Is an Annulment a Catholic Divorce? (Catholic Caucus)

Holy Apostles ^ | July 29, 2014 | David Anderson

[verga]

Read my post #24

Annulment is an earthly construct.

The sacraments are a divine construct. If you have not met all four criteria for a sacrament to occur than you might as well be engaging in a play. It may be moving or emotionally satisfying but nothing divine has occurred. If the first three criteria are met than it is up to the couple as afar as that goes and they know what is in their respective hearts.

So no an annulment is not an earthly construct, it is a formalization that the event did not occur as prescribed.

[ebb tide]

Did Pope Benedict return a letter with his blessing of Kennedy?

If so, I wouldn’t be surprised. Kennedy was invited to and given Holy Communion at Pope Benedict’s Mass in D.C.

[RFEngineer]

The sacraments are divine. The annulment, an earthly convenience. The process has a religious pretension, to make it palatable, but an earthly convenience it is.

The four criteria are supposedly affirmed during the sacrament - you can’t just rely on the “honor system”, and Catholics do not.

Regardless, sometimes people can’t live together regardless. Catholics need their way out, and they have it. I’m not arguing against it, just against the presumption that it is somehow more legit than any other garden variety divorce for “irreconcilable differences”. It’s a process Catholics have invented for themselves - which is fine.

[verga]

Matthew 16:19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

[kearnyirish2]

“Immaturity” seems to be a catch-all for annulments; since it has to be something at the time of the original marriage that invalidates it/gives cause for an annulment, immaturity is an unverifiable catch-all (not as concrete as a pregnancy or prior marriage by one party) that seems to work.