Catholic annulment question, again.........?

Question

I am in the midst of an annulment, what cost are inccured?
I am in the process of RCIA classes and I have been hearing things about this costing money, mind you NO ONE has come out and told us that this would cost any money at all. From what I am reading, the cost is based on your income and or ability to pay, will the church request our financial documents to base our cost on? I am hearing it is about $700.00 and both my hubby and I are seeking annulments and we just can drop $1400.00 on this. Why does it even cost money to join a church, and this on top of all the blessed paperwork that we have to do and the waiting. Why is it so hard to join the Catholic church?

Answer 1

I also have had an annulment, and it dose not cost money, and I even received a letter of the annulment from the pope, and from that I was baptized, and confirmed into the catholic church, I studied for seven years after my confirmation, and continue to do so since, the waiting and paper work is really your guarantee your name is written in stone by the church never to be removed, once you become catholic it is for life, even if you decide to leave you will always be deemed a catholic, may God bless you both.

Answer 2

Are you using the services of a canon lawyer in this? That will cost money. Although it might be a good idea to consult with a canon lawyer just to be more aware of your legal rights and responsibilities in the annulment procedure. It might end up saving you money and time in the long run. Overall annulments cost money because they are a legal procedure and require a lot of time, work, and resources, on the part of many people. Talk to your priest to see if your parish or diocese can offer financial assistance with it - most places will help out if you can't afford to pay.

This is not the same as having to pay money to join the Church. If you did not require the annulment, you wouldn't have to pay a dime to join the Church. And you do not even need to get an annulment to join the Church, but you would need to then live as "brother and sister" with your husband because you wouldn't be validly married in the eyes of the Church. (I assume you are both on your second marriage and need to annull the first two marriages in order to get your current marriage validated in the Church) So in the long run, 1400 dollars is a small price to pay in order to be in full communion with the Church and to have your marriage validated through and through.

Best of luck!

Answer 3

To join the Church doesn't cost any money at all, legal procedures in Church cost money though, an annulment means legal procedure with solicitors and paperwork that's not free you know and if you want an annulment, to say that your marriage was invalid from the start, the burden of proof is on you.
Marriage has the favor of the law and is regarded as valid until you have proved otherwise.


Mind you, Henry VIII payed his whole kingdom for an annulment but he didn't get one anyhow.
That's why he invented the church of England.

Answer 4

Getting an declaration of nullity (annulment)and joining the Catholic church are two different things.

There is no cost for any Sacraments including the Sacraments of Initiation, Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist.

A declaration of nullity is not a sacrament and is not required to join the Catholic Church although all previous marriages must be dealt with prior to marriage in the Catholic Church.

About the cost, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles states:

A Petitioner is responsible for only a portion of the costs of a case. The faithful of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles substantially subsidize the operation of the Tribunal through their parish contributions. For efficiency, the office must be staffed with trained and qualified priests, canon lawyers, support staff and equipment, all of which is costly.

For a formal trial of invalidity, a Petitioner is asked to pay $500.00, which is payable as follows: a non-refundable filing fee of $100.00, and the balance of $400.00, in installments if necessary, upon final notice of an affirmative decision. The outcome of a case is not contingent upon a Petitioner's ability to pay the fee. If there is financial difficulty, a Petitioner should make this known to the Tribunal.

http://www.archdiocese.la/prayer/sacraments/tribunal/faq.html#13

With love and prayers in Christ.

Answer 5

I'm wondering why you feel the need to convert but anyhow....having been raised Catholic (I'm a Buddhist now), I've had many friends go through the annulment process. If you can't pay the fee it will be waived. They can't deny an annulment proceding due to cash flow issues. I'd write a letter and/or speak to the Diocese Annulment office about this. They'll help you figure it out.
Why is it so hard? A lot of doctrine... A LOT.....and you have to believe all of it otherwise the Church doesn't recognize you as Catholic. (mind you, lots of Catholics don't believe everything, this is just part of the doctrine).

Answer 6

For the tracking down of papers and stuff. There are charges incurred but yea, some times more than what is necessary I think but, If a couple can not afford it it is dealt with. Talk to your priest at the Parish you will be joining. Yours is not the first conversation like this he has heard so be frank with him and see what can be worked out. I just want to say personally that you couldn't spend enough money to pay for what you are receiving by joining the Church. This is the Pearl at any price. This is the thing that you discover and sell your entire worth for.

Answer 7

I'm not sure about your particular parish, but I've never heard of anyone having to pay anything to join the Catholic Church. I joined two years ago and went through RCIA; it didn't cost me a dime. Talk to your priest about this, although I'd bet money you don't have to pay anything.

Annulments may be different, I'm not sure. You should ask your priest or call the tribunal office to find this out.

God bless, and welcome home.

Answer 8

The cost can be from about $500 and up. The Catholic Church's reasoning for this is that the paperwork and checking on your "references" and "sources" takes money, time and effort and they should be compensated. Allegedly payment arrangements can be made if you need to make payments, but it depends on the Church. This is one of the reasons I have very little respect for the rules of the Catholic Church, note I didn't say I have no respect for people within the religion, just that the rules make absolutely no sense to me... which is why I eventually wound up as a Buddhist.

_()_

Answer 9

You have just listed some of my most powerful reasons for not "coming home" to Rome.

I just finished the paperwork for an annulment. Price: $ Zero.

Charging for anything to do with the Sacraments makes me think that Martin Luther was not too far off the mark.

Answer 10

>>Why does it even cost money to join a church<<

It didn't cost me anything to join the Catholic Church (unless you count the gas money to drive to the church and the purely voluntary stipend for altar server who gave up her evening for me).