Pixabay<\/a>]<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n* * * * *<\/p>\n
A widespread perception exists, among Protestants, secular society, our Orthodox brethren, and even too many Catholics, that annulment is simply a sophisticated, \u201cplaying with words\u201d equivalent of divorce. This is untrue. The distinction between divorce and annulment is one that is routinely made even in civil law. It is not unique to, nor was it \u201cinvented\u201d by Catholicism.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nFor example, <\/span><\/span>The Oxford Companion to Law\u00a0<\/i><\/span><\/span>(edited by D. M. Walker, 1980; \u201cAnnulment\u201d) states that \u201c<\/span><\/span>Annulment of a marriage is legislative or judicial invalidation of it, as in law never having existed, as distinct from dissolution [divorce], which terminates a valid marriage.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nThe Church recognizes that a legitimate, sacramental marriage was never present from the outset, in a considerable number of scenarios. One has to enter into marriage with a free will and full understanding of what it entails. The proverbial \u201cshotgun wedding\u201d is a classic case where the free will of at least one party is abrogated.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nA person might, for example, get married to a practicing criminal, who did not reveal that he or she was, or someone with an unknown severe mental illness, or one who, say (to use an extreme example for the sake of illustration), turns out to be a spy from a hostile government, or one who is already married (bigamy). All of these scenarios (and many others) are illegitimate \u201cmarriages\u201d and non-sacramental from the outset.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nIt\u2019s often noted that much higher rates of annulment occur today. Abuses in the process do, no doubt, take place, due to societal and peer pressure and sin and human weakness. But the prevalence of abuse (I\u2019ve learned, from talking to canon lawyers) is likely far less than is often casually assumed.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nIt\u2019s also indisputable that <\/span><\/span>more and more people have a limited understanding from the outset of what a sacramental marriage is, and what it entails; hence, such \u201cmarriages\u201d were never <\/span><\/span>sacramentally<\/i><\/span><\/span> valid in the first place. This lack of knowledge would be an altogether <\/span><\/span>valid<\/span><\/span> reason and explanation for greater numbers of annulments than were formerly seen. Our society\u2019s view of marriage is much weaker than in the past, with many serious couples having such a low view of it that they don\u2019t even seek marriage.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nThe Old Testament distinction between a concubine and a wife is somewhat analogous to ours between a civil and sacramental marriage: itself the foundational premise of the concept of annulment. <\/span><\/span>Concubines were distinguished from wives: even multiple ones (Judges 8:30-31). God approved of sending away Hagar and her son Ishmael (Gen 21:12), not because they were evil or disparaged by Him (see Gen 17:20, 21:13, 17-20), but because Sarah was Abraham\u2019s wife in the full sense (akin to sacramental marriage).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Likewise, in Ezra 10:1-19, 44 (cf. 9:1-2, 14-15), many Israelites \u201cput away\u201d (10:19, RSV) the \u201cforeign women\u201d they had married, not simply because they were foreigners, but because they caused them to become corrupted by false religions and idolatry (see, e.g., Dt 17:17; Neh 13:23-28). This was essentially an annulment, as opposed to a divorce, because these unions had a serious impediment in the eyes of God and in light of His laws. They were not in accord with what God had commanded.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nIf one is looking for New Testament verification of the notion of annulment, the \u201c<\/span><\/span>except for unchastity\u201d clause of Matthew 19:9 is interpreted by Catholic commentators (and the Church fathers <\/span><\/span>en masse<\/i><\/span><\/span>) as a case of non-matrimonial cohabitation as opposed to real marriage. In other words, Jesus was saying that if someone divorces his wife, he commits adultery, except in cases where he actually was <\/span><\/span>not<\/i><\/span><\/span> married in the first place. That is an annulment: straight from our Lord.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nOddly, many commentators (and individual Christians) seem to think that \u201cunchastity\u201d in Matthew 19:9 is referring to the <\/span><\/span>adultery <\/i><\/span><\/span>of one of the marriage partners (thus allowing a permissible divorce). But the Greek word here (<\/span><\/span>porneia<\/i><\/span><\/span>) is rarely if ever translated \u201cadultery\u201d in the passage. The usual Greek word for \u201cadultery\u201d is <\/span><\/span>moicheia<\/i><\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nPorneia<\/i><\/span><\/span> and related cognates are <\/span><\/span>never<\/i><\/span><\/span> translated in the KJV, for example, as \u201cadultery\u201d; always as \u201cfornication\u201d or other such terms. We also see the two Greek words distinguished from each other in the same verse (Mt 5:19; Mk 7:21; Gal 5:19). All of this supports the traditional and dogmatic Catholic understanding that Jesus was referring in Matthew 9:9 to something other than an adulterous affair of a truly married person.