As the Respondent in a formal case, you have received a letter from us that your former spouse submitted a petition to our Tribunal challenging the validity of your marriage.  The petition initiates a judicial investigation to determine whether or not the Church believes your marriage to be valid according to the canon law of the Catholic Church. It should include a questionnaire to give you the opportunity to tell us your side of the story, as well as a letter to return to us to let us know 1) at what level you want to participate, and 2) if there are witnesses you would like us to contact on your behalf.

This process involves the search for the truth about your union.  An affirmative decision indicates that a person’s petition for a declaration of nullity has been proven according to the laws and teachings of the Catholic Church. A negative decision indicates that the invalidity of the marriage was not established through the facts, testimony, and evidence presented in view of canon law. This is solely an internal Church proceeding and does not have any effects in civil law.

If the Tribunal grants a declaration of nullity (annulment), it will not affect any natural or civil obligations (i.e., child support, visitation rights, property settlement, alimony, etc.) created by your civil marriage.  Moreover, according to the Catholic Church, a declaration of invalidity of the marriage does not affect the legitimacy of any children born to this marriage.  Please remember that this process is conducted exclusively for religious purposes in order to determine the validity of your marriage in the view of the Catholic Church.

The tribunal has assigned you an advocate, or someone who acts like your lawyer who can help you through the process. The person's name and contact information should be in the information packet you were sent. However, if you have a pastor or another canon lawyer that you would prefer to assist you, please notify us. If the person is not a priest of the diocese or one of the trained diocesan advocates, the Tribunal will need to formally approve them and have them submit a mandate so that they can act on your behalf. 

An advocate is a person appointed by a party and approved by the Diocesan Bishop to defend his or her point of view before the court.  Both parties before the court, whether as Petitioner or Respondent has a right to an advocate.

The declaration of marriage nullity process is governed by specific laws of the Church which protect various rights of the parties, the Church, and the Sacrament of Marriage. The Tribunal is under a most serious obligation to ensure and protect the following rights of the Respondent:

1. To be notified about your former spouse’s request for a declaration of marriage nullity;
2. To be allowed to participate by giving testimony and/or offering the names of witnesses.
3. To know the basis for the petition, the names of the witnesses, and the grounds on which the claim of marriage nullity is based;
4. To know the content of the case by being given the opportunity to review the testimony at a tribunal office;
5. To challenge or refute the Petitioner’s testimony or that of the witnesses;
6. To know the content and reasons for the decision;
7. To challenge the decision by a complaint of nullity or an appeal to a higher Church tribunal.

It should be noted that the Petitioner has similar rights. Therefore, know that the information provided to us by the parties and witnesses may be reviewed by both parties, if they choose.

It is entirely your choice whether you participate, and at what level you want to participate. The Tribunal would certainly like you to participate since our goal is to seek the truth, and one gets the most clear picture of the truth when both sides are able to give their opinions and perspectives. However, you also have the option not to participate. The paperwork you receive has a place for you to indicate what level of participation you desire, and we will respect your wishes, whatever you decide. 

Yes. Anyone who has known you well during the courtship and at the time of your marrying can serve as a witness.  It is most helpful if the person knew your former spouse at the time of courtship and marrying as well.  The best witnesses are those who have known you both since your courtship. Usually, parents, brothers or sisters, or other relatives make good witnesses, along with close friends.  We prefer, however, that you not involve your children in the proceedings.

The witnesses whose names and addresses you provide will be sent a questionnaire similar to (but shorter than) the one you have received.  This will be sent to them when we receive your paperwork and establish potential grounds.  You should encourage their prompt response. You may also want to inform them that the more complete their answers, the better able the Tribunal is to assess this union.

Any information gathered by the Tribunal is for the exclusive use of the Catholic Church in determining the validity of a marriage according to its teachings and laws. Because such information is personal and sensitive, the Church is concerned that no one is harmed in any way as a result of this process. Therefore, the Tribunal may request an oath of secrecy from the parties in the case in order to protect a person’s privacy, good name or reputation.  Such an assurance of confidentiality from the parties is also necessary in order that the Church may conduct its internal affairs freely in our society.

Be assured that only those persons who have lawful standing before the Court have access to this information.  Obviously, this right applies to the parties themselves, so both you and your former spouse have a right to see what other testimony has been gathered. The "need to know" applies to the officials and employees of the Tribunal who are bound by a strict obligation of secrecy.  Others who may need to be informed about the details of a case are officers of other Church tribunals or professionals whom we engage for their expert opinion. 

Yes. Sometimes cases are given a negative decision; that is, the judges decide that the marriage was a valid and binding union. Sometimes the Respondent disagrees when the Tribunal determines that the prior marriage is null. After be notified of the decision by the Tribunal, you have the option of appealing the decision to either the Appellate Court in Mobile, Alabama or the Roman Rota. The Roman Rota is the Supreme Court of the Church for marriage cases (among other things). Understand that any appeal must be based in law, not simply because one disagrees with the verdict. A notice that you wish to appeal must be received by the Tribunal within 15 days of being notified of the Tribunal's decision.

The appeals court has the right to not accept the appeal if it appears that the appeal is dilatory, or is filed simply to extend the process. It is also likely not to be accepted if the Respondent has civilly remarried. There is a fee for appeals to the Roman Rota that is charged to the party who initiates the appeal.

Jesus taught that marriage is indissoluble. Once people get married, they are married until one of them dies, even if they someday separate, justifiably or otherwise. Since they remain married for life, if one of them goes on to live in the manner of husband and wife with someone else, then he or she is living in an ongoing state of adultery. A married person’s vocation is to lifelong fidelity to the marital covenant, even when (in cases of abandonment or necessary separation) that means living as though celibate. Christ knew our human nature and he knew that this was a hard teaching. He was already challenged and ridiculed for it in his own time, but he did not back down from it.

With that being said, there are certain marriages that are invalid from the start. They have the outward appearance of a marriage and are usually entered into in good faith, but because of some impediment, some defect of consent, or some problem in the form of the marriage celebration, they are never really marriages at all. If there was really no marriage at all, and if that fact is publicly proven, then those two parties are free to marry someone else. The Church and society as a whole have the responsibility to uphold and support couples in their marriage vows even when (especially when) one or both of them no longer want to be married, which is why there has to be proof of nullity before a new marriage could be recognized.

The spouses themselves, let alone one of them, cannot simply decide privately that the marriage is invalid and that they are free to move on. The marriage nullity process is a judicial process developed over the centuries to allow people who believe that their marriage was invalid to attempt to prove that fact, all the while safeguarding the rights of both parties and upholding the dignity and indissolubility of marriage. A declaration of nullity does not and cannot dissolve an existing marriage; rather it is an official declaration by the Church that it has been proven with moral certainty that a given marriage was invalid from the start. When a marriage is actually invalid, declaring the nullity of the marriage is a good and just thing.