The Catholic Church believes that marriage is a lifetime, exclusive partnership between a man and a woman, who give and receive mutual help and love and, from their union, bring forth and rear children.
When Catholics marry according to the requirements of their Church, and when people of other religions marry according to the requirements of civil law, the Catholic Church presumes that they marry validly. If both spouses are baptised the Church also considers their marriage to be a sacrament and believes that, once consummated, it cannot be set aside by any human power, including a civil court.
Because it is a lifetime commitment, the decision to marry is one of the most serious decisions most people ever make. Yet the unthinkable does happen to many couples; thus, the Catholic Church seeks to minister to divorced people.
While supporting the permanence of marriage, the Church offers to review the broken marriage to determine whether there could have been something defective from the beginning. If that can be proven, the Church can recognise the marriage as one that never had permanent binding force. This is a decision by the Church, based on proof, that on the wedding day a particular union lacked some element essential to marriage. Such decisions are sought and given through the Tribunal, the Church Court established to assist bishops in establishing the status of persons according to the laws of the Catholic Church.
The Tribunal makes no attempt to assign blame for the breakup of the union. A Church declaration does not have civil effects. A decision does not make children illegitimate. It cannot be used to question a child's paternity. it will not influence a civil court to set or change terms of civil divorce, child custody, support or property settlement.
If a marriage is declared by the Tribunal as one that is not permanently binding, the spouses, so far as that marriage is concerned, are free to marry others in the Catholic Church once all stipulations placed by the Tribunal have been fulfilled. As a result of that freedom, the Catholic spouse or spouses in the new union are able to participate fully in the life of their Church.
Because there are many reasons why a union may lack one or more of the basic elements of a binding marriage, it is not possible here to list and explain them all. However, many correspond to at least one of the following questions:
If a person can honestly answer 'no' to one or more of these questions as it applies to his or her marriage on the wedding day, then it is possible that some grounds for a declaration of impermanence exist.
Each request is as unique as are the persons involved. While no one can be guaranteed a declaration of impermanence in advance, a person who thinks her or his marriage may have been defective from the beginning should request a study of that marriage. Many already have received justice through the matrimonial process. The Tribunal staff will do everything possible to assist the parties in this important matter.
Each of New Zealand's six dioceses has an office of the Tribunal. Following are the contact details of each.
Auckland Diocese
Pompallier Centre, 30 New St, Ponsonby, Auckland
PO Box 47 904, Ponsonby, Phone 09 360 3030
Email: tribunal.auckland@catholic-tribunal.org.nz
Hamilton Diocese
Chanel Centre, 51 Grey St, Hamilton
PO Box 4353, Hamilton East 2032, Phone 07 856 6989
Email: tribunal.hamilton@catholic-tribunal.org.nz
Palmerston North Diocese
Enquiries to Bishop's Office
Private Bag 11 012, Palmerston North 5301, Phone 06 357 1980
Email: bishop@pndiocese.org.nz
Wellington Archdiocese
Catholic Centre, 22-30 Hill Street
PO Box 1937, Wellington 6015, Phone 04 496 1727
Email: tribunal.wellington@catholic-tribunal.org.nz
Christchurch Diocese
Cathedral House, 122 Barbadoes St,
PO Box 4544, Christchurch 8015, Phone 03 366 9869
Email: mmurphy@chch.catholic.org.nz
Dunedin Diocese
PO Box 2246, South Dunedin 9030, Phone 03 455 2305
Email: dntri@xtra.co.nz
Copyright 2008 Catholic Communications for the NZ Catholic Bishops' Conference
