Annulments and the Catholic Church: Straight Answers to Tough Questions

Description

a sort of catechism on annulment
contains some interesting unwritten rules canonists abide by, such as that civil divorce is generally required before initiating annulment process or that the annulment process is done before acquiring a dispensation from 1983 Can. 643 §1.1

Few topics in the Catholic Church are more misunderstood than annulments. In Annulments & the Catholic Church, canon and civil lawyer Edward N. Peters answers common questions on annulments including:

● How is an annulment different from a divorce?
● Are there too many annulments granted today?
● Does the length of a marriage affect an annulment case?
● How do people begin the annulment process?
● Does a wedding between a Catholic and a non-Catholic require an annulment?
● Is alcoholism or physical abuse grounds for an annulment?

Many questions abound regarding annulments, which unfortunately touch the lives of many in the Church. Annulments & the Catholic Church provides concise answers from an expert on this difficult and misunderstood topic.

Introduction

04/26/26Introduction : 20

principle from the Middle Ages: “What was infirm at the beginning cannot be made firm just by the passage of time

04/26/26Introduction : 38

their failure to respond to tribunal inquiries could be taken as contempt, and their silence, as it were, held against them (1983 CIC 1531 § 2, 1592, 1595

04/26/26Introduction : 41

no marriage can ever be proven valid

04/27/26Introduction : 49

adultery is no longer an impediment to future marriage, as it was under the 1917 Code (see 1917 CIC 1075, n. 1

Why?

04/27/26Introduction : 52

1917 Code.
The 1983 Code, however, reads very differently on this point. No longer is the Promoter of Justice limited to impugning only marriages that are invalid based on public impediments. Now any grounds of nullity can be argued by the Promoter, including failures of consent and improper canonical form. Nor is there any requirement that the grounds of nullity proposed by the Promoter be canonically public

why?

04/28/26Introduction : 81

Siblings also seem to be less likely to “interpret” their testimony than are some parents (who might feel that their performance in raising their children is being indirectly questioned by a nullity case).

04/28/26Introduction : 82

Best men and maids of honor are often named as witnesses, but somehow they tend not to be as useful as one might think.

04/28/26Introduction : 83

either party can request the exclusion of a witness based on “just cause” (1983 CIC 1555

05/12/26Introduction : 89

In a marriage case the burden of proof is on the petitioner (1983 CIC 1526).

05/12/26Introduction : 110

canon 1066—which calls for the elimination of anything which can affect the validity or licitness of a wedding before the ceremony

elimination = ?

05/12/26Introduction : 116

we are finally getting to the point where social pressures to wed in response to a premarital pregnancy are fading

Good of children requires this, no?

05/12/26Introduction : 119

nullity cases to be processed within one and a half years (see 1983 CIC 1453

Possible Grounds for an Annulment

05/12/26Possible Grounds for an Annulment : 213

dispensation from the impediment of disparity of cult (1983 CIC 1086 § 1