My boyfriend has been divorced for five years. He was previously married to a non-Catholic person. Now we want to get married. Could his past marriage be annulled, due to ex-wife not wanting to convert to Catholicism? Past marriage was through the Catholic church, if so, how long does the annullment procedure take?

-- Martha Sanchez (est22778@aol.com), January 05, 2003

Answers

Dear Martha,

No, his ex-wife not wishing to convert to Catholicism is not grounds for annulment. Annulment applies only when there is a serious impediment to marriage present at the time of the wedding, which prevented the marriage from being valid in the first place. Marrying a non-Catholic does not present such an impediment, and nothing that happens later, after the fact of a valid marriage, can be grounds for annulment.

Peace! Paul

-- Paul (PaulCyp@cox.net), January 05, 2003.