Annulments Explained

"What is an annulment and how is it different from divorce?"

3 Scripture passages3 objections answered2 Church Father quotes

The Short Answer

An annulment (declaration of nullity) is a Church judgment that a valid marriage never existed, despite the appearance of one. It's not 'Catholic divorce' but recognition that essential requirements for marriage were missing from the start.

Quick Overview

An annulment isn't 'Catholic divorce.' Divorce says, 'This marriage existed and now it's over.' An annulment says, 'After investigation, we determine this was never a valid marriage in the first place.' Maybe one person was coerced, or secretly didn't want children, or was too immature to truly consent. The wedding happened, but the marriage didn't—something essential was missing from the start. If the Church grants an annulment, both people are free to marry because they were never truly married before.

Biblical Evidence

What the Scriptures say

Matthew 19:6

"What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder."

Why This Matters

A valid marriage cannot be dissolved. Annulment doesn't dissolve a marriage but determines that the joining was never valid—'God didn't join them' because something essential was missing.

1 Corinthians 7:39

"A woman is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband die, she is at liberty: let her marry to whom she will; only in the Lord."

Why This Matters

The marriage bond is for life. An annulment determines that no valid bond was formed in the first place.

Mark 10:11-12

"Whosoever shall put away his wife and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if the wife shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery."

Why This Matters

Jesus prohibits divorce and remarriage—which is why the Church investigates whether the first marriage was valid before permitting another.

What the Church Teaches

Official Catholic doctrine

An annulment is 'a declaration by a competent Church authority that a marriage was invalid from the beginning due to some defect' (USCCB). Common reasons include lack of full consent, lack of capacity, or intention against permanence, fidelity, or children.

Common Objections

Questions answered

Early Church Fathers

What the first Christians believed

Pope Alexander III

1159 AD

"Marriage cannot exist between persons who are not free to marry. Where there is no consent, there is no marriage."

— Decretal Letters

St. Thomas Aquinas

c. 1270 AD

"Certain impediments render a person unfit for marriage, such that if marriage be contracted in spite of them, it is not a true marriage."

— Summa Theologica, Suppl., Q.50

General Absolution

Convalidation

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