A Question of Marriage

Cheryl and Fred Longbottom have been married twenty years and have two teenage children. (Both Fred and Cheryl are Catholics, and neither had been married before.) Relatives and close friends have known that things were a bit rocky between the two from time-to-time, but Cheryl and Fred always seemed to patch things up. Now Cheryl has had Fred arrested for domestic violence, and Fred has filed for divorce. Cheryl is certain that she can no longer live with Fred's mood swings and violent temper, so she accepts the divorce as inevitable. The one thing that worries her is whether or not she would ever be able to re-marry in the Church. She comes to you to ask whether or not she will be able to get an annulment. What do you tell her?

Analyze this case:

• What are the key facts of the case?
• Are there any other facts you would need or like to know?
• What are the key pastoral issues involved?
• What canons do you see as pertinent to this case?
• What literary, rhetorical & historical aspects of these canons are important for their interpretation?
• What is your position in the parish?
• How would you resolve the case?
• What are the grounds for your decision?
• Briefly, what are the ethical, pastoral, and theological implications of your decision?

Variations:

1. What if Fred is a non-Catholic Christian? A Jew or Muslim? A n atheist who never was baptized?
2. What if the couple was married in a Lutheran church by Fred's uncle, a Lutheran Minister? By a Catholic priest in the local Botanical Garden? By a Rabbi at Cheryl's grandparents' estate?
3. What if it is Fred who is seeking the annulment rather than Cheryl, and he has been withholding child support and alimony?