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For Tribunal Use Only: Case No: _______________ DateReceived:___________ ____________-___________ |
PRELIMINARY QUESTIONNAIRE AND PETITION
FOR ALL MARRIAGE CASES
NOT for Lack of Form cases
First Middle Maiden Present
No. Street City State Zip
Area Code - Exchange - Number Date of Birth Place of Birth-City & State Present Age
Religion: As a child:_____________________ At time of wedding:_________________________ Now: ______________________
(2) RESPONDENT:
First Middle Maiden Present
No. Street City State Zip
Area Code – Exchange - Number Date of Birth: Place of Birth-City & State Present Age
Baptized? Yes ( ) No ( ) Date? __________ Church __________________________City _________________State _______
Religion: As a child: _____________________ At time of wedding: _______________________Now: _______________________
(3) MARRIAGE:
Date: ________________________________________________Catholic ( ), Protestant ( ), Civil ( ), Orthodox ( )
Church City County State
(4) Ages at time of Wedding: Groom ____________ Bride _____________
(5) Length of Cohabitation: From __________________________________ To ________________________________________
(6) Places of Cohabitation: ____________________________________________________________________________________
(7) Children & Dates of Birth: ________________________________________________________________________________
(8) DIVORCE: Date Final: ____________ City: ________________________ County: _____________________ State: _______
(9) REASON for petition of annulment: a. Documentary: _______________ b. Formal: _______________c. Pauline: _____
NOTE: A “Narrative Statement,” completed in keeping with the outline provided, should accompany this
form in all cases of possible nullity or dissolution of marriage.
(10) Priest’s or parish minister’s comments on petitioner: _________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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(11) PETITIONER’S:
Father:
Name Street City State Zip Religion Phone No.
Mother:
Name Street City State Zip Religion Phone No.
Were you ever under the care of anyone besides your parents? Yes ( ) No ( )
Name Street City State Zip Religion Phone No.
(12) PETITIONER’S BROTHERS & SISTERS: (List the best witnesses to your case first)
Name Street City State Zip Religion Phone Age
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
(13) RESPONDENT’S:
Father:
Name Street City State Zip Religion Phone Age
Mother:
Name Street City State Zip Religion Phone Age
Was respondent ever under the care of anyone besides parents? Yes ( ) No ( )
Name Street City State Zip Religion Phone Age
(14) RESPONDENT’S BROTHERS & SISTERS: (List the best witnesses to your case first)
Name Street City State Zip Religion Phone Age
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
(15) LIST CHRONOLOGICALLY ALL OTHER MARRIAGES CONTRACTED BY YOU:
Name Date Church City State
a)
b)
c)
(16) LIST CHRONOLOGICALLY ALL OTHER MARRIAGES CONTRACTED BY RESPONDENT:
Name Date Church City State
a)
b)
c)
(17) GIVE PRESENT NAME, ADDRESS, AND PHONE NUMBER OF EACH PARTY IN QUESTION 15:
a)
b)
c)
(18) GIVE PRESENT NAME, ADDRESS, AND PHONE NUMBER OF EACH PARTY IN QUESTION 16:
a)
b)
c)
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(19) INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR OTHER SPOUSES LISTED IN QUESTION 15:
Date of Birth Place of Birth-City & State Baptized in Religion Church where Baptized – City & State Date Baptized
a)
b)
c)
(20) INFORMATION ABOUT DIVORCES FROM SPOUSES LISTED IN QUESTION 15:
Marriage ended by divorce or death Date City County State
a)
b)
c)
(21) PARENTS OF SPOUSES LISTED IN QUESTION 16: Street Address – City – State & Zip Phone No.
a)
b)
c)
(22) IF ANY OF YOUR SPOUSES WERE MARRIED BEFORE THEY MARRIED YOU, PLEASE INDICATE WHICH SPOUSE AND LIST THEIR PREVIOUS SPOUSES.
(23) I wish to a) enter into marriage ( ), b) validate my present marriage ( )
with _________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________
Religion
(24) In submitting this Petition, I am fully aware of the following:
-- The possibility that that this case (if only one respondent) or these cases (if more than one respondent) may not be able to
be solved.
