Catholic Annulments

Misunderstandings about the Catholic annulment process, what an annulment means for one’s faith, and how the Catholic Church views divorced Catholics can cause people to quietly step away, unsure if they still belong—or if they still want to.

In Catholic Annulments: A Q&A Guide for Seeking Truth and Finding Healing, Msgr. Steven Callahan and Shannon McGraw Carr answer common questions about Catholic annulments, divorce, remarriage, and the Church’s teaching on marriage with clarity, compassion, and hope. Both write from firsthand experience—Callahan from guiding clergy and laity through the annulment process in the Diocese of San Diego, and Carr as a divorced and annulled Catholic who has since remarried in the Catholic Church.

An annulment, or declaration of nullity, is not a denial of the love two people once shared, a judgment about their ability to make good choices, or an effort to assign blame for the end of a marriage. Nor does an annulment affect the legitimacy of children born during a marriage later declared null. Rather, the Catholic Church offers the annulment process as a careful discernment of whether a true marital covenant existed when the wedding vows were exchanged. Through this process, people can better understand Catholic teaching on marriage, gain clarity about their own circumstances, and discover a path toward healing and peace.

Many of the questions in this book explore what Catholics believe about marriage and the Catholic faith and why:

• Why can’t Catholics simply divorce and remarry?
• What is distinctive about the Catholic understanding of marriage?
• Why does my non-Catholic partner who is divorced need an annulment in the Catholic Church?
• Isn’t love enough for a valid Catholic marriage?
• Is infidelity during marriage a basis for an annulment?
• Do Catholic annulments apply to non-Catholics?

Others address the practical details of the Catholic annulment process and tribunal:

• Where do I begin, whom do I contact, and how long does an annulment take?
• Do I have to pay for a Catholic annulment?
• What if my priest or someone I spoke with told me I shouldn’t pursue an annulment?
• I’m divorced, but my marriage has not been annulled. Can I receive Communion?
• If I am civilly married, can I receive the Eucharist?
• What if my spouse has died? Do I still need an annulment?
• What if my former spouse chooses not to respond to the inquiry or complete the paperwork?
• What are witnesses asked during the annulment process?
• What if it has been more than ten years, and my key witnesses have died?
• What if my prior marriage took place outside the Catholic Church?
• What if I am entering the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA)?
• What happens if an annulment is denied?

The book also addresses complicated and deeply personal questions about annulments, remarriage, and Catholic marriage:

• I did not know about my spouse’s addiction until after our wedding. Can I seek an annulment?
• Does a previous legal same-sex marriage need to be annulled?
• If my spouse was drunk at the altar during our vows, is that grounds for an annulment?
• If my spouse had an affair, is that grounds for an annulment?
• Am I allowed to date if my marriage has not been annulled?
• Am I free to remarry immediately after receiving a decree of nullity?
• Why are conditions sometimes attached to a decree of nullity?
• What is convalidation in the Catholic Church?

Catholic Annulments offers faithful, clear, and approachable answers to these questions and dozens more. It explains Catholic teaching on marriage, the meaning of an annulment, the declaration of nullity, and what to expect from the Catholic tribunal process—all in language that is accessible without sacrificing doctrinal, theological, or pastoral integrity.

Readers will come to understand that a Catholic annulment is not a judgment on a person’s worth or a denial of the love once shared. It is a careful discernment of whether a true marital covenant existed at the exchange of vows. When rightly understood, the annulment process can be an act of mercy, seeking truth in order to open a path toward freedom, clarity, healing, and renewed life in the Catholic Church.

• Pages: 128
• Trim size: 5.5 x 8.5 inches
• ISBN: 978-1-64680-523-5
• Imprint: Ave Maria Press