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Does catholic man marrying a second time to non-catholic need an annulment?

devorced1
New User

Post #1 of 3 (2961 views)

Does catholic man marrying a second time to non-catholic need an annulment?

If a catholic man married a non-catholic woman in las vegas at a public chapel, and later got divorced in another state, can that catholic man later marry a catholic woman in a catholic church? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

(This post was edited by the_admin on Oct 29, 2006, 9:41 AM)

startingover
MARRIAGE PREPARATION ADVISORS

Post #2 of 3 (2943 views)

Re: [devorced1] Does catholic man marrying a second time to non-catholic need an annulment? [In reply to]

Not knowing all the circumstances, we can only make a guess. He would need to get his first marriage annulled, but it would be the shorter version for "lack of canonical form" or "defect of form." It sounds like the Catholic man married outside the Church in his first wedding. According to canon law, this marriage would not be binding because it was not performed in proper canonical form.

He should talk with his priest and find out what papers he needs to fill out. Even though the shorter annulment version should be all that's required, it would still do him good to pray and think carefully about what went wrong in his first marriage. Sincerely seeking God's guidance will help him avoid making the same mistakes in his future marriage.
Kay and Dennis Flowers
Authors of
Catholic Annulment, Spiritual Healing

Frieda Arpoika
CATHOLIC LAY PASTORAL MINISTER

Post #3 of 3 (2920 views)

Re: [devorced1] Does catholic man marrying a second time to non-catholic need an annulment? [In reply to]

If a baptized Catholic marries, he or she is supposed to do it within the Catholic Church. If the Catholic man marrying at a Vegas Chapel had completed the necessary preparation with a Catholic parish, then it is a Catholic marriage and requires an annulment before marrying in a Catholic Church again.
If however the Catholic person never received the blessing of the Catholic Church for that wedding in a Las Vegas Chapel, then it is not considered a canonicaly valid marriage. However, the baptized Catholic person still does needs to apply for a Decree of Nullity called "Lack of Canonical Form" before marrying in a Catholic Church since there was a marriage, just not a canonically valid marriage.
This second type of application is simpler than a full annulment application and usually doesn not take to long. Contact your local parish to initiate the paper work ASAP.
Frieda Arpoika
Catholic Lay Pastoral Minister
St. Daniel Catholic Community