Annulment grounds

joan78 asked this question on 8/20/2000:

Do u no what the grounds for annulment are here in the UK

mscperu gave this response on 8/20/2000:

Greetings.

The joy of the risen Lord be in your heart!

The grounds for annulment of Catholic marriages are the same in the whole Church everywhere.

In the Catholic Church Canon Law is the guide for judicial procedures. The Oriental Churches have some different canons=laws. So the grounds are valid for the whole world too.

There are many causes. I'll enumerate the more common ones:

Absence of free decision

Error regarding the person

Celebration but the marriage has not been consummated

Conditions from the beginning that invalidate the marriage: no children, polygamous intentions, marriage only for limited time, intention to try out.

You see all these conditions are against the essentials of the sacrament.

Defect in consensus (mental health problems, etc)

Basic immature attitudes

Defective celebration: the priest is from outside the parish and has not been delegated.

Impediments of one of the couple pertaining to an other religion or denomination that have not been dispensed by the bishop.

These are the more common ones.

The best is to go to a priest of your confidence and explain your situation. You see every situation is different.

But on the other hand:

I have seen marriages that seemed utterly unviable receive the divine touch and after 12 years of divorce in one instance they are now a wonderfully happy couple.

God bless you

Vale

mscperu