Indissoluble Marriage Controversy Surrounding Catholic Divorce

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To the Good People of the Catholic Church in Canada,
In contemporary society, the concept of an indissoluble marriage is foreign to today’s young adults, the persons who are contemplating entering the sacrament of marriage. The sanctity of marriage, its indissoluble nature, has been tainted by the idea that marriage is a temporary union between either heterosexual and same-sex couples. With the occurrence of divorce rampant in the 21st century (marriages last less than ten years), it has become increasingly difficult to find a couple whose hardships were not overcome by separation, but by perseverance and unconditional love shared between spouses. As this absence of marriage yields its fruit, the importance of the sacrament of marriage in the …show more content…

Determining what an annulment is and how it differs from civil divorce is essential to further dismantling the misconception surrounding Catholic nullity of marriage. There are intrinsic differences between the civil proceedings dissolving a marriage, a process that is subjective (and at times inflicts pain on one or both parties), and a marriage tribunal, a court proceeding which observes objective facts. The main distinction between a divorce and an annulment is their necessity. While a civil divorce is sufficient enough to warrant re-marriage in other Christian denominations, avoiding the sin of bigamy, it is not adequate for the Catholic Church. Catholics usually pursue to annul their previous marriage to remarry within the Catholic Church. But exactly what is an annulment? An annulment is the Church’s declaration that a marriage is null and void, that there was at least one essential element of the marriage missing, which was previously thought to be valid. Unlike civil divorce proceeding, which involves the division of assets and possibly children that takes place during a long legal process, the ecclesiastical courts provide a declaration of nullity after a tribunal has de about the validity of a marriage at the time its conferral. The tribunal requires that there are three people involved: the petitioner, the respondent and the defender of the bond (a Church advocate who attempts to prove the validity of the marriage). During the tribunal, both the petitioner and the respondent must present witnesses who can attest to an essential element of marriage being absent before and during the marriage ceremony took place. The Catholic Church does not take into account anything that transpired over the years the couple was married, while this may be an indication that the couple had an intention of making a life-long commitment in keeping with their marital vows, the tribunal does not use the

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