by Sr. Kathleen Bierne, PBVM

One of the most difficult aspects of the teaching of the Catholic Church regarding marriage is the practice related to declaring a marriage invalid. Our Church attempts to hold in tension the indissoluble bond of marriage and the reality that many marriages do end in civil divorce, with lives affected by pain and loss. When someone who has been divorced believes that his/her previous marriage was not one that would bind for life, that person is free to bring that union for review by a diocesan tribunal. Unfortunately, only one in ten such marriages are brought to the Church for such an examination of facts.

One of the major reasons for this negligence is that the practice of "granting annulments" has accumulated many half-truths and inaccuracies through the years. First among them is the term itself. The Church does not "grant" something as a favor. Nor does it declare that a civil union never existed. Rather, those who study the failed marriage do so with the purpose of seeing if this bond had within it the necessary criteria to do what the marriage vows say; namely, to form a "partnership of the whole of life" in such a way that the two persons become one in mind and heart. If they are baptized they exchange the sacrament with each other, pledging their lives to bring each other to God, to literally "make each other holy."

The Tribunal of the New Ulm Diocese processes about sixty to seventy formal cases a year. If this diocese reflects the national average, and no doubt it does, that means that there are six hundred to seven hundred other marriages that have ended in divorce, that are not brought to the Tribunal. Whenever one of the parties is Catholic or wants to marry/is married to, a Catholic, it is best to seek counsel from the pastor or pastoral administrator, or directly from tribunal personnel. In order to make such assistance more accessible to people, the Tribunal has trained thirteen advocates, people located throughout the rural areas, who can be of assistance in answering questions and helping people begin the process of examining their former marriages.

The Tribunal Office recently began the training of three new advocates. Hopefully, they will be appointed within the near future. They are Sr. Donna Wermus, SSND, Faxon Township; Sr. Kathryn Schoolmeesters, SSND, Hector; and Lisa Pelzel, Sleepy Eye, MN. There are two more people who will be trained in November. That will bring the total to fifteen people who can be of assistance to anyone who wants accurate information and help with beginning the process.

If you want to contact a Tribunal Advocate near you, contact Janelle Drexler, Office Manager, or Sr. Kathleen Bierne, PBVM, Director of the Tribunal, (507) 359-2966 who will direct you to someone in your area who can be of help to you.

While not every marriage that ends in divorce does so because of an invalid bond, the process itself can help bring closure and peace of conscience and mind to those who have experienced the pain of divorce.