I was just wondering if anyone on here was Catholic and has gone through the annulment process and can answer some questions about it. Thanks!

Catholic here. I will be going through the process soon. Just filing out the Petition is a chore.

I am and I had my 1st Marriage Annulled. It was a very simple process in my situation.

LTL

LearnedTooLate: If I might ask, why was it simple? How did you prove that the marriage was invalid? Also how long did it take before they made the decision? I've heard wait times can be up to three years.

black_raven: If I might ask, what is your strategy for claiming the marriage was invalid? Also, how easy has it been to get witnesses to get involved?

For both of you: Did you decide to not date until the decision for the annulment was reached?

Thanks.

Hi Pius

I did not wait to date and currently have a bf. I wasn't even sure if I wanted to apply for annulment but plan to now. My witnesses are my family members and a close friend so no issue there.

As for my claims, I am stating what red flags existed prior to the marriage that I either ignored, dismissed, or was plain naive about at the time but in hindsight can see there was a problem. Behavior patterns are also detailed as well as the difference in our families and upbringing. My Diocese has a long questionnaire that goes along with the Petition.

If I filed the petition in the Diocese where I live, it could take up to three yrs...they are back logged. I am filing in the Diocese I married in (my home state) because it should take half the time and all my family still lives there. Plus this is the same church/diocese I attended as a child and they have my file from First Communion to Marriage. My advocate lives in my current state though. I thought I could obtain a Favor of the Faith or a even possibly had a case for Lack/Defect of Form but was told I had to go through the formal process.

It was SO simple that I hardly recall any hoops that had to be jumped through.

Possibly, or even probably, the reason was because in my 1st marriage, my former Wife was not Catholic and we were married in a Lutheran Church.

I don't recall anything about having to get any witnesses to sign anything. It was just a simple formality, that's all.

But, for the beginning of my 2nd (Current) marriage, I took the entire process of starting out on the right foot much more seriously. I really concentrated and purposely made sure that I avoided making all of the mistakes I was aware of from my 1st marriage.

Oh, the Diocese is amongst the largest in the Country too.

LTL

That you weren't married in the Catholic Church is reason you were able to forgo the formal process. Lack/Defect of Form cases are documentary in nature and pretty clear cut. I was told such cases take 2-4 weeks to process.

I have attached a link to a document from the Dallas Diocese. It states the grounds for a formal case:

https://www.cathdal.org/Grounds_in_Formal_Cases.pdf

I haven't gone over it in awhile but I think my case will be supported by Ignorance of the Nature of Marriage; Inability to Assume the Essential Obligations of Marriage, Error Concerning the Quality of Person and Partial Simulation of Marriage (an intention against fidelity). Other grounds may apply (like I need more lol) but those four stuck out to me.

Thanks, I'll take a look at that!

Another question - how did you find out what the backlog was for the annulment process in your current diocese versus the diocese in which you got married? Was your parish priest able to find out? Also did you go to your priest first in order to start the process?

I first asked about the annulment process when I was at the Parish Office to sign my kids up for CCD. I have not spoken to a priest. The person who I needed to speak to was out so I left my name and number with the receptionist. I looked at info online and also called the Office of Canonical Services directly and asked about the process and got an estimate of how long it would take. The person who called me from the parish also spoke to me about the process and she also serve as my Advocate. The advocate can be a pastor or deacon but where I live it is a qualified lay person.

I was told there were three possible Dioceses to file the Petition: the Diocese where I live, the Diocese where my ex lives, or the Diocese where I married.

Interesting - good stuff. I've never heard of the Office of Canonical Services before. I also didn't know that your advocate could be a layperson. More good stuff to keep in mind. I wonder if they can assume an intention against fidelity just on the basis of the subsequent affairs, or if there has to be some specific indication of that prior to the marriage?