-- The length of time required for the entire process in both the Court of First Instance and the Regional Court of Appeal
-- The necessity of full cooperation by knowledgeable witnesses who can help establish and support the facts of the case.
-- The fact that expenses will be incurred. (the fee schedule will be sent with other additional information)
(25) I request the Tribunal of Salina to accept this petition on the grounds, and to determine the grounds deemed most appropriate based on the facts of the case. At the end of my “Narrative Statement” I have listed witnesses who have knowledge of this case and are willing to testify.
PLACE:
Petitioner’s Signature
DATE: _________________________________________ _____________________________________________
Priest or Parish Minister’s Signature
ADDITIONAL STATEMENT OF PRIEST OR PARISH MINISTER:
Estimate sincerity and character of intended spouse or present spouse of petitioner.
Do you feel the facts will be sufficient to prove this case? Yes ( ) No ( )
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(26) GENERAL INFORMATION:
A. GROUNDS FOR DECLARING A MARRIAGE INVALID: The doctrine and law of the Roman Catholic Church presents several possible areas in which consent may be lacking. They include the following:
Ligamen: a person is always bound by his first marriage (even though civilly divorced) and cannot validly enter another marriage unless the first marriage has been declared null or dissolved by Church authority or by death. Therefore, the Petitioner can be declared free of an attempted marriage which followed a previous marriage, if all facts can be verified. (Canon 1085)
Age: for a valid marriage the man must be at least sixteen and the woman at least fourteen. This binds all baptized persons; the requirements of civil law must be considered regarding the non-baptized. (Canon 1083)
Impotency: to prove nullity this condition must have existed prior to the wedding and must be perpetual, and is the absolute or relative incapacity to have intercourse. (Canon 1084)
Invalid Validation: when required renewal of consent has not been properly given. (Canons 11-56-1160)
Force and Fear: unjust force threatened by another person which creates grave fear and which causes a party to give consent. Since all these conditions must exist to invalidate marriage, this ground is usually very difficult to prove. (Canon 1103)
Total Absence of Internal Consent: when a person goes through the external wedding ceremony, but does not intend to be married. (Canons 1055, 1101)
Defective Consent Regarding Children: any limitation of the right to have children, or of the right to those acts, which are apt for the generation of children. This can be either by direct intention or by attached condition. (Canons 1055, 1061, 1101)
Defect of Consent to Good of the Spouses: When there is lacking all of those rights and duties involving communication of spouses on all levels which fulfill the “partnership of the whole of life” (Canons 1055, 1101)
Defective Consent Regarding Permanency: any intention to limit consent to an indissoluble marriage, by direct intention or by attached condition. (Canons 1055, 1057, 1099, 1101)
Defective Consent Regarding Fidelity: any limitation of the mutually exclusive right to sexual intercourse, by direct intention or by attached condition. (Canons 1056, 1057, 1099, 1101)
Ignorance: When a person is seriously lacking in knowledge about marriage, that is, does not at least know that marriage is a more or less stable arrangement between a man and a woman for the procreation of children, which procreation is accomplished by some mutual bodily cooperation. To prove nullity on these grounds, even this minimum knowledge must be lacking. (Canon 1096)
□ Error: when a person is in error regarding the identity of the one married or in error concerning a personal quality of a grave nature, which amounts to an error of identity. (Canons 1097, 1098)
Attached Condition: when a person marries only on the basis of a condition without which consent would not have been given. (Canon 1102)
Psychic Incapacity: lack of that degree of discretion and competence sufficient to understand, consent to, and fulfill the essential obligations of marriage. This would include such things as chronic alcoholism, insanity, habitual antisocial behavior, inadequate personality, and unnatural sexual tendencies. Such cases require professional medical and/or psychiatric diagnosis. (Canons 1057, 1095)
B. GROUNDS FOR DISSOLUTION:
Ratified Not Consummated: involves a marriage entered into by two baptized persons, but never consummated by the act of sexual intercourse. These cases are reserved to the Sacred Congregation for the Sacraments in Rome. (Canons 1142, 1697-1706)
Pauline Privilege: involves the dissolution of the marriage bond between two unbaptized persons, when the Petitioner desires to convert while the other is unwilling to be reconciled. Permission to use this Privilege can be granted by the local Bishop. (Canons 1143-1147)
Privilege of the Faith: involves the dissolution of the marriage bond between a baptized person and an unbaptized person who remained unbaptized during the time of the marriage. This must involve a real benefit to the faith. These cases are reserved to the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome. (Canon 1150)
C. GROUNDS FOR DECLARATION OF FREEDOM:
Presumed Death: a person may be granted a declaration of freedom to remarry, if the other party can be presumed dead with moral certitude. However, if the party presumed dead is ever discovered to be living, the first marriage remains valid and binding. These cases are handled by the local Bishop. (Canons 1141, 1707)
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______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
DIOCESE OF SALINA Matrimonial Tribunal
103 N. Ninth, P.O. Box 980 Phone (785) 827-8746
Salina KS 67401-0980 Fax (785) 827-6133
FORMAL CASE NARRATIVE OUTLINE
PLEASE TYPE OR PRINT CLEARLY ON PLAIN WHITE PAPER. Use the outline below as a guide. Please give examples of events which demonstrate what you describe.