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nMoreover, the \u201cPauline privilege\u201d has always been accepted by the Church:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n1 Corinthians 7:15<\/b><\/span><\/span> But if the unbelieving partner desires to separate, let it be so; in such a case the brother or sister is not bound. For God has called us to peace.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nThe Church has held that a Christian is free to remarry in cases where two nonbelievers (generally unbaptized) marry, one later becomes a Christian, and the non-Christian departs. This is because the natural (or what we often call \u201ccivil\u201d) marriage was not sacramental in the first place.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nHence, St. Ambrose wrote in 385 AD in his letter 19:7 to Vigilius: \u201cSince the marriage ceremony ought to be sanctified by the priestly veiling and blessing, how can that be called a marriage ceremony where there is no agreement in faith?\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nLikewise, Pope St. Leo the Great, writing in 459 to Rusticus (Epistle 167:4), stated, in reference to Abraham and Hagar:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n. . . since the marriage tie was from the beginning so constituted as apart from the joining of the sexes to symbolize the mystic union of Christ and His Church, it is undoubted that that woman has no part in matrimony, in whose case it is shown that the mystery of marriage has not taken place.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nIn summary, then, annulments are recognized in civil law, and have an explicit exegetical basis. Catholics need not fear close examination, nor be \u201cashamed\u201d of the issue. Annulments are <\/span><\/span>not<\/i><\/span><\/span> divorces. The difference is essential. Perhaps the information above may serve as an adequate explanation for why Catholics think so.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 [public domain \/ Pixabay] * * * * * A widespread perception exists, among Protestants, secular society, our Orthodox brethren, and even too many Catholics, that annulment is simply a sophisticated, \u201cplaying with words\u201d equivalent of divorce. This is untrue. The distinction between divorce and annulment is one that is routinely made even in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2331,"featured_media":4653,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[123],"tags":[1478,1477,276,1479],"class_list":["post-4652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sexuality-and-gender-issues","tag-annulment","tag-divorce","tag-marriage","tag-matrimony"],"yoast_head":"\n
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Formerly a campus missionary, as a Protestant, Dave was received into the Catholic Church in February 1991, by the late, well-known catechist and theologian, Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave\u2019s articles have appeared in many influential Catholic periodicals, including \\\"This Rock\\\" (now called \\\"Catholic Answers Magazine\\\"), \\\"Envoy Magazine\\\" (Patrick Madrid), \\\"The Catholic Answer,\\\" \\\"The Coming Home Journal,\\\" \\\"Gilbert Magazine\\\" (American Chesterton Society), and \\\"The Latin Mass.\\\" He also writes a featured column for every issue of \\\"The Michigan Catholic\\\": published by the archdiocese of Detroit, and was editor for most of the apologetics tracts published by the St. Paul Street Evangelization apostolate. Dave\u2019s apologetics and writing apostolate was the subject of a feature article in the May 2002 issue of \\\"Envoy Magazine.\\\" He served as the staff moderator at the Internet discussion forum for The Coming Home Network, from 2007-2010. Dave has been interviewed on many nationally syndicated Catholic radio shows, including \\\"Catholic Answers Live\\\" (twice), \\\"Faith and Family Live\\\" (Steve Wood), \\\"Kresta in the Afternoon,\\\" \\\"Son Rise Morning Show,\\\" \\\"Catholic Connection\\\" (Teresa Tomeo), and \\\"The Catholics Next Door.\\\" His large and popular website, \\\"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism,\\\" was online from March 1997 to March 2007, and received the 1998 Catholic Website of the Year award from \\\"Envoy Magazine.\\\" His blog of the same name (now transferred to Patheos), begun in February 2004, contains more than 1,500 papers, at least 500 debates or dialogues, and over 50 distinct \\\"index\\\" web pages. Unsolicited correspondence has indicated many hundreds of conversions (or returns) to the Catholic faith as a result, by God's grace, of these writings. Dave's conversion story was published in the bestselling book \\\"Surprised by Truth\\\" (edited by Patrick Madrid; San Diego: Basilica Press, 1994). Sophia Institute Press has published six of his books: \\\"A Biblical Defense of Catholicism\\\" (Foreword by Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J., 1996 \/ 2003), \\\"The Catholic Verses\\\" (2004), \\\"The One-Minute Apologist\\\" (2007), \\\"Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths\\\" (2009), \\\"The Quotable Newman\\\" (editor: 2012), and \\\"Proving the Catholic Faith is Biblical\\\" (2015). He is co-author (with Dr. Paul Thigpen) of the inserts for \\\"The New Catholic Answer Bible\\\" (Our Sunday Visitor: 2005), and editor for \\\"The Wisdom of Mr. Chesterton: The Very Best Quotes, Quips, and Cracks from the Pen of G. K. Chesterton\\\" (Saint Benedict Press \/ TAN Books: 2009). \\\"100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura\\\" was published by Catholic Answers in May 2012. His \\\"Quotable Wesley\\\" compilation was published by (Protestant \/ Wesleyan publisher) Beacon Hill Press in April 2014. Several of his 49 books are bestsellers in their field. Dave maintains a popular personal Facebook page, a Facebook author page, and has a Twitter account as well. He offers almost all of his books in e-book form on his own Biblical Catholicism site (http:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/), at a permanent deep discount: only $2.99 for ePub, mobi, and AZW, and $1.99 for PDF. His writing has been enthusiastically endorsed or recommended by many leading Catholic apologists, authors, and priests, including Dr. Scott Hahn, Fr. Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Marcus Grodi, Patrick Madrid, Steve Ray, Tim Staples, Devin Rose, Mike Aquilina, Al Kresta, Karl Keating, Fr. Dwight Longenecker, Brandon Vogt, Marcellino D'Ambrosio, and Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave has been happily married to his wife Judy since October 1984. They have three sons and a daughter, and reside in southeast Michigan (metro Detroit).\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dave.armstrong.798\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@LuxVeritatisApologetics\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/author\/davearmstrong\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Annulment: Essentially Different from a \u201cCatholic Divorce\u201d","description":"The distinction between divorce and annulment is one that is routinely made even in civil law. 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Formerly a campus missionary, as a Protestant, Dave was received into the Catholic Church in February 1991, by the late, well-known catechist and theologian, Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave\u2019s articles have appeared in many influential Catholic periodicals, including \"This Rock\" (now called \"Catholic Answers Magazine\"), \"Envoy Magazine\" (Patrick Madrid), \"The Catholic Answer,\" \"The Coming Home Journal,\" \"Gilbert Magazine\" (American Chesterton Society), and \"The Latin Mass.\" He also writes a featured column for every issue of \"The Michigan Catholic\": published by the archdiocese of Detroit, and was editor for most of the apologetics tracts published by the St. Paul Street Evangelization apostolate. Dave\u2019s apologetics and writing apostolate was the subject of a feature article in the May 2002 issue of \"Envoy Magazine.\" He served as the staff moderator at the Internet discussion forum for The Coming Home Network, from 2007-2010. Dave has been interviewed on many nationally syndicated Catholic radio shows, including \"Catholic Answers Live\" (twice), \"Faith and Family Live\" (Steve Wood), \"Kresta in the Afternoon,\" \"Son Rise Morning Show,\" \"Catholic Connection\" (Teresa Tomeo), and \"The Catholics Next Door.\" His large and popular website, \"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism,\" was online from March 1997 to March 2007, and received the 1998 Catholic Website of the Year award from \"Envoy Magazine.\" His blog of the same name (now transferred to Patheos), begun in February 2004, contains more than 1,500 papers, at least 500 debates or dialogues, and over 50 distinct \"index\" web pages. Unsolicited correspondence has indicated many hundreds of conversions (or returns) to the Catholic faith as a result, by God's grace, of these writings. Dave's conversion story was published in the bestselling book \"Surprised by Truth\" (edited by Patrick Madrid; San Diego: Basilica Press, 1994). Sophia Institute Press has published six of his books: \"A Biblical Defense of Catholicism\" (Foreword by Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J., 1996 \/ 2003), \"The Catholic Verses\" (2004), \"The One-Minute Apologist\" (2007), \"Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths\" (2009), \"The Quotable Newman\" (editor: 2012), and \"Proving the Catholic Faith is Biblical\" (2015). He is co-author (with Dr. Paul Thigpen) of the inserts for \"The New Catholic Answer Bible\" (Our Sunday Visitor: 2005), and editor for \"The Wisdom of Mr. Chesterton: The Very Best Quotes, Quips, and Cracks from the Pen of G. K. Chesterton\" (Saint Benedict Press \/ TAN Books: 2009). \"100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura\" was published by Catholic Answers in May 2012. His \"Quotable Wesley\" compilation was published by (Protestant \/ Wesleyan publisher) Beacon Hill Press in April 2014. Several of his 49 books are bestsellers in their field. Dave maintains a popular personal Facebook page, a Facebook author page, and has a Twitter account as well. He offers almost all of his books in e-book form on his own Biblical Catholicism site (http:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/), at a permanent deep discount: only $2.99 for ePub, mobi, and AZW, and $1.99 for PDF. His writing has been enthusiastically endorsed or recommended by many leading Catholic apologists, authors, and priests, including Dr. Scott Hahn, Fr. Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Marcus Grodi, Patrick Madrid, Steve Ray, Tim Staples, Devin Rose, Mike Aquilina, Al Kresta, Karl Keating, Fr. Dwight Longenecker, Brandon Vogt, Marcellino D'Ambrosio, and Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave has been happily married to his wife Judy since October 1984. They have three sons and a daughter, and reside in southeast Michigan (metro Detroit).","sameAs":["https:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dave.armstrong.798","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@LuxVeritatisApologetics"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/author\/davearmstrong"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2331"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4652"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4652\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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