anullments QUESTION from Lori Richardson on January 24, 2003 Father, I am 23 and married my first husband when i was 15. I have never been babtised or belonged to any particular faith . My husband now is catholic and due to the fact we were not married in the church we have had some problems with his family. This has really hurt him. We would like to be married in the church. Will I reguire an anulment before we can be married in the church? Was my marriage to my first husband even considered a real marriage? It never took place in any church or were we members of any faith? Please let me know, this issue has created conflict within our home. sincerely Lori Richardson
ANSWER by John-Paul Ignatius, OLSM on January 29, 2003 Dear Mrs. Richardson:
Since you and your former husband were not baptized the marriage would not be considered validly sacramental. Thus I do not believe you would need a formal annulment. You need to discuss all this with the parish priest, however, so that a formal determination of your status can be determined.
If you are not baptized, then I believe your husband would have to receive a dispensation from the bishop, which should not be a problem in your case.
Then you may have your marriage regularized in the Catholic Church.
The first step is to contact the local parish priest. He will then instruct you on what is needed.
P.S. By the way, I am not a priest, just a lowly brother
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