Dear Apologist, what is the difference
between divorce and annulment?
When Jesus was asked about the possibility of
divorce, He said, “What God has joined together, no man may separate. Whoever divorces his wife and marries another
commits adultery against her. And if she
divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery” [Mark 10:9-12]. Note that He did not merely say divorce between
Christians is a regrettable thing, He said it is impossible. Thus,
Jesus teaches that Christian marriage is a bond that is indissoluble until
death.
However, it is possible for two
people to come together in what is reckoned as a marriage, but upon
investigation turns out not to be. Suppose
one of the spouses says the marital vows, but does not truly mean them. Or perhaps one spouse is not freely offering
his consent, but is being forced. Or the
marriage is clandestine and in violation of Canon Law. Or the spouses were long-lost siblings! In such cases no marriage would have come
into existence in the sight of God.
That
is the principle distinction between divorce and annulment. In divorce, an
existing marriage is said to be undone by some human authority. In an annulment, a putatively married person
asks his diocese to investigate whether his union was ever a true
marriage. All marriages are presumed
valid until proven otherwise, so the tribunal would be looking for some defect
that would prevent a valid marriage from being formed on the wedding day. No action committed after the wedding day can
dissolve a marriage, but such actions can be evidence of some deficiency on the
day of the wedding.
When efforts to save
a marriage are unsuccessful, people who choose to undergo an annulment
investigation should be supported and accompanied by the community through this
often difficult process.
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