Annulments and Eternal Salvation



Dear Catholic Exchange:

I am currently in RCIA classes (about 3 months) and my husband has some questions about the annulment process. He wants to know why his previous marriage and the present annulment have anything to do with my eternal salvation. He is not, at this time, going to become Catholic, but he doesn't want to prevent me from doing what's right for me. He just needs to know in his mind why he needs to have an annulment for me to become Catholic. Can you help? Thanks so much.

Mrs. Lighty

Dear Mrs. Lighty,

Peace in Christ!

I will address the second question first. A person who has entered into a valid marriage is not free to divorce and remarry another person, because, as one’s wedding vows imply, the only thing that can dissolve a valid marriage is the death of one of the spouses. This is generally true whether one is Catholic, Protestant, or non-Christian. (There is such a thing as a marital dissolution in which two unbaptized persons marry and then later divorce, but that is another issue.)

If one validly marries, then divorces, and subsequently attempts to marry another person, such an action would be adulterous. When such action is done with full knowledge and full consent of the will, adultery is a mortal sin, a grave violation of God’s law that St. Paul notes would prevent a person from going to heaven if he did not repent of his wrongdoing (cf. 1 Cor. 6:9; Catechism of the Catholic Church (Catechism), nos. 1854-64, 2380-86). Jesus also makes clear the permanent nature of a valid marriage in Matthew 19:1-12.

In addition, for one to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church that Jesus Christ founded, one must be committed to living a life that conforms to the teaching of Christ and His Church. In the case of one who is involved in a marriage that is not recognized by the Church, this requires that the individual have things corrected before being received into the Church. Sometimes that is a simple matter, as when a couple has been married outside the Church but neither has been previously married. However, in a case such as yours in which one’s spouse has been married previously, that previous marriage has to be evaluated to see if the spouse was free to enter the current union. The first marriage is presumed valid unless and until the Church, which has the God-given power to evaluate these matters, determines otherwise. Evaluating the validity of marriages is an exercise of the Church’s God-given power to bind and loose (cf. Mt. 16:19).

Gently stated, then, the Church has to determine whether your husband’s first marriage was valid before it can possibly grant an annulment and bless his current union with you. In other words, the Church has to determine whether your husband was truly free to marry you, given his previous marriage and the vows he took in marrying his first wife. In addition, one cannot presume that an annulment will be automatically given. Contrary to popular opinion and despite some abuses of the annulment process in some places, annulments are not the equivalent of a “Catholic divorce,” in which one is guaranteed that he/she will be able to obtain a divorce and then remarry. An annulment is a declaration that, despite the good intentions of and love between two people, a valid marriage never existed between them for one reason or another.

From your letter, it appears that you have already been informed that your husband’s annulment has been declared, or that the diocese has indicated that it will likely be granted soon. Hypothetically, if one’s spouse did not receive an annulment, one could still enter into full communion with the Church. However, one would have to separate from the spouse, or, if there are children involved or for some other serious reason, stay together and live as brother and sister, i.e., abstain from sexual relations. The matter of the marriage must be resolved before one can be permitted to receive the other sacraments. Pope John Paul II declared:



“Reconciliation in the sacrament of Penance, which would open the way to the Eucharist, can only be granted to those who, repenting of having broken the sign of the Covenant and of fidelity to Christ, are sincerely ready to undertake a way of life that is no longer in contradiction to the indissolubility of marriage. This means, in practice, that when, for serious reasons, such as for example the children’s upbringing, a man and woman cannot satisfy the obligation to separate, they ‘take on themselves the duty to live in complete continence, that is, by abstinence from the acts proper to married couples'” (Pope John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio, 1984, no. 84).

If the annulment has not come through, I encourage you and your husband to live celibately until such time that the annulment is declared. Such a decision would be a good way for you and your husband to live out your fidelity to Christ, given that you are not married yet in the eyes of His Church. This sacrifice could also serve as a means of penance for both of you for past sins and also to offer up for someone else in spiritual need (cf. 2 Cor 1:6). While this sacrifice may be challenging, it is the right thing to do and God gives us strength to do such things if we seek his grace earnestly (cf. Phil. 4:13; Mt. 19:26). Indeed, such sacrifices are not simply possible but preferable.

For more information, please refer to our Faith Facts on the annulment process and on divorce and remarriage.

You may also have questions regarding so-called biblical exceptions to the “no divorce and remarriage” law that Jesus reaffirms in Matthew 19. For example, some people believe that adultery enables the offended spouse to leave and marry another. This is not true. Let us know if you would like an extensive analysis of Matthew 19 or information on the practice of annulments in the early Church.

God bless you as your progress through the RCIA process, and please let us know if we can be of further service.

If you have found this information to be helpful, please consider a donation to CUF to help sustain this service. You can call us at 1-800-MY FAITH, visit us at www.cuf.org, or send your contribution to the address below. Thank you for your support as we endeavor to “support, defend, and advance the efforts of the teaching Church.”

United in the Faith,

Kathleen Rohan

Information Specialist

Catholics United for the Faith

827 North Fourth Street

Steubenville, OH 43952

800-MY-FAITH (800-693-2484)



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