramentally valid from the beginning. This means that while a marriage may have existed in a civil sense, from the Church's perspective there was no valid marriage and both partners may be free to enter into valid marriages if no other impediments exist.

If one is not Catholic or does not wish to marry a Catholic while fully respecting one's spouse's Faith, it is understandable that such a person may not be interested in the manner in which the Catholic Church administers the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony. But for such a person to go to another person who is interested in this, and tell that person that his or her Faith, or his or her spouse's Faith is NOTHING, that is both non-helpful and mean-spirited.

Oh, back to the original question, yes, a declaration of nullity will be necessary, but if either you or your ex-spouse were Catholic at the time of your marriage and did not have the necessary dispensations to marry outside the Church, yours may be a very straightforward Defect of Form case. These can usually be handled fairly simply and quickly at the diocesan level. Talk to your Pastor or your intended spouse's Pastor about this. He will need to work the annulment process through with you.

sparki777

Your legal divorce takes care of the legal obligation of the marriage. There is no need to pursue a legal annulment.

But you DO have to have that first marriage declared null by the Catholic Church. It shouldn't be difficult if you had a civil marriage (justice of the peace) - then you just file for "lack of canonical form." If you were married in a non-Catholic Church, there is a possibility that your first marriage was valid, and then it's impossible to declare it null ("What God has joined together...."). So that would be a more involved process, in which you have to prove that your first marriage is truly invalid.

gnpondo

If you were married by a priest, maybe. If it was a civil ceremony by a JP no. When your talking to the priest about getting married in the church he will go over all of the details with you.

Idontknowdoyou

To be married in the Catholic church, yes.

But, biblically, annulment means NOTHING. It's a totally Catholic (made up) thing. You were still previously married. Annulments are a lie. If you're divorced, just be regular-divorced and marry outside the Catholic church again.

ETA: Sorry JB. I didnt intent to be mean. And I certainly wasn't saying that the asker's faith means nothing. But annulment does not appear in the Bible. It is, indeed, a Catholic concept and is not part of the larger Christian faith.

My original post stands true.

sanny51

my son is catholic and is marrying a baptist girl that was previously married in the baptist church and later divorced after just one year. they want to get married in the catholic church and raise any children in the church. how do they do this

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