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Gary
wrote:
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Hi, guys —
When my ex-wife and I first decided to get married, I
wanted it to be a mixed marriage; I really wasn't professing
any faith. Her parish priest would not marry us because
I didn't want to be married Catholic. Another Catholic priest married us. After we were divorced:
Am I still required to get an annulment when I didn't
consider myself to be married in the Catholic Church?
Gary
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Am
I still required to get an annulment when I didn't consider
myself to be married in the Church? }
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Eric
replied:
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Hi, Gary —
The Church considers whether you married in the
Catholic church to be an objective fact that depends
strictly on whether it was done by a priest with
proper faculties and permissions, and was duly recorded.
If all these things were properly done, you'll have
to petition for an annulment to marry in the Catholic
Church again. If the priest who married you was an
irregular one (say, from Rent-a-Priest) that would
be straightforward but if it was a legitimate Catholic
priest in good standing, you would likely need an annulment.
The annulment may or may not be simple depending
on your circumstances.
It's much like a contract: If you have a contract
on paper, it's ironclad, regardless of what the parties
think of its validity. You can go to law and haggle
over the details, but the contract is there.
Eric
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Mary
Ann replied:
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Gary —
It appears you were not Catholic at the time of
the marriage or now. If that is so, then you do not
need an annulment, as you are not bound by Catholic
form. She, however, would need an annulment if she
wished to be free to marry, and you should cooperate
if she seeks one.
The fact that her parish priest would not witness
the marriage because you did not want to be married
in the Church, however, implies that you were a Catholic
who did not want to have a Catholic marriage, which
would be a sign of a wish to not have a full commitment
(which would be grounds for annulment).
If you were not Catholic, her priest had no legal
reason not to witness your mixed marriage:
a mixed marriage is a marriage between a Catholic
and a non-Catholic.
Mary Ann
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