My aunt has been divorced for almost 20yrs now. Basically, she married somebody very young, the person did not treat her well...etc. Now, this man she married had been married previously, so she didn't get married in a Catholic church. I know that if two people are married in the Catholic church, the only way they could remarry in the Catholic church again is if that previous marriage is annulled...but what her previous marriage was never recognized by the Catholic church to begin with....does it still have to be annulled if she wants to remarry or can she just remarry in the Catholic church since it would be the first marriage recognized by the Catholic church?
2007-10-24 16:28:57 · 7 answers · asked by WhiteTiger29 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Yes.
All previous marriages, civil or religious, have to be dealt with before someone can be married in the Catholic Church.
The Catholic Church believes that God does not recognize civil divorces.
Jesus said, "Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate." (Mark 10:9)
However there may be hope of a declaration of nullity.
The term "annulment" is a misnomer because the Church does not undo or erase a marriage bond.
Rather the Church issues a declaration of nullity when it discovers that the parties were not truly joined by God and hence a full spiritual sacramental marriage as understood by the Church was not present.
Then the parties are free to marry for the first time.
Approach the appropriate person your in your parish who has been trained in the process. If you encounter difficulties, you may go directly to the diocese.
Be prayerful, honest and patient. It takes a while.
With love in Christ.
2007-10-24 17:38:02 · answer #1 · answered by imacatholic2 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, when a person desires to remarry after a civil divorce and they want to have their marriage sanctioned in the Catholic Church then it is necessary to ensure that the previous marriage was not valid according to the canon law of the Catholic Church.
Sacramental marriage is indissoluble so the Catholic Church does not recognise civil divorce as dissolving a valid marriage.
2007-10-24 17:02:39 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If her marriage was not recognized by the church, then she does not need to get an annulment. As far as the church is concerned, she was never married.
2007-10-24 16:34:00 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
A friend of mine who used to be Catholic told me her husband had been previously married for less than a year and they would not recognize the marriage or baptize their daughter. Unless of course they gave the church $1500. Then the priest would consider the marriage annulled in the eyes of God. So tell them to try offering money.
2007-10-24 16:40:55 · answer #4 · answered by Bible warrior 5 · 0⤊ 3⤋
Edge is full of BS.
The church considers every marriage to be valid ... unless it is determined to be otherwise ... by a marriage tribunal.
This means that an annulment is typically required for any previous marriage ... unless the proper church authorities determine otherwise ... which is rare.
2007-10-24 18:51:01 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes, she still needs to acquire a decree of nullity for her first marriage if she wishes to marry again. This is because the Church gives all marriages the benefit of the doubt and assumes they are valid until proven otherwise.
But don't worry -- it will be easy. It's called "lack of canonical form" and that means it's a slam dunk because she didn't get married properly the first time.
The decree of nullity is just documentation. It will be easy for her to get and not expensive at all.
2007-10-24 16:58:32 · answer #6 · answered by sparki777 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
She needs to check with her local priest---some of these matters can be cleared up very rapidly
2007-10-24 16:35:44 · answer #7 · answered by Tina T 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