We are looking at getting married, and I wondered if my boyfriends previous marriage needs to be annulled ofr us to marry in the Catholic church, since it was not legal in the churches eyes in the first place. The woman he married, in a civil ceremony, had been previously married to someone else without getting their marriage annulled, thus nullifying his marriage to her, right? So what steps do we have to take, if any? Thanks

-- Sher (sherrie@mycoachingconnection.com), March 27, 2003

Answers

Jmj
Hi, Sher.

"The woman he married, in a civil ceremony, had been previously married to someone else without getting their marriage annulled, thus nullifying his marriage to her, right?"
----- Right.

"So what steps do we have to take, if any?" ----- Visit your Catholic pastor ASAP, to get the paperwork started. The Church will have to make an official determination (and Declaration) that your friend's first "marriage" really was null.

God bless you.
John

-- J. F. Gecik (jfgecik@hotmail.com), March 27, 2003.

Hello Sher,

I just wanted to expand upon the good advice that John has given. The Catholic Church assumes that a marriage is valid unless declared otherwise through the process of annulment. This is an official investigation that will be conducted by your pastor and a marriage tribunal. Until then, the Catholic Church cannot agree to witness your marriage until it knows that your boyfriend is truly free to marry you. The annulment process can take awhile so, as John suggested, you will want to get the ball rolling ASAP. This sort of process calls for patient endurance, but I suppose that's good practice for a marriage :)

God luck & God bless, -Eric Filmer (seminarian)

-- Eric Filmer (midgardia@hotmail.com), March 27, 2003.

Thanks you folk, I just wanted to know if you answer whatever about annulment. Yes, I'm right.

-- Sher (sherrie@mycoachingconnection.com), March 27, 2003.