My daughter has been brought up Catholic. She was previously married in a Lutheran Church (no preist was in attendance) and since gotten a divorce. She wants to bring up her children Catholic. Can she now get married in a Catholic Church? Also, what procedures will she have to follow?

-- Carol Heppa (cshexcelrp@aol.com), July 22, 2004

Answers

She will have to apply for an annulment of her first marriage. If she was actually Catholic at the time of her marriage (had not coverted to Lutheranism), then the annulment will surely be granted. But she will still have to go through the process. She cannot marry in the Catholic Church until she does so.

-- Paul M. (PaulCyp@cox.net), July 22, 2004.

Paul you're wrong.

Annulments mean that a marriage rite performed "in the gaze of the Church" took place, but that a marriage did not actually take place. When this women stood in front of a Lutheran minister, with no priest present, it wasn't "in the gaze of the Church." Therefore, she need not get an annulment, because the priest will ask her, "has a Catholic priest married you or been present at a past marriage?" And she will answer no. Then the priest will say, "ok, you've never been married in the Catholic Church."

jorge grasmuten

-- jorge (jgras8765@yahoo.com), July 22, 2004.

The purpose of an annulment proceding is not to determine whether someone was married in the Catholic Church. It is to determine whether a previous marriage, Catholic or otherwise, was valid.

-- Paul M. (PaulCyp@cox.net), July 22, 2004.

In this case Paul is quite correct. The young lady will have to go through the annulment process. Presuming, as Paul says, she was still Catholic at the time, the grounds would be lack of "canonical form." This is a rather simple process and depending on the workload of the local Tribunal should be granted rather quickly. The young lady will need to submit copies of a) her baptismal certificate, b.) her marriage license, and c) her final divorce decree.

Hope that's helpful.

-- Fr. Mike Skrocki, JCD (cand) (abounamike@aol.com), July 23, 2004.

Here's a good quick reference: 10 Questions about Annulment http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/CU/ac1002.asp

The Catholic Church views all marriages with respect. It presumes that they are true or valid. Thus, it considers the marriages, for example, of two Protestant, Jewish or even nonbelieving persons to be binding in the eyes of God, unions covered by the words of Christ about divorce. Consequently, it requires a Church annulment process to establish that an essential ingredient in the relationship was missing from the start of the previous marriage.

Such a requirement often represents an unpleasant challenge to Protestant, Jewish or nonbelieving persons who wish to marry a Catholic after the civil termination of a previous marriage. They may have no difficulty with remarriage after divorce and even feel resentful about the prospects of a Roman Catholic formal annulment procedure.

-- tony c (casimir25@lycos.com), July 23, 2004.