Expert: Fr. Timothy Johnson - 12/7/2009

Question
Good morning, Fr. Johnson!  My questions regard the annulment process and its impact on my conversion to the Catholic faith.  

I began moving towards conversion some months ago by attending pre-confirmation classes at a local parish, which confirmed God's call to me in becoming a Catholic.  However, before I could begin the full RCIA process, the pastor informed me that, based upon the information I'd provided about myself in the pre-confirmation process, I would need to seek a Ecclesiastical Declaration of Nullity from the Tribunal of our Archdiocese.

For background, I was baptized Methodist at age 10 and active in the church in my youth, but effectively secular in adult life.  My  first wife (baptized Episcopal with similar background) were married in a civil ceremony abroad and married for around seven years.  My current (and only, for life!) wife was baptized Russian Orthodox at age 13 and was also married previously (her first husband was also baptized Russian Orthodox), but also in a civil ceremony abroad.  She is also quite secular and does not practice any faith, nor wishes to do so at this time.

The pastor of "my" parish (who will also be my Advocate before the Tribunal) is optimistic that, based upon my petition, my request for an annulment of my first marriage would be granted.  However, I only found out yesterday that I may need to pull my wife into the process as well.  She is (to put it mildly) unenthusiastic in the extreme about this prospect, if only that obtaining both the documentation and witnesses necessary would be next to impossible and the expense of the investigation beyond our means at this time.

So my questions to you, Father, are these:

1) As my wife and her first husband were not married "in form" according to Russian Orthodox canon law (i.e. by a priest), but in a civil ceremony, would that invalidation be accepted by the Catholic Church in the U.S. as the equivalent of a "lack of form" justification for a nullity finding (thus sparing us the troubles of a full investigation)?

2) In the worst case scenario that, for whatever reasons, the Tribunal doesn't grant me the Declaration, do I have any other recourse to entering into full Communion with the Church?  I feel with every fiber of my being that this is what God wants me to do, and I accept the multiple mortifications of this process gladly, as I know it's worth it in the end.  But what happens if, after several months and sums of money I cannot really afford, I'm told I cannot be a member of the Catholic Church?  Do I have no other options?

I look forward to your answers, Father, and thank you in advance for your time.  God bless you!

Answer
Hi, Mark...

1) I do not know exactly what kind of "form" the Russian Orthodox hold their subjects in regards to marriage; but, as you imply, yes - there does seem to be a strong discipline in the Eastern Churches that marriage can only be witnessed and blessed by a Priest.  So, it would seem, probably your current wife's former marriage was not probably considered a Sacrament in the eyes of the Russian Orthodox Church.  This would be something to look into with the authorities of the Russian Orthodox Church; and perhaps the Latin Catholic parish or Tribunal might be able to help you some with this matter?

2)As for your first marriage as a Methodist to an Episcopalian - neither one of you was subjects in full-communion with the Catholic Church, and therefore not bound by Canonical Form.  This further means that since you had both been baptized, the sacramental validity of your marriage is to be presumed until proven otherwise.  It is possible that one, or neither one of you, had the psychological maturity or appreciation of what you were undertaking in attempting marriage.  Perhaps there was the exclusion of some property essential for a valid marriage, such as openness to procreation and making a family life together, or the exclusion of the property of monogamous fidelity for life.  These are things you will have to look into while working with your Pastor in this process.

One always has options such as entering into full-communion as a single person, or of living a life of complete abstinence.  These are details you might not want to look at right now... just keep working with the Tribunal Process.  I know that many bring up the issue of money and not maybe being able to afford the "cost."  In my Diocese, we have done away with the administrative cost for the process by a special endowment fund; but, of course, it is interesting that while people can't use this any longer as an excuse for not going through the process, they will sometimes just come up with another excuse.  The "cost" is the hire of people worthy of their labor and work.  It seems to me that most places it is under $1,000.  It is put into greater perspective when one compares the cost of the average wedding in the USA at $16,000; or so I heard on the radio about 4-years ago.
Thanks, and don't give up!

Fr. Timothy Johnson