Annulments in the Catholic Church: Regulation under the Code of Canon Law

Summary

Those who marry within the Catholic Church enter into a sacramental union that is considered to be a holy and eternal bond. As a large, diverse and highly structured religious organization, the Catholic Church has constructed strict standards and criteria for Catholic marriage. This paper analyzes the Roman Catholic doctrine on annulments and critiques the understanding of gender inherent in the Church's policy.

In 1917, the Catholic Church promulgated the Code of Canon Law, a codification of the behavioral guidelines for religious and lay Catholics. This Code was revised again in 1983. The Code contains a substantial number of provisions on marriage, including prenuptial preparation, circumstances and conditions under which a marriage may be contracted, and grounds for annulment of a marriage.

While the Catholic Church does not believe that a marriage can be ended by divorce, under a few, highly restrictive set of circumstances a couple can ask the Church to dissolve a marriage. An annulment is tantamount to saying that the marriage never existed. The three essential elements which constitute a valid marriage in the Catholic Church are: (1) the existence of a valid contract, (2) the baptism of the parties to the contract, and (3) the consummation of the union. Unions without all three of these essential elements may be dissolved after a careful factual inquiry and spiritual examination by the Catholic Church.

A critical examination of the canonical rules for dissolving a marriage reveals some archaic assumptions about women. The 1917 Canon reflected very traditional gender roles for men and women. The woman was subordinate to the man in a marriage. The disparate treatment includes different ages at which men and women are permitted to enter into marriage. Church tribunals will often use different standards for men and women to determine if the person was forced into the marriage. Women are often depicted as feeble and week.

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