Question Corner: Would a couple who had excellent marriage prep have a harder time getting an annulment?

Q: I’ve noticed that in many flourishing Catholic communities with a lot of young adults (such as some Catholic university communities, or parishes in some big cities with an active young adult ministry), marriage preparation programs often seem to go far beyond what you find in most parishes. I’m thinking of things like retreats, serious catechesis, good mentorship programs for engaged couples, etc. This had me wondering, would a couple who had this level of marriage preparation have a harder time getting an annulment if their marriage ever broke down? (Ohio)

A: The short answer is that it would all depend on the specifics of the case in question. It is possible that excellent marriage preparation could “work against” a couple seeking a declaration of nullity in some circumstances. But most of the time, it probably would not.

For background, it’s important to recall what a declaration of nullity is. As Catholics we believe that a valid, consummated, sacramental marriage bond is absolutely permanent and can only be ended by the death of one of the spouses. However, it is possible that there could have been some problem at the time of the union that was serious enough and of such a nature so as to have prevented a true marriage bond from being contracted in the first place. In technical language, these potential problems are called “grounds” for nullity.

If a person thinks their failed marriage might actually have been invalid all along, they can approach a Catholic marriage tribunal as a “petitioner” for clarity on this. The tribunal will investigate the petitioner’s claims, looking for evidence that either proves or disproves the alleged ground or grounds in question. If the canon lawyer judges conclude that the marriage was in fact invalid, they will draft a formal sentence attesting to this. That is, they are issuing a declaration of the objective fact of nullity, not actively “annulling” a valid marriage.

One other important thing to remember is that the ability to contract a valid marriage is a fairly low bar to clear. Marriage is a natural part of human life, and thus something normal adults are presumed capable of contracting. The ability to marry does not require any special talent, virtue, theological insight or anything beyond an age-appropriate level of personal maturity.

Of course, one could certainly argue that a good marriage does require an unusual degree of virtue and a serious commitment to growth in holiness! But marriage tribunals are not concerned with whether a marriage was happy or even prudent; tribunals are only concerned with questions of bare-bones validity.

Good marriage preparation programs can foster healthy and holy marriages, and as such they are a valuable part of the church’s pastoral ministry. And, of course, serious marriage preparation can give an attentive pastor the opportunity to catch any major issues and perhaps urge the couple to postpone or reconsider the wedding.

But since true causes of marital nullity are relatively rare in the big picture and also somewhat extreme, for many grounds of nullity it’s unlikely that a good premarital preparation could have “fixed” the invalidating problem.

For example, some of the more common causes of invalidity in North America are psychological issues that impeded an individual’s ability to consent to marriage (See Canon 1095 of the Code of Canon Law). But even the best of sacramental preparation programs are not designed to heal serious psychological wounds.

Similarly, “error concerning the unity or the indissolubility or the sacramental dignity of marriage” is a ground for nullity (Canon 1099). Yet error requires a genuine ignorance about marriage being a permanent union that requires exclusive fidelity, and even poorly catechized Catholics are usually clear enough on these foundational basics in order to marry validly.

So the bottom line is that while good preparation is not likely to support an allegation of nullity, in most cases a Catholic’s level of “extra” catechesis is not a very relevant question.

Jenna Marie Cooper, who holds a licentiate in canon law, is a consecrated virgin and a canonist whose column appears weekly at OSV News. Send your questions to CatholicQA@osv.com.

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