An annulment is properly referred to as a Declaration of Nullity. Though it can be applied to any of the seven sacraments, it is most often sought for Matrimony. Since the Catholic Church holds that a married couple cannot divorce for any reason whatsoever, a divorce is not recognized by the Catholic Church as a valid end to a marriage. It then follows that a Catholic priest will not marry those individuals who were divorced, even if the divorce occurred prior to accepting Christ or joining the Catholic Church, even if the divorce occurred before the divorcee truly understood the spiritual and temporal consequences.

When issued, an annulment does not end the effects conferred by the sacrament. The annulment declares that the sacrament in question was not valid from the start, and the recipient is treated as though he or she never actually received the sacrament. That does not mean that children from the marriage are now considered born out of wedlock or that the ex-spouses committed any sort of fornication. It means that the receipt of the sacrament was somehow flawed. An annulment works like a military court.

Annulments are granted for a variety of reasons by the Catholic Church. The most common reasons presented to tribunals are a lack of due discretion, defective consent, and psychological incapacity. Some annulments are for minor technicalities and rarely involve more than filling out the correct forms; for example, if one of the parties had a prior bond (was married in the Catholic sense of the word) at the time of the wedding. There is also defect of form, which includes marriages performed by a non-Catholic minister or weddings held outside of a Catholic Church. More than half of all the annulments granted are for defect of form.

well from were im from they can charge what ever they like just hope you catch them on a good day

The Catholic church... has a long process in which you must declare that the marriage is null-and-void for some particular reason. There's a bunch of lawyeristic paperwork that you need to complete... and witnesses that you must bring in to build your "case". As I recall, both parties must agree on the annulment. The church then decides - with all the supporting information - whether your marriage is annulled.

Again, it's a long, hard process... and emotionally draining.

Hi Chazzyfen,

You may want to take a look at Wikipedia's article here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annulment. For more detail in the church for Catholic religion see here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annulment_(Catholic_Church).

cjd