Annulment -
Divorce for Catholics?

Alicia Sloan

Issue 345, vol.87, Spring 1998

The two specific grounds most frequently used in annulment cases are a grave lack of discretionary judgement (often inaccurately referred to as lack of due discretion) and an inability to assume the essential obligations of marriage. Most people in Western society would accept the rationale of these grounds for nullity. It is unreasonable to expect people to be bound to self-inflicted lifelong obligations which they did not understand, or did not freely undertake, or were incapable of fulfilling. It is how tribunals verify the presence of these grounds that presents problems.

Once a Petitioner has formally requested a matrimonial tribunal to examine the marriage, the tribunal is, for all intents and purposes, bound to conduct an investigation. Three judges (two of whom must be priests or deacons) are then assigned to study the case. They decide by majority vote whether the grounds alleged have been verified. If they decide that they have been, a second tribunal reviews the decision. Should the second tribunal concur with the decision of the first a Decree of Nullity is issued. Once the Decree (commonly called an annulment) is granted, both parties are seen as single people in the eyes of the Church and so are able to marry validly.

Can this process arrive at a fair decision? The investigation of a marriage is never simple. It is a serious matter to declare that someone was actually incapable of marriage because he or she didn’t realise what it involved, or did not freely consent to it or was psychologically unable to carry out matrimonial responsibilities.

If Tribunals uphold the law and follow Christ’s teaching on divorce and remarriage faithfully, it is certain that there will be many Catholics whose marriages have irretrievably broken down but who will not obtain an annulment. What can be done for these people? Those who have entered second unions also need support from the Church. They need to be challenged to do all they can to be true to their baptismal commitments. They also need to be reassured that while the sacraments are the ordinary channels of God’s grace, His action is not limited to them. Both groups, in common with all Christians, are called to be saints - to be perfect in love. Love demands honesty and tribunals must remember this as they make decisions.

Alicia Sloan was born in the USA and studies in Rome. She is the first married woman to be a judge on the Westminster Archdiocesan Matrimonial Tribunal. She lives in London with her husband and two young children.