Diocese of Winona Tribunal
Grounds of Marriage Nullity
Consent can be invalid if one or both parties did not consent to marriage or the totality of marriage (e.g., by refusing to be open to having children in the marriage, by limiting the length of the marriage), or if one or both parties could not consent to marriage (e.g., because of extreme internal pressures, a mental illness, the grave influence of alcohol).
Consent can also be invalid if one is externally forced into a marriage which the person would not otherwise enter, or if one is moved to marry out of error about some very significant quality of their intended spouse or error about the nature of marriage itself.
The reasons for which a marriage is invalid are called grounds of nullity. These are established in a case on the basis of the assertions of the parties at the very beginning of the process.
Here are the most common grounds of marriage nullity due to a defect of consent:
- Grave Lack of Discretion of Judgment
- Incapacity to Assume the Essential Obligations of Marriage
- Error of Quality
- Deceit
- Determining Error
- Total Simulation
- Partial Simulation against the Good of Permanance
- Partial Simulation against the Good of Exclusive Fidelity
- Partial Simulation against the Good of Children
- Partial Simulation against the Good of Spouses' Condition
- Force or Grave Fear
When a Petitioner begins his case by submitting a libellus (application), he includes a thorough description of his marriage with the Respondent. This description includes all the details about the upbringing, courtship, engagement, married life, and divorce of the parties. This essay usually offers some clues as to which grounds may be pertinent to the case.
After an examination of the description of marriage, the Judge establishes the grounds for the case by decree. The parties in the case are then given a period of ten days to object to the grounds and propose other appropriate grounds.
It can also happen that, at a later point in the case, one of the parties will ask the grounds to be changed. After hearing the other party and weighing how serious the situation would be were the grounds not to be changed, the judge can change the grounds by a new decree (canon 1514).
Can a Marriage Be Invalid for Other Reasons?
It is not only a defect of consent that can make a marriage invalid. It can be invalid for two other general reasons:
1) the presence of an impediment, and
2) the non-observance of canonical form.
I. Impediments
There are various life conditions (called impediments) which can prevent one from being able to enter marriage validly: e.g., one has made a vow or promise of celibacy, one is closely related to his prospective spouse, impotence (not sterility), et al.
The most common impediments are those called disparity of cult and prior bond.
Disparity of Cult
The impediment of disparity of cult is present when a Catholic wishes to marry a person who is not baptized. For such a marriage would be non-sacramental, and a Catholic who willingly enters a marriage which is not centered explicitly and mutually on Jesus Christ is taking something of a risk in his discipleship of Christ. If there is a just and proportionate reason to enter such a marriage, a person can request a dispensation from the Diocesan Bishop via the local parish priest.
Prior Bond
The impediment of prior bond is present when a person marries someone who was married once before, since the prospective spouse is bound to another by a previous marriage. For example, Louise and Frank get married and divorce; Frank then attempts marriage with Patty, and they get divorced. Now Patty wants to marry Charlie in the Catholic Church. When she approaches the tribunal to ask that her marriage be declared null, the tribunal can declare it null on the basis of Frank's prior bond with Louise. Because Frank was still bound to Louise, he was impeded from validly marrying Patty, and their marriage was invalid.
This impediment cannot be dispensed by any authority of the Church, since it is an impediment of divine law.
Every Catholic is bound to observe canonical form which, for Latin Catholics, consists of the exchange of consent before a competent Catholic minister (a bishop, presbyter or deacon) and two witnesses. Most commonly, the failure to observe canonical form consists of a Catholic attempting marriage before a justice of the peace or a non-Catholic minister. Such a marriage is clearly invalid according to canon law. It could only be valid if one receives a dispensation from canonical form, which can be requested from the Diocesan Bishop via the local parish priest.