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This is a very sensitive issue in the Catholic faith. Many people
have
suffered tremendously in a marriage that should never have been, or
perhaps
were suddenly abandoned without warning. Because of the pain
involved,
I post this page with the idea of offering hope to those who need to
know
more about annulments; Especially those who are torn between staying
single
after a divorce and fulfilling their desire for companionship.
Here
are some good links to start with:
This link will take you to the reading room at
oncecatholic.org.
It is a good site with a lot of information available.
http://www.oncecatholic.org
At the bottom of that page is another excellent link to a more
detailed
article on annulments from St. Anthony messenger. A direct link to
their
article can be found here:
http://www.americancatholic.org/Messenger/Sep1998/feature1.asp
Please check out these links for an excellent start on the topic.
In the Diocese of Metuchen, annulments can be started with any
priest
who will then help you send them to the marriage tribunal. There
are two primary types of annulments:
Lack of form: If a person who was Catholic at the time of
their
marriage, did not get married in the Catholic Church, nor with a
dispensation
from the Catholic Church, the marriage can be annulled quickly through
a lack of canonical form. What is needed is the documentation to
show that the party was Catholic (usually a Baptism certificate), that
the marriage took place outside the Church (marriage certificate), that
it ended in divorce (copy of divorce decree), and testimony concerning
the
above and showing that the party had not formally left the Catholic
Church
at the time of the wedding. (The last item is only important if
the
marriage took place after November 1983). The Catholic Church
also
recognizes "lack of Orthodox form" for a couple where one or both
parties
were members of the Orthodox church and the wedding took place outside
the Orthodox church and not in the Catholic Church.
Formal Annulment: If the marriage cannot be dissolved by lack
of form, then a formal annulment is required. This is an involved
process and the person seeking the annulment should contact their
parish
priest for the forms. Any parishioner who needs
financial
help in paying the fees involved ($600 in Metuchen diocese as of 6/05)
should ask at the rectory for help with that as well. The forms
for the Diocese of Metuchen can be found online at the Tribunal's part
of the website at this link:
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