Declarations of Nullity (Annulment)

A declaration of nullity is a formal decision by a Catholic Church Tribunal that a civilly legal marriage between a man and a woman lacked something essential from the moment of consent which prevented this from being a union binding for life according to Catholic Church law. For the baptized, what was missing prevented this from being a Sacrament. The marriage was never canonically valid.A declaration of nullity is not a moral judgment about the spouses. It is not Church approval of a civil divorce/dissolution. The Church decision does not place blame for the failure of the union on either spouse. The only direct effect of a declaration of nullity is that the spouses may be free to marry in the Roman Catholic Church.

The children born from a legitimate civil marriage remain legitimate which is determined by civil law. A declaration of nullity does not change parentage or the legal status of children.

First and foremost, all evidence relative to a marriage case is treated with strict confidentiality which is required by Catholic Church law and respected by civil law. All Tribunal officials are bound by an oath to keep all case information confidential.When a marriage case is received at the Tribunal it is assigned a name and a protocol number (SMITH + JONES, # 88/0999). Put that name and number on all future correspondence with the Tribunal about the case. The case also will be assigned to a Notary/Auditor (case manager) who will steer the case through the Tribunal process. One or three Judges and a Defender of the Bond (the marriage bond) will be assigned to each case.Cases are processed in the order in which they are received and in order after the Respondent and witnesses have responded. If further information is needed, the Tribunal may request additional witnesses, documents or perhaps an interview.

All evidence in a marriage case is treated with strict confidentiality as required by Catholic Church law and respected by civil law. Even Tribunal officials who are not assigned to a particular marriage case may not review that case file. Both spouses to the marriage, the Petitioner and the Respondent, have the right to read what is said by each other and non-professional witnesses. They will be notified when the case file is ready for review. The majority of those involved in marriage cases choose not to do such a review so that the case will proceed more quickly but they have the right to review after signing a civil law waiver/review release stating the contents of the evidence will be kept confidential and such information may not be used in a civil court proceeding. Both the Petitioner and the Respondent will be notified when the decision is finalized.

Any spouse in a marriage, Catholic or not, baptized or not, has the right to present a case to a Catholic Church Tribunal provided the marriage has been ended according to civil law. The person who presents the case is called the Petitioner; the other spouse is called the Respondent. In the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, a person would call any Catholic parish (SMAFP contact is Spencer Hargadon) and ask for help to present a marriage case. All of the priests may assist and the Archdiocese has over 120 certified Procurator/Advocates specially trained to help with marriage cases. The Petitioner must have a geographical relationship to the Archdiocese as the place where the wedding took place, the place of residence of either the Petitioner and/or the Respondent, or the place where most of the evidence can be gathered. Important information is whether each of the spouses was ever baptized Christian or Catholic to help officials determine what kind of case is needed. No one knows before a case is completed whether or not a particular marriage can be declared null.

The Petitioner has the right to present the case as well as the responsibility to present evidence about the marriage. That includes, but is not limited to, providing testimony in writing or through an interview, submitting the necessary civil documents about the marriage and the divorce/dissolution, and providing names and addresses for the Respondent and those who have agreed to be witnesses. Those who knew one or both of the spouses in person at the time of the courtship and the wedding are the best witnesses. A case usually would need at least 2-3 witnesses and preferably 5-6. The Petitioner or the Respondent should contact witnesses to be sure they are willing to respond but not discuss the case with them – just ask them to be honest in response to questions from the Tribunal about the spouses and the marriage, and to respond as soon as possible to prevent delaying the processing of the case.Tribunal officials contact the Respondent when the case begins asking if the Respondent wishes to participate and presenting choices about how to do that. The Respondent has the right to present testimony and to name witnesses. Unless all reasonable attempts are made to contact the Respondent, a declaration of nullity of a marriage would itself be invalid and without effect. A case may proceed if the Respondent chooses not to participate in the process. The Respondent also may appoint a local priest or name a Procurator/Advocate to assist the Respondent with the case.

The process for a formal declaration of nullity ideally takes about a year. If there are delays, the process may take longer. If the Petitioner does not provide a current address for the Respondent, the case will be delayed. There are steps that must be documented about trying to locate a Respondent who perhaps cannot be found. It is important that a Petitioner respond immediately to Tribunal requests for any additional information or clarification. Sometimes delays may be caused by the complexity of a particular marriage.It is important to remember that no date may be set for a Catholic Church wedding until any previous marriages of both intended spouses have been declared null or canonically dissolved.

As of 14 September 2015, there are no fees for marriage cases in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. However, there still are fees for some kinds of cases processed by a Congregation of the Vatican in Rome. The Petitioner will be advised about any such fees before initiating any procedures which would be processed in Rome.

After Catholic Church investigations of marriages are completed, Church-appointed Judges make the decisions whether there is proof that marriages are invalid. Along with all Tribunal staff members, Judges are bound to diligently follow the law of the Roman Catholic Church which is found in the 1983 Code of Canon Law and subsequent changes to that such as Mitis Iudex made law in 2015.

Although a marriage may have been declared null by the Catholic Church, the civil effects of the legal marriage must be fulfilled. For example, a person who is under civil court order to pay child support or alimony must demonstrate meeting those obligations faithfully before being permitted to prepare for a new marriage in the Catholic Church. Both parents remain responsible for the children born or adopted into the prior marriage and remain morally obligated to provide for the physical, moral, intellectual, social, and religious education and the nurturing of each child.