#12312 Are Annulments Too Legalistic? Understanding Marriage and Divorce - Rose Sweet

Catholic Answers Live

Catholic Answers

Religion & Spirituality, Christianity

4.8 • 2.1K Ratings

🗓️ 5 August 2025

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

“Are Annulments Too Legalistic?” This episode delves into the complexities of marriage and divorce within the Catholic Church, addressing concerns about the perceived bureaucratic nature of annulments. Tune in as we explore questions about the validity of annulments granted under specific circumstances, the implications for non-Catholics, and the Church’s teachings on relationships during the annulment process.

Join The CA Live Club Newsletter: Click Here

Invite our apologists to speak at your parish! Visit Catholicanswersspeakers.com

Questions Covered:

03:25 – Aren’t annulments legalistic, bureaucratic, and all about control?
07:08 – Why was an annulment granted if it doesn’t seem like it should be granted?
13:36 – My boyfriend is Protestant, married in the protestant church and is divorced. Why does he have to get an annulment if he’s not Catholic? He’s not interested in joining the Catholic church at this point. He’s doing this for me because I want to be married in the Catholic Church.
16:24 – Why don’t they call in the priest who gave the couple the pre marriage instruction to a couple seeking an annulment?
18:46 – I got an annulment 20 years ago. Is there a way for me to see what my ex husband submitted on his side of the annulment report?
22:33 – What does the Church teach on pursuing romantic relationships while waiting for an annulment? Is there anything that is offered to help prevent future annulments?
31:05 – You keep talking about the Marriage bond. Does that also include the covenant?
34:14 – If my nephew decided to return to the Church one day, could he have an annulment and remarry one day?
41:48 – Once the annulment is granted the marriage is not valid. Does that mean the kids and their sacraments are also invalid?
44:49 – Can an annulment decision be appealed?
47:55 – Is there any hope to get an annulment if the witnesses are no longer able to be located?
50:51 – My marriage was annulled 50 years ago and all I got was a letter in the mail and I never participated with it. It felt like a slap in the face to be told that my 9.5 year marriage never existed. I left the Catholic Church after that. Should there be a limit to when you can seek an annulment?

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Buying or selling your home, real estate for life can connect you with a pro-life real estate agent.
0:05.2	When Real Estate for Life receives a referral fee, they donate 65% to Catholic Answers.
0:11.5	Learn more at realestateforlife.org. Welcome back to Catholic Answers live.
0:32.3	A lot of talking first hour, but we're taking calls this hour.
0:34.5	I mean, calls involve talking too, but it won't just be Rose and I talking. You are welcome to call. 8883187-884. We're talking to annulments. If you have
0:43.3	questions about your annulment, if you have questions about your situation, because related to
0:50.4	annulments, yours or someone else's, or you just have a curiosity or an interest or
0:54.5	an area that you'd like clarified. Whether you're Catholic or not, you're welcome to call
0:59.3	8883187-884. We did a bit of the history of annulments last hour, and I think it's fair to say
1:05.5	the reason that the Catholic Church has this process, called the annulment process, is because the Catholic Church has this process called the annulment process is because the Catholic
1:13.7	Church accepts the words of the Savior that once that marriage bond is formed, it cannot be
1:19.7	divided.
1:20.7	And those who divorce and remarry are committing adultery, and because we don't want that,
1:26.3	we want to help clarify these situations and make sure
1:30.6	that people are not falling into those kinds of sins, and the abuse of marriage, and we have a
1:36.9	tribunal to find out, well, did a bond form or not? And if not, then, is that always because the, no, I was going to say it's always because
1:47.7	the marriage was illegal, but it's not necessarily that it's illegal. It just could be that
1:52.2	there was a failure to form the bond. And so, like, because. Well, illegal, civilly? No, I mean,
1:59.7	a violation of the law of the church, like that...
2:02.8	Like illicit?
2:04.6	Like, this is what I was thinking, was that, like, if you marry your daughter, that's an illegal marriage.
2:12.3	In the eyes of the state?
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 18 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Catholic Answers, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Catholic Answers and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.