The Tribunal of the Diocese of Tucson is under the direction of the Bishop of Tucson and is supervised by his delegate, the Judicial Vicar. The mission of the Tribunal is to offer assistance to persons who formally request that the Church study their marriage in order to determine whether or not there is any possibility of an annulment and thus the possibility to contract another marital union under the auspices of the Church.
Frequently Asked Questions

What is a marriage?
How is an annulment possible?
What is an annulment in the Catholic Church?
What is the purpose of a Tribunal?
How does the Tribunal determine if a marriage is invalid?
Which diocese has jurisdiction for a particular annulment case?
How do I begin an annulment process?
What happens after the petition is submitted to the Tribunal?
What about my former spouse?
Are witnesses required? What about special witnesses?
Who reviews the information I and others provide?
What are the steps that are followed in an annulment process?
Are there any civil effects to a Church annulment?
How long does the entire process take?
Is there a fee for Tribunal services?
If you have further questions, you are welcome to contact anyone of the staff at:
P. O. Box 31
Tucson, Arizona 85702-0031
(520) 792-3410
tucannulment@diocesetucson.org
What is a marriage?

The Catholic Church understands marriage to be a lasting and exclusive partnership between a man and a woman for the giving and receiving of love and the procreation and education of children.

A real and genuine marriage between two baptized persons is permanently binding and cannot be dissolved. This is the law of God as found in the Old Testament, the writings of St. Paul, and two thousand years of Christian tradition. Back to Questions.

How, then, is an annulment possible?

The Church also teaches that a marriage can be called real and genuine only when it is founded on the kind of relationship that Christ intended when He raised marriage to the dignity of a Sacrament. Certain intentions and capabilities must be brought to this relationship by the parties involved in order that their relationship might indeed be a foundation for the Sacrament of Matrimony. Without these intentions and capabilities and regardless of appearances, there can be no sacramental marriage, nor even a more fundamental union, which is a valid and/or legitimate marriage or bond. The purpose of an annulment proceeding is to prove that the parties are not bound to a valid marriage because some essential elements were lacking in the inception of the union or contract. Back to Questions.

What is an annulment in the Catholic Church?

An ecclesiastical annulment, then, is a declaration by a competent Church Tribunal that a particular marriage was never a real and genuine union of the spouses from the very beginning -- that, in fact, there never was a marriage in the true sense of the word. It differs from a civil divorce in that a divorce attempts to break a marriage bond, while a Church annulment declares that there never was a true bond to begin with. A Church annulment does not "wipe out" those historical events that took place during those years of the union of the couple, nor does the Church ever make a judgment upon the legitimacy of the children. Back to Questions.

What is the purpose of a Tribunal?

There is a Marriage Tribunal or Diocesan Court in every Catholic diocese of the world. The Tribunal of the Diocese of Tucson is under the direction of the Bishop of Tucson and is supervised by his delegate, the Judicial Vicar. He, together with a staff of trained priests and lay persons, offers assistance to persons who formally request that the Church study their marriage in order to determine whether or not there is any possibility of an annulment and thus the possibility to contract another marital union under the auspices of the Church. Back to Questions.

How does the Tribunal determine if a marriage is invalid?

The guidelines used by the Tribunal are the Gospel teachings of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and the laws of the Catholic Church. The ministry of the Tribunal is more specifically directed to a concern for the dignity of marriage and a concern for the good of the involved persons. The Tribunal works towards this end by diligently protecting the rights of a man and a woman in a specific marriage as well as the rights of the Church, which has been charged by Jesus Christ to be the guardian of the Sacrament of Matrimony.
Back to Questions.

Which Diocese has jurisdiction for a particular annulment case?

For a Tribunal to have jurisdiction to begin and to process an annulment petition, one of the following must exist: (I) the marriage took place within the Diocese; (2) the Respondent, that is, the other party to the marriage, lives within the Diocese; (3) both parties live in the USA, only the Petitioner lives within the Diocese. Back to Questions.

How does one begin an annulment process?

You must begin the process through your parish priest; only those petitions which have been previously reviewed by a parish priest will be accepted for consideration by the Tribunal Office. Here is the information that is required:

1. Preliminary Questionnaire with an accompanying resume. These should be typed, but may be neatly handwritten Please include the mailing address and street address.

2. A list of witnesses (at least four or five) who are knowledgeable about the marriage, about the personalities of the Petitioner and the Respondent before and/or during the marriage, and about the causes of the marriage's break-up. The Respondent is also afforded the opportunity to produce witnesses.

3. Documents:

(a) a copy of the civil Marriage certificate for the marriage in question;

(b) a copy of the Church marriage certificate;

(c) a copy of the final divorce decree or certificate of dissolution for the marriage in question;

(d) a copy of the divorce settlement agreement;

(e) for Catholics, a recent Baptismal certificate for each party, if possible. These certificate should be dated within the last six months. These certificates should be obtained from the parish of your Baptism. For baptized non-Catholics, some proof of Baptism should be furnished if at all available.

