This Catholic annulment explosion was entirely foreseeable once the hierarchy abandoned Church teaching on the primary purpose of marriage at Vatican II.
Back around 2017, I wanted to put my legal talents to use for the Church. To that end, I met with the monsignor, who was the judicial vicar of my diocese. He told me that because the Bishop and his vicar general both had Cannon law degrees that the only place they would really have for me was as a judge on the tribunal. We then discussed what that would look like and how the annulment process worked. When I tried to pin him down on specifics, he explained the important part to the Vatican was that there was a 94% approval rate.
Much more shocking was the remark from my parish priest in Detroit in 1999. He told a couple in my hearing that he had never known the local tribunal refuse an annulment application.....as long as the unhappy couple had been wise enough to follow Father's advice on the right form of words to put on the application form.
No wonder that the Archdiocese of Detroit had the highest annulment rate in the USA and the USA had the highest annulment rate of any country.
Back here in England, Father Edward Holloway back in the 1980s also noted the importance of the right form of words. The key phrase for English marriage tribunals was "lack of due discretion", i.e. the unhappy couple did not fully understand the serious obligations they had undertaken at the altar in front of witnesses.
Father Edward fumed that "lack of due discretion" should be an almost pathological condition. If it meant merely that "they were very young and gormless", it applied to 90% of the couples for who most priests conducted marriages. I guess that the great Yorkshire insult "gormless", meaning roughly "very immature and/or clueless", is not the right word for any marriage annulment form.
And so it was in the Court of Law for me when I divorced decades ago. The whole ( event ) took minutes only and ended when his honour said “ let’s put it down to irreconcilable differences “ .
It seems that this situation has come about along with the notion that romantic love is the primary reason, if not the only reason, to get married. This is propagandized by the last hundred years, in particular by movies, TV, and romance novels. Up until a couple hundred years ago, marriages were arranged by the parents, and the spouses had little say in the matter. This way made it easier to look at marriage the old way. Since romantic love is a feeling that does not last, it's easy to see why today's spouses want an easy way out.
Excellent article! I actually completely agree with your assessment and reasoning concerning this issue. Well done!
Back around 2017, I wanted to put my legal talents to use for the Church. To that end, I met with the monsignor, who was the judicial vicar of my diocese. He told me that because the Bishop and his vicar general both had Cannon law degrees that the only place they would really have for me was as a judge on the tribunal. We then discussed what that would look like and how the annulment process worked. When I tried to pin him down on specifics, he explained the important part to the Vatican was that there was a 94% approval rate.
That's shocking he would openly admit that.
Much more shocking was the remark from my parish priest in Detroit in 1999. He told a couple in my hearing that he had never known the local tribunal refuse an annulment application.....as long as the unhappy couple had been wise enough to follow Father's advice on the right form of words to put on the application form.
No wonder that the Archdiocese of Detroit had the highest annulment rate in the USA and the USA had the highest annulment rate of any country.
Back here in England, Father Edward Holloway back in the 1980s also noted the importance of the right form of words. The key phrase for English marriage tribunals was "lack of due discretion", i.e. the unhappy couple did not fully understand the serious obligations they had undertaken at the altar in front of witnesses.
Father Edward fumed that "lack of due discretion" should be an almost pathological condition. If it meant merely that "they were very young and gormless", it applied to 90% of the couples for who most priests conducted marriages. I guess that the great Yorkshire insult "gormless", meaning roughly "very immature and/or clueless", is not the right word for any marriage annulment form.
And so it was in the Court of Law for me when I divorced decades ago. The whole ( event ) took minutes only and ended when his honour said “ let’s put it down to irreconcilable differences “ .
Thanks to your work . I finally understand some very personal and pressing issues n questions that I have carried for years.
It seems that this situation has come about along with the notion that romantic love is the primary reason, if not the only reason, to get married. This is propagandized by the last hundred years, in particular by movies, TV, and romance novels. Up until a couple hundred years ago, marriages were arranged by the parents, and the spouses had little say in the matter. This way made it easier to look at marriage the old way. Since romantic love is a feeling that does not last, it's easy to see why today's spouses want an easy way out.
She is not Catholic.
Blessings and appreciation from Sydney Australia.
"IRONICALLY", trinitarians on one side & (JW & Islam-Muslims) on the other, are two opposite extrems of the SAME EXACT HERESY!!
https://allendaves.substack.com/p/children-of-a-lesser-god?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=1xhldx
Your article in Integrity Magazine is very clarifying CE. Thank you.