Marriage Tribunal

Marriage is a sacrament instituted by God. The marriage covenant by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of their whole life, and which of its own very nature is ordered to the well-being of the spouses and to the procreation and upbringing of children, has between the baptized, been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament (can. 1055). When both the husband and the wife are baptized Christians the natural marriage takes on the additional element of sacramentality. It is a visible sign of God’s love in the world. According to the Church law, once a man and woman enter into a marriage by legitimately manifesting their consent, they are presumed by the law itself to be married. Hence, the validity of a marriage is to be upheld until the contrary is proven.

An annulment is a juridical declaration of nullity by a Catholic Marriage Tribunal to the Church that a marriage never existed as a sacramental union according to the Canon Law. The Archdiocesan Metropolitan Ecclesiastical Tribunal decides if an annulment may be granted to a petitioner.

The Church assumes that a person is free to marry provided, he/she is free from civil and canonical impediments. A divorced person is not free to remarry within the Catholic Church as long as the spouse from the previous marriage is still living because only the death of one of the spouses naturally dissolves a marriage ratum et consumatum (can. 1141). The annulment process is a judicial process in which the Church declares a marriage is null and void overturning the presumption of validity and establishes the person is free to marry.

• The consent of either one or both of the parties was invalid (cann. 1095-1103)t
• Existence of a diriment impediment (cann. 1083-1094)
• Lack of canonical form (cann. 1108, 1116, 1117)

It is not a Catholic divorce. A divorce is a dissolution by a relevant Civil District Court of an existing legal union according to the Divorce Act in Sri Lanka. They agree to revoke their consent. According to the Canon Law, the consent of the parties cannot be revoked once the parties legitimately and validly exchange their consent. An annulment declares that there never was a valid union according to the canonical grounds from the moment of the wedding.

The Church considers all marriages binding whether persons are unbaptized or baptized as they are based on natural law and all marriages between baptized Christians are sacramental. So, all first marriages must be declared null and void by a Church Tribunal before a second marriage can take place in the Church. Otherwise, a person is not free to enter into a new marriage with another who is bound by a previous bond of marriage. From a valid marriage there arises between the spouses a bond which of its own nature is permanent and exclusive (can. 1134).

In the eyes of the Church the first marriage is considered still binding although he/she got a civil divorce. This applies only if someone seeks to marry a Catholic in the Church for the second time. This seems strange to most non-Catholics especially if neither spouse from the first marriage was baptized. When the two non-Catholics marry in a civil or religious ceremony, the Church recognizes the validity of the marriage. The teaching of the Catholic Church on indissolubility is governed by the natural law. Therefore this teaching binds all people. The Church cannot permit a Catholic to marry someone who is bound by a previous marriage because it can be declared invalid due to existence of the impediment of prior bond of marriage. The civil authority dissolves the civil bond only, it provides child custody, child maintenance, alimony, property division and the Church authority annuls and ceases the bond itself. The Church annulment does not deal with the issues of legitimacy, laws of inheritance and other civil domestic law issues.

One cannot remarry in the Catholic Church. If he/she marries outside the Catholic Church, it is considered as living in an adulterous union. Spouses cannot receive sacraments.

There is no Church penalty for divorce. As long as the innocent spouse does not remarry, he/she can receive the sacraments and participate in the full life of the Church. But if he/she thinks it is good to have a peaceful mind, still he/she can apply for an annulment.

There is no Church penalty for divorce. As long as the innocent spouse does not remarry, he/she can receive the sacraments and participate in the full life of the Church. But if he/she thinks it is good to have a peaceful mind, still he/she can apply for an annulment.

The baptized Catholic spouses;

• Those Catholics who got married with a Catholic or non-Catholic in the Catholic Church, subsequently obtained civil divorce, intend to remarry another Catholic or non-Catholic in the Church.
• Those Catholics who got married civilly only and subsequently obtained civil divorce, intend to remarry a Catholic or non-Catholic in the Church.

The non-Catholic spouses (baptized or unbaptized);

• Those of the other faith who got married and subsequently divorced civilly, intend to remarry a Catholic in the Church and who wishes to establish the free-state before the Catholic Church.

Through the parish priest the competent tribunal should be approached as each diocese has a marriage tribunal. Only the Catholic spouse or the non-Catholic spouse or both the parties jointly can petition the tribunal. The petitioner should approach the competent tribunal in person.

In cases regarding the nullity of marriage not reserved to the Apostolic See, the competencies are:
1° the tribunal of the place in which the marriage was celebrated;
2° the tribunal of the place in which either or both parties have a domicile or a quasi-domicile;
3° the tribunal of the place in which in fact most of the proofs must be collected.