What's the story with annulments?

frazzled1
Fri, 13 Jan 2006 15:05:31 +0000

I don’t know, sybbie, but I have seven cousins who were most displeased when their parents obtained a Church annulment after 25-plus years of marriage and said seven kids. This was quite a while ago - I recall that my mother (related to one spouse, close friend of both) was called to be a witness and testified that before the marriage the wife had thought she was pregnant, though it later turned out she wasn’t … they were married quickly and, though that particular pregnancy may have been a false alarm, the one that soon followed was not. As it was explained to me, their marriage had been coerced and was therefore invalid.

Both parties wanted the annulment as they are devout Catholics and wanted to remarry in the Church, which they did as soon as the annulment was granted. I’ve never spoken to my cousins about it (as it could certainly be a sore subject!), but both parents are now on good terms with most of the kids. Though the cousin who was a priest did leave the priesthood soon after - and is now a happy husband and father.