2.6.1  Marriage After a Previous Bond

There are two situations possible:

1. One or both parties have had previous marriage declared null through the judicial process in a Tribunal; or

2. One or both parties have had a previous marriage which is invalid due to lack of canonical form. (Please note: Canonical form only applies to members of the Catholic or the Orthodox churches.)

This section deals with situations where one or both parties have had a previous marriage that is invalid due to lack of canonical form.

It may be a temptation to breathe a sigh of relief when it is discovered that a previous marriage is invalid because of lack of canonical form. However, there are still certain issues that need to be considered. Divorce is no less traumatic for Catholics or the Orthodox who had married outside their respective churches than it is for those who married according to their proper form. While the ecclesiastical issues may be different, the emotional issues are the same. In addition, there may be certain moral responsibilities that remain toward a former spouse or toward children. These are responsibilities that cannot be “annulled” by any decision of the Church.

Procedure
In dealing with couples preparing for marriage where one or both had previous unions that are invalid due to lack of canonical form, the following areas ought to be explored:

·         How long ago did the civil divorce occur?

·    Is the future spouse aware of what went on during the former marriage, and what factors entered into its breakdown? Was this information only from the future spouse, or has it come from other sources as well?

·    Are there any continuing obligations toward children of that marriage? How are these being met? These obligations are not limited to financial obligations. They include all aspects of parenting and of raising the children in the faith.

·    What will be done to cooperate in the religious upbringing of the children of a previous union?

·    How does the party who has not been married before feel about issues of child support or alimony? About the terms of the visitation rights?

·    Has the couple discussed how the presence of children from a previous marriage might affect any children they might have of their own marriage? For example, how will the exercise of visitation rights, the payment of child support/alimony, the cooperation in the educational and religious upbringing affect future family life?

·    If a previous marriage involved physical, emotional, sexual, or substance abuse, how are those experiences affecting their present relationship?

·    How will the couple handle discipline and decision-making for stepchildren and biological children?

·         Did the person receive any counseling after the divorce? If not, are there areas of their present relationship that need further exploration?

·         What fears does the divorced party bring to the new marriage?

·         What fears does the party who has not experienced divorce bring to the new marriage?

·         Are there issues of anger toward a former spouse that need to be resolved, either by the divorced person or by that person’s future spouse?

·         If the former spouse and children are living in another country, it is especially important to ask how they are being supported. Many times the civil divorce, especially if it is obtained here, does not adequately address these issues. The Church has a particular responsibility to see to it that people are not forced into poverty due to the neglect of a former spouse.

It is especially critical that the issue of children from a previous marriage is discussed thoroughly. Sometimes this gets into thorny issues, such as “I don’t pay child support because she won’t let me see my kids.” Try to keep the court issues separate from the moral responsibilities. The courts can only decide court issues. Moral responsibilities exist beyond the limits imposed by the courts. 

One further note: The Church states that parents have the responsibility of providing a Catholic education for their children. This applies to children born of any union, since it is a parental responsibility. Therefore, it is perfectly legitimate to ask the Catholic party who has been married before and who has children from that union how he or she is providing for the Catholic education of their children. 

Preparation
The couple should be encouraged to take a premarital inventory and attend a Marrying with Stepchildren or other appropriate marriage preparation program in addition to the preparation you will do with them. 

Paperwork
For the marriages of Catholics or the Orthodox that have taken place outside their respective churches, the form entitled, “Declaration of Nullity for Marriage attempted outside the Church” should be used. The instructions are printed on the form itself. These forms are available from Mission Press (see Appendix G). After they are filled out, the forms should be sent to the Office for Canonical Services (See Appendix G)

Non-Catholics who were married to a Catholic outside the Catholic Church (and where no dispensation from canonical form had been issued) can also use this form. However, they must be able to prove the Catholic baptism of their former spouse, either through a baptismal certificate or the affidavits of people who know for certain about the Catholic baptism. The same holds true for marriages involving the Orthodox that took place outside the Orthodox party’s church.