Which are the cases when a marriage is classified as invalid (Catholics)?

Question

Kindly let me know if, specifically, a marriage is INVALID if one of the couple hasn't been CONFIRMED yet.

And it would be hughly appreciated if you could tell me and explain which are the rest of these cases (I know there are lots of these).

I. e.:

- If they got married in a church only to fulfill a social requirement?

- If one of them HAD actually been married (but only in a lawful marriage)?

- If they did not confessed before getting married?

Like, if they did it only as a requirement but they failed years after... none of them were quite Catholic at all...

Thank you for answering, it will be a lot of help.

Etc. etc. etc.

Answer 1

As noted by a previous respondent, each case is determined individually, so we can only speak in general terms.

If a couple got married in the Catholic Church only to fullfil a social requirement, it MIGHT invalidate the marriage, but only if both parties fully understood the meaning of the Sacrament of Marriage and one or both had no intention of holding up their end of the bargain AND said so to somebody else around the time of the marriage who can provide signed testimony to this fact. On the other hand, it MIGHT invalidate the marriage if the couple were not properly instructed about the Sacrament of Marriage and the priest failed in his responsibility and married them anyway. But you have to have proof of all this.

If one of the couples were married before and the marriage was not annulled prior to the second marriage, it MIGHT invalidate the marriage, but only if that first marriage was valid. If the first marriage was NOT valid -- justice of the peace, say, which would be "lack of canonical form," -- then the second marriage is automatically assumed to be valid unless you have some way to prove otherwise.

Going to confession or being confirmed is not a canonical requirement before marriage, so not doing either of those things would invalidate a marriage.

Being Catholic is something that becomes true at your baptism. Even if you aren't practicing, you're still Catholic. I ran into this myself. My parents had me baptized Catholic but didn't raise me Catholic. I knew NOTHING about Catholicism or God, as I was pretty much raised atheist. I became a born-again evangelical protestant at age 24 and married a guy from church when I was 29. Nine years later, we converted to Catholicism, and there was a question as to whether or not our marriage was valid because I hadn't received dispensation to marry outside the Catholic Church. I didn't understand why this would even be an issue since I'd never made my first penance or first communion and certainly had never been confirmed. As it turned out, I had rejected my Catholic baptism by getting baptized again in the evangelical church, so that was my formal exit from Catholicism. My marriage happened after that, so it was valid and we didn't have to have it blessed.

If you are thinking about getting a marriage annulled, the best thing you can do is make an appointment with a priest in your diocese and present your case to him. He will be able to give you a preliminary assessment as to whether you have a chance at annulment or not. And he will provide whatever paperwork needs to be done, and then the procedure can be started.

Answer 2

Not invalid if one wasn't confirmed.
POSSIBLY invalid if they only married in church to fulfill a social requirement, but it depends on the motivation of each person outside of that situation.
If one had been married and was widowed, marriage valid. If one was married and the marriage annulled, marriage valid. If one married and not divorced or annulled, marriage invalid.
Not confessing doesn't make any difference to the validity of the marriage.


"Like, if they did it only as a requirement but they failed years after... none of them were quite Catholic at all... "
Sorry, this is too vague to answer. If you mean that one left the church or stopped fulfilling their religious obligations, then that doesn't invalidate the marriage.

basically, if they marry in the church for reasons that don't include actually intending to have a Catholic marriage, that would possibly invalidate the marriage.
If it's not consummated, that would invalidate the marriage.
if one of them was determined to be too immature, insane, or for some other reason was not able to fully consent to the requirements of a Catholic marriage, that would be invalid.
If the priest wasn't actually ordained (or deacon) I'm not sure that would invalidate it, though, because marriage is the one sacrament that the couple confer ON EACH OTHER, it's not actually conferred by the priest.
HOWEVER. ALL of this requires proof, and a marriage tribunal, and all kinds of testifying and so forth if you want to dissolve the marriage and still be allowed to remarry. You can just divorce and still receive the sacraments, but then you can't remarry (because it was not officially determined not to be a marriage, you are still married with a civil divorce).
Hope this helps.

