Introduction
- What is marriage?
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The Roman Catholic Church understands marriage to be a permanent and exclusive partnership of a man and woman for their whole lives for the good of both spouses and for the procreation and education of children.
And although not every marriage is a sacrament, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, non-believer, including Justice of the Peace ceremonies, are presumed to be valid marriages. The good of all concerned (spouses, children, in-laws, society, the Church as a whole, etc.) demands this presumption.
For those who have been baptized, a valid marriage is at the same time the Sacrament of Matrimony.
The Church believes that every valid, sacramental marriage that has been consummated is permanent and cannot be dissolved. This is divine law-the understanding of the Gospels and of the epistles of Paul-and is supported by the tradition of the Roman Catholic Church.
- However, not all marriages are valid
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When sufficient information and records can be obtained to prove that a specific marriage is not sacramentally valid, or not consummated, the Roman Catholic Church will declare it to be invalid. Declarations do not make marriages invalid, but only recognize invalidity in a formal manner.
- How does the Tribunal fit into all of this?
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It is the Tribunal's job to obtain and review information about a particular marriage which has ended in divorce to find out if that marriage can be declared invalid.
There is no attempt in the study of a marriage to impute guilt or to punish persons. On the contrary, the intention of the annulment procedure is to serve one's conscience and spirit and to bring persons back to the Eucharist and participation in the community of the Church.
Canon law (Church law) calls for the existence of a Tribunal in every diocese of the world. The Tribunal and all of the Roman Catholic Church of Grand Island is under the direction of the Bishop and is supervised by his delegate, the Vicar Judicial (Chief Judge). He, together with a staff of specially trained and experienced priests, religious and lay persons, offers assistance to persons who request that the church study a particular marriage in order to determine whether that marriage can be declared invalid.
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- Defining Terms