Polski
“A trial in a church court more often resembles an in-depth psychological analysis than a classic civil divorce,” says attorney Marcin Krzeminski, a canonist and church lawyer, our interviewee in this guide.
The wedding was supposed to be “forever.” However, life writes other scenarios: emotional abuse comes to light only after the wedding, someone never wanted to have children (although he kept quiet), and hidden mental problems collide with everyday life. Then – sooner or later – a question arises that we hear in the editorial room more often than you might think: is a church divorce possible? Or is it something else – a marriage annulment (more precisely: a declaration of nullity)?
In everyday language, “church divorce” is sometimes a mental shorthand. The Catholic Church does not “divorce” a sacrament the way a civil court dissolves a marriage. Instead, it can – after a formal trial – declare that the sacrament did not validly exist from the beginning. And it is around this difference that most misunderstandings, emotions and myths revolve. That is why we have prepared the material, “Church divorce / marriage annulment – a guide for informed women.”
This article is for you if:
- you are after a civil divorce and are considering the church route;
- in your marriage revealed serious mental difficulties, addictions, DDA, personality disorders;
- one of you has openly (or quietly) ruled out offspring;
- you have the feeling that an important truth was concealed before the wedding (e.g. infertility, addiction, serious mental illness);
- You are just planning a wedding and want to consciously take care of its validity.
In an interview with attorney Marcin Krzeminski (Canon and Family Law Firm KANONISTA), we break down the most common grounds for annulment lawsuits: defects in marital consent (including mental incapacity), exclusion of offspring, fraudulent misrepresentation, and formal deficiencies. We ask what the procedure looks like – from the filing of the case, through witnesses and the opinion of an expert psychologist, to the verdict and the so-called “clause” limiting the next wedding.
What do you find in the article?
- What is the real difference between a church divorce (myth) and a marriage annulment (canonical procedure).
- What psychological reasons are most often recognized by church courts.
- Whether not wanting children before marriage makes the sacrament invalid.
- What is meant by “error as to an attribute of a person” and why concealed infertility can make a difference.
- How long does the process take and what to expect organizationally and how much does a marriage annulment trial cost ?
In an interview with Marta Dybinska, attorney at law Marcin Krzeminski – ecclesiastical attorney canonista.pl, Canon Law Firm KANONISTA, a lawyer specializing in marriage annulment cases for more than twenty years.
Mr. Counselor, for what reasons can the sacrament of marriage most often be declared invalid?
The reasons for which a marriage can be declared invalid are relatively many. They can be divided into: defects in marital consent, impediments, and deficiencies in the form of marriage.
The most frequently cited group of grounds for marriage invalidity are the so-called defects in marital consent. Of these, church courts overwhelmingly declare a marriage invalid for “incapacity on mental grounds to undertake the essential duties of marriage.” In order to obtain the invalidity of a marriage on this ground, several grounds must be proven in the church court through witnesses and an expert psychologist. First, the existence of a “cause of mental nature” must be demonstrated. This can be serious emotional immaturity associated with various features of abnormal personality, such as passive personality, dependent personality, borderline condition, DDA (adult child of alcoholics) syndrome or other personality dysfunctions that make it impossible to build interpersonal relationships. Secondly, it is necessary to prove that such dysfunction already existed before the marriage. Most often, we show this by citing abnormal behavior before marriage, which is perceived by those around you as strange, inappropriate. We also examine what dysfunctions and abnormalities took place in the parties’ environment, especially in the family of origin, at school, at college. This means that the process is more like a psychological analysis of a person than divorce proceedings in civil court. Third, we need to prove that this psychological cause also existed after the marriage and was the reason for the abnormal relations in the marriage, and was often one of the main reasons for the breakup of the marriage. This means that in order to prove the invalidity of the marriage, the dysfunction must be prior, serious and permanent.
In a situation where, long before the wedding, one of the fiancées does not want children and does not hide it, the church wedding is valid?
One of the reasons for the invalidity of a marriage is also the exclusion of offspring. This is one form of what is known as “partial simulation.” Generalizing, in order to enter into a valid marriage in the Catholic Church, a person must accept marriage as a union as it is understood by canon law. One of the essential elements of marriage, in addition to unity and fidelity, is openness to accepting children. If someone, by a positive act of will, excludes having offspring from the very beginning, it means that he wants a union from which he eliminates one of the essential elements. Such a marriage is invalid. However, the issue here is much more complicated, because mere unwillingness to have children is not enough. The exclusion of offspring must take the form of a so-called “positive act of will,” which means that someone already before the marriage firmly and decisively rejects having offspring in the future. The knowledge of the other spouse in this regard is of little importance; moreover, if both spouses jointly decide and firmly decide before marriage that they exclude having children in marriage, they are both simulating marital consent.
The rationale for annulment of the sacrament of marriage can also be a change of mind – for example, after several years of marriage, good earnings, as to the desire to be a parent?
The exclusion of offspring is relevant in the canonical process only if it took place before the marriage. If someone changes his mind only after the wedding and, for example, after a year or two of the relationship decides that he does not want to have children, then we cannot speak of the invalidity of the marriage. However, this does not mean that in every such case the marriage was validly concluded. In such situations, it is necessary to seriously consider the reasons behind the decision not to have children in the marriage. Indeed, if it turned out that the reluctance to have offspring is due to various traumas experienced by the person before the marriage and has a purely psychological basis, it can then be examined whether such a marriage was invalid, for example, due to an inability on mental grounds to undertake the essential duties of marriage. It should be remembered, however, that all the reasons for the invalidity of a marriage and the reasons for which a declaration of nullity of marriage can be obtained must occur before the marriage or, at the latest, on the day of the wedding.