PLEASE MAKE YOUR NARRATIVE as complete as possible. Detailed answers are always preferred, but not to the point of writing an overly-long document. In most cases, a good NARRATIVE statement will mean that the Tribunal will not have to ask any further questions of the Petitioner, except perhaps to clarify specific points.
I. a. Describe what you think caused the failure of this marriage.
b. What caused the final separation?
c. Who sued for divorce, what was the civil grounds, who received custody of the children?
II. Describe your background as a child. How did your parents, teachers, school age friends, or other persons important in your life affect you spiritually and socially?
a. How did your parents and family members affect you? Where there any of the following problems or any other kinds of serious problems with your family or with yourself as a child or as a teenager?
1. Serious abuse…alcohol or drug abuse, verbal or emotional abuse, physical or sexual abuse?
2. Serious health problems or a death that was very difficult to accept or to get over?
b. How did teachers, school age friends or other persons important in your life affect you?
1. Serious abuse…alcohol or drug abuse, verbal or emotional abuse, physical or sexual abuse?
2. Serious health problems or a death that was very difficult to accept or to get over ?
c. What conditions in your childhood and teenage life prior to your marriage, helped form your
understanding of what marriage should be?
III. Use the same items as in number II above, and write what you know about your former
spouse.
IV. Was there serious disagreement with your spouse prior to or after the wedding,
in understanding what marriage should be?
V. Describe your courtship, wedding and honeymoon.
a. What unusual conditions existed during these three events which affected your
relationship?
b. What personal attitudes did you have regarding divorce, children, fidelity, family life?
c. Were there any special goals you felt were extremely important to you?
d. What personal attitudes did your spouse have regarding divorce, children, fidelity,
family life?
e. Were there any special goals your spouse felt were extremely important?
VI. Describe how you and your spouse tried to put into practice your plans for your married life.
a. Were you both happy/satisfied with the quality of signs of love, affection, and your sexual relationship and that the duty and responsibility for fulfilling these for each other were being fulfilled?
b. Were you both happy/satisfied with the quality of relationship with your children, and that the duty and responsibility for their care was shared and agreed upon?
c. Were you both happy/satisfied with the quality of communication, ability to talk about
and solve marital problems, and to work together to obtain your special goals?
d. As problems arose that could not be easily solved, was help sought from parents? If so,
did you or your spouse feel there was too much dependence on parents or too much interference from parents?
e. Was help sought from a medical doctor, professional counselor, or psychiatrist? If so, please contact them and sign a WRITTEN RELEASE FORM so the information can be forwarded to the Tribunal by them. (They should have a special form that you can sign for this purpose.)
VII. Regarding witnesses: The Tribunal will normally send questionnaires to members of your immediate family (parents, brothers and sisters) as potentially knowledgeable witnesses, unless you specifically request that we not contact certain family members, offering your reasons why they should not be contacted. Also, please list the names and current addresses of other people who have knowledge about your marriage, and who are willing to help you by giving testimony. It would be helpful for you to contact them first, before listing their names, to find out if they are willing to help you with this.
VIII. PLEASE SIGN AND DATE YOUR STATEMENT at the end. Keep a copy until you are
certain your original narrative statement has been safely received at the Tribunal.
(revised 2/2004)
* Both of these forms must be submitted to the Tribunal