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Dear friends and benefactors,
We are frequently asked about our
position concerning the delicate question of marriage annulments, whether we
should accept those granted by the modernist tribunals, and why it is that the
Society should presume to establish a tribunal to make judgments of its own. It
is an interesting question, for it demonstrates in yet one more way just how
serious the crisis in the Church really is.
The statistics are interesting.
In 1968 there were in the U.S. a total of 338 annulments. In 1992 there were no
less than 59,030, that is one hundred and seventy-five times as many. Another
interesting figure. The total number of annulments in the Catholic Church world
wide in 1992 was 76,286, which means that no less than 75% of all annulments
were from the U.S., that is from a little over 5% of the world's Catholic
population. Moreover, not only do one in two Catholic marriages here in the
States end up with a divorce, but one in five is officially annulled, 90% of the
demands for annulment being successful. What do these figures tell us about the
seriousness of such annulment processes, especially when the vast majority are
granted for purely psychological reasons, namely lack of maturity, as if young
age were sufficient to render one incapable of entering into a life long
contract? What does that tell us about the authority of Pope John-Paul II, who
has several times spoken out against such abuses, but without ever bringing any
sanctions against or closing of the tribunals which allow such a fraud to
continue?
In fact, an annulment is not
created by the decision of an annulment tribunal. The function of the tribunal
is simply to establish beyond any reasonable doubt that there never was a
marriage in the first place, that is that there never was any true exchange of
marriage vows.
Consequently, a decision which is not well founded does
not nullify a marriage. It is invalid, worthless. If a person who had obtained
such an annulment were to enter into a second marriage, even one blessed by a
priest, it would certainly be an invalid marriage. How incalculable are the
thousands of such unions, which look on paper to be Catholic marriages, but
which are nothing more then officially blessed concubinages?
What must be the attitude of the
Catholic priest before the tragedy of the destruction of the indissolubility of
marriage by the Church's own ministers? His duty is to preserve the sanctity of
the sacrament above all else, to defend the sacred marriage bond which is the
foundation of human society and consequently of the social life of the Church
herself. How could he dare presume to accept such decisions, so lacking in
certitude? It is clear, then, that just as the Church supplies the jurisdiction
for traditional priests to bless marriages, so also does she, in such tragic
circumstances, supply the authority to form tribunals, without which it would be
impossible to come to any kind of certitude at all. The clear conscience and
salvation of souls depends upon it. It is clear, also, that a traditional priest
can neither marry a person with an annulment, nor recommend that he marry,
unless such a marriage has been thoroughly studied and declared null and void by
a traditional tribunal, operating on truly Catholic principles, —which will
always be a rare and extremely exceptional thing. Be prepared, then, to find our
priests totally uncompromising on these principles. It is not because a person
sincerely thinks that his "annulment" is different from the 59,030 others that
it will be accepted.
May the fidelity to your solemn marriage vows, the
sacredness of this sacrament of the Church, the sense of true submission to
divine Providence and the desire to be detached from the vanity of this world
help you all in the struggle to live your Catholic marriages. May the Blessed
Virgin Mary grant perseverance to our marriages, "for better for worse,
till death do us part".
Yours faithfully in the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
Fr. Peter R. Scott |