Answer 3

If one of them has been married by the church before and the marriage wasn´t annulled, and If one of them is homosexual, or impotent or frigid ( but not always annulled ). First of all at least in Mexico you have to take some sort of course for a month after which you get the permit from the church to get married ( as a catholic ) you have to be confirmed if you are not you get confirmed some time before the wedding there is no way to get married if you are not confirmed because you have to prove you are to get the permit, It doesn´t matter if you are married under the law to the church only matters that you are married under God, an annulment is hard to get, so if you are married by the church and then get divorced you stay married to the other person for life if it isn´t annulled, and you can only marry another person until the first one dies.

Answer 4

There is a whole universe of Canon Law used to make these determinations. Decisions are rendered on a case by case basis. Baptism is the point at which a person is Catholic I do not think that not being confirmed would be the basis to find a marriage invalid.

Answer 5

There's plenty of reasons. One could have been pregnant beforehand and lied about it. Some I know told the priest she was getting married out of love but she was actually pregnant and would never had married him if she hadn't been pregnant.

One could have hidden a gambling addiction

They could have been first cousins who married without dispensation from a bishop

One could have been abused a child and not dealt with it prior to marriage and then began beating the spouse.

For marriages to be declared invalid these scenarios would have had to be present AT the time of the marriage.....not pop up years later. If one was truly addicted to gambling at the time of the marriage and later it caused financial ruin, then the marriage is invalid. If, however, the spouse only becomes addicted to gambling 10 years after the wedding, the mariage cannot be declared invalid.

In other words, if issues come up that should have raised a red flag prior to the marriage but was not revealed out of fear, shame, secrecy, defiance, etc; then the entire marriage is invalid. There was no "real" marriage relationship that was entered into IN ALL FREEDOM with no impediments or hidden agenda.

Answer 6

There are annulments and Dispensations. If you weren't married in the Church then you need to apply for a dispensation. Annulments take place when both were married in the Church but Certain Circumstances took place to hinder the marraige from becoming a holy Union. Some exmples are, insanity, Impotence, Homosexuality, Incest( you find out he's really your uncle or half brother for examle), not forsaking all others, I beleive the marraige can be annuled if it is 364 days or less old.

Talk to your Parish They would be the best source od information.

Answer 7

From http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/CU/ac1002.asp:

On what grounds does the Church declare nullity for some failed marriages?

In technical language, the most common reasons are insufficiency or inadequacy of judgment (also known as lack of due discretion, due to some factor such as young age, pressure to marry in haste, etc.), psychological incapacity, and absence of a proper intention to have children, be faithful, or remain together until death.

These grounds can manifest themselves in various ways. For example, a couple, discovering her pregnancy, decide to marry; only much later do they recognize the lack of wisdom in that decision. Or one spouse carries an addictive problem with alcohol or drugs into the marriage. Perhaps a person, unfaithful during courtship, continues the infidelity after marrying.

In cases like these, the Church judges may decide that something contrary to the nature of marriage or to a full, free human decision prevents this contract from being sound or binding.

I begin this formal annulment process at the parish level for about a dozen petitioners each year. My suggestion to them as they approach the multi-page, perhaps daunting questionnaire moves along these lines:

“As you reflect upon the marriage, ask yourself: Was there something missing right from the start, something radically wrong from day one? Before the wedding, were there warning signals, red flags which you may have dismissed simply as the cold-feet anxieties rather common for couples prior to a nuptial service? Did you suffer deep difficulties early in your marital life and worry about them, but, never having been married before, judged they were merely the expected burdensome part of marriage? Now, perhaps years later, you view them as symptomatic of a much more serious problem, a radical malfunctioning in your relationship.”

Answer 8

For a marriage to be invalid, the couple's previous marriage wasn't annulled by a tribunal (not the secular divorce court). Even if you married a non-Catholic in a church, you will need to get the marriage annulled. For more information I suggest you read up on the link below.

Answer 9

We use the term 'valid' to mean a sacramental marriage.
At least one person must be baptised as a Catholic.
They don't have to be confirmed, although it's preferred.
Confession is advised, but not grounds for annulment.

They must both be free to marry, i.e. not married before.
Certain exceptions can be made, such as annulment.
Neither should have taken a religious vow or ordination.

There are grounds of mental illness, & freedom of consent.
These issues have to be decided by a marriage tribunal.
Apply through your pastor to the chancery office.

Answer 10

Q: Which are the cases when a marriage is classified as invalid (Catholics)?

A: From what I understand, they are the cases where the person/s requesting an annulment has money, and wants to share some with the church.