Has anyone had their marriage annulled?

Indo77

Annulment is simply a modern way for the Catholic Church to accept divorce without calling it that. In legal terms it means you did not know a major fact about the person you were marrying (Mental illness etc.) or you never had sexual intercourse with your spouse (how do you prove that?)

Gloomendoom

Indo77 wrote: »

Annulment is simply a modern way for the Catholic Church to accept divorce without calling it that.

Modern? Didn't Henry VIII have at least three of his marriages annulled by the Pope?

Keeping_Positive

Gloomendoom wrote: »

Modern? Didn't Henry VIII have at least three of his marriages annulled by the Pope?

Err no thats why we have the church of England. The Pope refused to allow the king a divorce so Henry made himself head of the church.

Sorry OP I cant help with your query. Though wouldnt asking a priest be a good idea even if not your own priest.

jenhug

http://www.everybodyswelcome.org.uk/annulment.html

coolcait

Indo77 wrote: »

Annulment is simply a modern way for the Catholic Church to accept divorce without calling it that. In legal terms it means you did not know a major fact about the person you were marrying (Mental illness etc.) or you never had sexual intercourse with your spouse (how do you prove that?)

Not really.

Marriage in the Catholic Church is one of the sacraments. Matrimonial nullity, in Catholic Church terms, has been in existence for centuries.

Any consideration of matrimonial nullity by the Church is purely concerned with the sacramental element. It doesn't mean that the marriage never existed, or that any children born of the marriage are illegitimate.

There are a number of reasons why the Catholic Church might find matrimonial nullity. It's not just about whether or not nookie has happened!

People's eyes might glaze over reading through this Vatican press conference:

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/intrptxt/documents/rc_pc_intrptxt_doc_20050208_present-dignitas-connubii_en.html

It does make some reference to possible reasons for nullity. The big surprise, for me, was the statistical bit:

"It is first of all necessary to provide some statistics concerning causes of matrimonial nullity. The source is the Annuario Statistico della Chiesa for 2002. However, the cases of matrimonial nullity introduced at the tribunals of the Eastern Catholic Churches are also included here.

According to the above-mentioned Annuario, 56,236 ordinary trials for the declaration of matrimonial nullity were concluded, 46,092 of them with an affirmative sentence and 2,894 with a negative one; 4,649 were quashed and 2,601 were discontinued."

In 2002, 46,092 marriages 'were anulled' by the Catholic church across the world.

Back to the OP

If you're considering 'annulment', the starting point is to look at your local diocese website for contact details of the Diocesan Tribunal. This document may also be helpful:

http://www.everybodyswelcome.org.uk/docs/NBCW%20Annulment%20Doc.pdf

neverdespairgirl

Gloomendoom wrote: »

Modern? Didn't Henry VIII have at least three of his marriages annulled by the Pope?

Nope. He had 4 of his marriages annulled by the Archbishop of Canterbury, because the Pope didn't feel co-operative.

According to the man himself, he was only married twice - to Jane Seymour and Catherine Parr. The marriages to Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Anne of Cleves and Catherine Howard were all annulled, just before execution in the case of Boleyn and Howard.