Pastoral Outreach to Christian Marriage
Formation, Preparation, Celebration, and Continuing Education
2.6.3 Marriage After a Declaration of Nullity from the Tribunal
If the person has gone through a judicial marriage nullity process (through the Tribunal), some of the issues will have been dealt with through the Tribunal process.
However, the Church is still concerned about the responsibilities which one or both parties may have toward children of their previous marriage or toward their former spouse.
Procedure
Since not all the issues may have been explored through the marriage nullity process, it would be important to ask the couple to discuss the following questions:
- 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?
- Have they 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?
- How will the couple handle discipline and decision-making for stepchildren and biological children?
- If a previous marriage involved physical, emotional, sexual, or substance abuse, how are those experiences affecting their present relationship?
- 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 is not limited to children born of a valid marriage; it 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 attend a Marrying with Stepchildren (if there are children) or Special PreCana (if there are no children), in addition to the preparation that pastoral minister provides them.
It may happen that the Tribunal has placed a restriction (sometimes called a prohibition, a rider, or a vetitum) on the person. This means that issues came to light during the Tribunal process, which would indicate that the person is at risk for entering into marriage. It could also mean that the person is not fulfilling his or her responsibilities toward the children, or that the person has demonstrated an understanding of marriage that is greatly at odds with the Church’s teaching on marriage. This prohibition is stated in the final letter to the person as well as the decree from the Tribunal. It should also appear on the person’s baptismal record.
If there is a prohibition attached to a decree of nullity, the person assisting the couple in marriage preparation must contact the Office of Canonical Services (see Appendix G) no less than four months before the wedding. In general, some sort of counseling is usually necessary in order for the prohibition to be lifted. This counseling may be either psychological or pastoral. The Tribunal never places prohibitions on people for trivial reasons, so the fact that a prohibition is attached to a decree of nullity should always be taken seriously.
Paperwork
Regardless of whether a dispensation is needed, the marriage papers, including the decree of nullity, should be sent to the Office for Canonical Services for a “nihil obstat.”
Since it is possible that decrees of nullity can be forged, please note that the Chicago Tribunal always uses different color ink for its seal and for the judge’s signature.
