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INTRODUCTION
Are you willing to share your annulment story with us? Your story could assist us in helping others know that they are not alone. There will be no actual names used. All material will be confidential, with names changed to provide confidentiality.
The following are open-ended questions provided for your convenience. There is no set pattern for you to tell your story. The categories below are steps in the annulment process.
I INITIAL RESPONSE TO THE PETITION
What was your initial attitude toward the process? How did you feel?
What kind of support did you have from your friends and family?
When was the annulment initiated?
What grounds were cited?
Describe your experiences with witnesses against the validity of the marriage.
II TRIBUNAL
Where was the Tribunal that served as your First Instance?
Describe the Tribunal personnel's attitudes and actions toward you.
What experiences did you have regarding lack or omission of full disclosure to you as the Respondent (example: were you told that you had the right to an advocate? Were you told that you can appeal to the Rota?)
How long did your first instance decision take, from petitioner's document to the first tribunal decision?
III ADVOCATE
Did you have an Advocate?
Did you have a choice?
What kind of information were you given about the Advocate?
Was your advocate "qualified" in Canon Law?
IV APPEAL
If you were not happy with the ruling, did you appeal to the Second Instance?
To which Tribunal did you send your Appeal?
What were you charged for the Appeal?
Were you told that in financial difficulty, you are not mandated to pay for the Appeal?
V CURRENT STATUS
Was an annulment granted or is your case still pending?
Discuss any procedural errors you are aware of (breaches of Canon Laws)
Discuss any substantive errors
Did the petitioner subsequently re-file on different grounds?
Has this experience affected your faith? If so, how?
What do you think might be an alternative to the annulment process?
What's your attitude about non-Catholics & their marriages being annulled?
See also the webpage on Questionnaire for Daughters and Sons of Annulled Marriages.
Please send your response to: saveoursac@aol.com
"Annulment is now a form of divorce in every way but name, and the church (hierarchy) refusal to acknowledge this is deeply corrupting. Moreover, the Catholic annulment procedures hurt children, are cruel to former spouses, force applicants to misrepresent the past, mock well-meaning priests, and drive many thousands out of the church. It is a disaster."-James Carroll, Boston Globe 5/13/97
- S.O.S. welcomes all case-histories of annulment in order to help others facing this process.
- All names are kept anonymous (see "Contact Us")