What information about yourself, about your loved ones – must not be withheld from the wedding for the sacrament to be valid?
Marriage – like any deep interpersonal relationship – should presuppose sincerity and openness. Canon law sanctions only such “insincerity”, which takes the form of deceitful misrepresentation of an attribute of a person, which can by its nature disrupt the community of married life. The title of nullity of marriage at issue here presupposes the need to prove several prerequisites. First, the error must actually be a mistake, and not mere ignorance. This means that the person being deceived must be inwardly deeply convinced of certain qualities of the person in question, which turned out to be untrue after the marriage. Therefore, if there were signals of insincerity before the wedding, they should be verified. Secondly, the mistake must be consciously induced by the other party, who creates a misleading picture of reality in front of the future spouse in order to “trick” the marriage consent. Thus, deceitful acts of the future spouse are necessary here. Thirdly, on the other hand, the mistake must concern an attribute of that person – it must affect him personally, it is not enough to refer, for example, to the family of origin. The error must relate to such an object, which by its nature can disrupt the community of married life – so it must be serious and substantial. It cannot concern a trivial matter. One of the classic examples of deception is the deliberate and intentional concealment of infertility.
Among people also known from the front pages of newspapers, a second church wedding is very fashionable. How many times can you have a church wedding?
You can get married in the Catholic Church only if you are unmarried. There are situations where it is possible to conduct two or even three processes for the annulment of a marriage. However, this is absolutely rare, especially when someone wants to invoke the same cause of marriage invalidity concerning the same person. In the practice of our law firm, there have been times when we have conducted two processes for the invalidity of a marriage on the grounds of mental incapacity to undertake the essential duties of marriage, but each time they involved different persons. For example: the first marriage was declared invalid due to incapacity on the part of the man, and in the second trial incapacity on the part of the woman was invoked. It should be remembered that when an ecclesiastical court, when it declares a marriage invalid due to incapacity to undertake the essential duties of marriage for psychological reasons, it usually imposes a so-called “clause”, under which it makes the possibility of a person to marry in the future conditional on a psychological examination.
When is a second church wedding not possible at all?
If the marriage broke down for reasons that arose after the marriage, even if they were drastic, it is not possible to declare the marriage invalid. When ruling on the invalidity of a marriage, the church court ultimately determines whether the problems the spouses faced were merely difficulties arising from character differences, but whether they had a psychological basis and resulted from serious dysfunctions and irregularities. Problems and misunderstandings arise in every marriage and must be dealt with. Only if they were of an insurmountable nature can one speak of the invalidity of the marriage. Thus, if the cause of quarrels and misunderstandings was the parties’ different expectations or different dispositions, then in any such case the marriage was valid.
When can a divorced Catholic get married in the Church?
In order for a divorced Catholic to enter into a church marriage, it is necessary to go through the process of declaring a marriage invalid or obtaining a dispensation for a marriage that was validly entered into but not fulfilled. In either case, a full procedure is required.
In what cases does the church court have the right to prohibit another church wedding?
If the ecclesiastical court issues a positive verdict and declares the marriage invalid, and the verdict is not challenged and becomes enforceable – both parties are free and can formally marry. Very often, however, it happens that the church court in the judgment imposes a so-called “clause” on one or both parties. In such a situation, the ecclesiastical court makes the possibility of marriage in the future conditional on a positive psychological examination, which the person will have to undergo before marriage. Thus, this does not mean prohibiting marriage, but only conditioning it on a positive psychological examination.
Obtaining a declaration of nullity of marriage – in practice – is difficult? How long does the process take?
A trial in an ecclesiastical court, depending on the diocese, usually takes between one and four years. The proceedings are initiated by filing a plaintiff’s complaint, which is the equivalent of a lawsuit in civil court. The plaintiff’s complaint must outline any irregularities that occurred before and after the marriage. After the filing of the plaintiff’s complaint and the initial exchange of correspondence between the court and the parties and the determination of the titles of nullity of marriage from which the trial will be conducted, the court proceeds to take evidence. During the trial, the court examines the parties and the witnesses called – these are usually about four people from the family circle, as well as acquaintances. Sometimes the court examines the parents ex officio. After questioning the witnesses, the court appoints an expert psychologist, who arranges individual consultations with the parties and issues a psychological opinion that describes the dysfunctions and their impact on marital life. At the end of the evidentiary proceedings, the court allows the parties and their attorneys to read the case file in what is known as a “publication of the file. The parties then prepare their final positions, which are called defense votes. At the same time, the defender of the marriage knot edits his pre-judgment remarks, in which he gives arguments against the annulment of the marriage. After this time, the case proceeds to judgment. After the verdict, parties who feel dissatisfied with the ruling have the right to appeal to the court of second instance in Poland or directly to the Roman Rota. If no one appeals the verdict, after about two to three months the court issues a decree of enforceability of the verdict. The whole procedure is unfortunately quite time-consuming. If the parties opt for a second instance, the proceedings before the second instance court also take about two to three years.
It has also become accepted that money matters in the Church. What costs are involved in the process of annulment of marriage?
The cost of a trial in individual church courts varies, but usually ranges from PLN 1,000 to PLN 4,000, including the opinion of an expert psychologist. Parties who can’t afford the trial can apply for full or partial exemption from court costs if they present relevant documents proving their difficult financial situation. In the course of the process, the parties may use attorneys and lawyers – these costs are always determined individually, but usually oscillate – depending on the scope of assistance from PLN 1,000 to several thousand zlotys.
At GentleWoman, we believe that an informed decision begins with information. This “church divorce vs. marriage annulment” guide will not replace an individual consultation at a canonical office, but it will help you understand what questions to ask – yourself, your partner and an expert. If you are standing on the threshold of important life decisions, start with knowledge.
