S.O.S. | Reform of Annulment & Respondent Support Network

S.O.S. (Save Our Sacrament) | RoA&RS is both a support and a reform network inspired by Sheila Rauch Kennedy. Her book is Shattered Faith: A Woman's Struggle to Stop the Catholic Church from Annulling Her Marriage

Support Goals

  • To provide advice and education to Respondents who are Opposing Annulment Petition including - Canon Law, Respondent's Rights, and Internal Forum information
  • Work with Respondents on their Appeal to the Vatican Roman Rota
  • Support Children of Annulled Marriages
  • Yearly gathering of Respondents willing to work on developing empowering ways of dealing effectively with the annulment process

Reform Goals

  • Raise public awareness to the hypocrisy permeating the annulment process
  • Raise public awareness that marriages of faithful Protestants are being "annulled" by Catholic tribunals
  • Educate regarding the need to abolish annulments, and substitute the Internal Forum process
  • Expose the bias against Respondents by Tribunal personnel
  • Work on civil litigation against Tribunal-employed mental health professionals

Catholics are taught that marriage is a sacrament; this is an essential belief of their Catholic faith.

"The American Catholic Church annually grants over 60,000 annulments, three-quarters of the total granted throughout the world. In roughly 90% of all cases that come before the American Church councils, or tribunals, officials rule that 'in the eyes of God the [sacramental] marriage never truly existed.' As more than one observer of religion has noted, 'The United States has become the Nevada of the annulment world.' Another expert in canon law boasted, 'There isn't a marriage in America that we can't annul.'"(Sheila Rauch Kennedy, Shattered Faith, p. 12) In Italy, by comparison, only 37% of requests for annulment are granted.

"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, (pub. 2001) Boston Globe, May 13, 1997