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Hi, guys —
I have a question. I am a practicing Roman
Catholic. The woman I am dating, Patricia,
is also a Roman Catholic.
Her history: At the age of 18, Patricia was
married in a civil ceremony in the Philippines.
She stayed in the marriage for six years. During
those years, she was abused by her husband,
physically, emotionally, and financially. On
occasion, she was beaten and her husband would
hold a gun to her head threatening to kill
her (this is all recorded in the police record).
Her husband was also diagnosed with a mental
illness by a practicing psychiatrist. Her
husband also had a child out of wedlock from
another woman during the marriage.
Towards the end of her marriage, at the request
of her husband's family, they married in a
Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines, hoping
it would help their situation. However, it
did not.
After continuing to suffer in her marriage
for another two years, she later separated
from her husband and filed for divorce. No
children came from their marriage.
Her divorce was granted and expedited due
to the fact that her civil ceremony was illegal.
The judge's ruling was based under the laws
of the Philippines: if one in the party
was under 21 years of age (which she was) with a lack of
parental consent, the marriage is granted
only if they have lived together for three to
five years. The judge ruled this is impossible since
she was 18 when she married and knew they
were not living together at the age of 13
to 15. Her husband lied on the forms when
he filled out the marriage license.
With divorce rarely occurring in the Philippines,
Patricia's marriage was officially and legally
dissolved. To be clear, the judge made it
known that this was not a divorce because
they were never legally wed due to the
falsified license. Nevertheless, the judge
stated the union was dissolved.
I have been dating Patricia for the last
three years. When I asked a lawyer and some
friends if we are able to be married in
a Catholic Church, they told me that because
her Church wedding was based on her illegal
license and subsequent illegal civil union,
then we are able to be married in a Church.
I would like to hear your thoughts. Please
cite any resources on where your information
is taken from.
Thank you in advance.
Andrew
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