4. The Filing Fee is $50.00, payable to The Tribunal Office, Diocese of Tucson.

Please submit all of the above materials to your parish priest for his signature. Either he or you can forward them to the Diocesan Tribunal. Back to Questions.

What is the first step once the petition is submitted to the Tribunal?

The Tribunal makes an initial evaluation of each Petition to determine whether or not there are grounds acceptable in Church law for accepting it. This Preliminary Process will normally take place within six to eight weeks after the Tribunal has received your Petition.

If there are no grounds for annulment or if there is no reasonable hope that the alleged grounds can be proven, a Petition will not be able to be accepted. You will be notified directly or through the priest of such an action; in some cases, you may be asked to give additional information so that the Petition may be considered a second time. Back to Questions.

What about my former spouse?

The former spouse (Respondent) will be contacted by the Tribunal and offered the opportunity to present his/her recollections of the marriage as well as to introduce any witnesses he/she chooses. Justice demands that the Respondent has a right to know about and participate in the investigation. It is important, therefore, for the Tribunal to have a complete address and telephone number (home and work) of the former spouse. If this is not possible, the Tribunal must have the Respondent's last known address and/or the name and address of a family member through whom the Respondent may be contacted if at all possible.

Please note that the Tribunal will contact the former spouse. You may do this also, if you wish, but it is not required. The cooperation of the Respondent will be sought, but is never forced. All information received by the Tribunal from yourself or from any other party is inserted in the ACTS of the case. All questions asked are of a general nature and are never based on the specific testimony of either spouse. Back to Questions.

Are witnesses required?

Witnesses are required by Church law to assist the Tribunal in a deeper understanding of the marriage in question. Your witnesses will be contacted usually through the Petitioner and will be asked to give their observations in writing.

At least four or five witnesses are required. Normally, it is the quality of their testimony and not the quantity of witnesses that is helpful in these cases. We need witnesses with specific information and knowledge about the parties at the time of the marriage.

You must seek the cooperation of your witnesses before you list them on the witness form. Tell them you are petitioning the Catholic Church for an annulment and that they will be contacted by the Tribunal if they agree to cooperate. You may want to word your approach like this:

"I am petitioning the Catholic Church for a Church annulment of my marriage. I wish to mention you as a person who knows some details about the marriage. If you agree to cooperate you will be contacted by the Church Tribunal. Please respond as quickly as possible according to your own insights. I hereby release you from any bond of confidentiality either written, spoken, or presumed."

It is understood that you give no direction as to what witnesses will say. You are only requesting cooperation. Back to Questions.

What about special witnesses?

Sometimes doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, professional counselors, priests, ministers, rabbis, etc. have been consulted before or during a marriage in order to assist a person or a couple. If this is true, please provide the complete names and addresses and phone numbers of these individuals. After you have signed a release provided by the Tribunal such witnesses may provide us confidentially with information that may be of great value in the study of your marriage. Back to Questions.

Who reviews the information that I and others provide?

Your own statements, the statements of the Respondent, and those of the witnesses are put into what is called the ACTS of the case. Only the Petitioner and Respondent have access to this and only for a strictly limited period of time and under the close supervision of the Tribunal officials, The immediate members of the Tribunal staff assigned to the study of the marriage who are bound to secrecy by an oath. If there are any hesitations in this matter or any questions, please notify the Tribunal immediately and a member of the Staff will advise you. Back to Questions.

What are the steps that are followed in an annulment process?

1. You will be notified of the decision of the Preliminary Process, and if the case has been accepted you will be sent a long questionnaire for your formal testimony. At this time you will also be asked to sign the following:

(a) Formal Petition;

(b) On occasion a Mandate for an Advocate, giving your permission for the appointment of an Advocate (Church lawyer) to represent your case;

(c) Medical or Professional Release Forms, if necessary.

2. During the process, it may become evident that your case cannot be continued (e.g., because of lack of cooperation from witnesses or lack of sufficient evidence to prove the grounds). If so, your case may be formally rejected through abatement. Your help in securing the cooperation of your witnesses during the case will help greatly in avoiding this possibility.

3. An attempt is made to contact the Respondent and obtain his/her testimony regarding the marriage. The Respondent is afforded the opportunity to be notified of the process and to cooperate with it, oppose it, or leave the matter to the justice of the Tribunal.

4. An attempt is then made to obtain the corroborative statements of the witnesses. This is done by the Tribunal Office through the Petitioner. The witnesses should not prepare any statements on their own until they have been contacted by the Petitioner after instructions from this Office.

5. When all the testimony is in, the resulting ACTS may be reviewed by the Tribunal psychologists who write their evaluation as to the fitness of the parities for the marriage in question.

6. A Defender of the Bond will be named to argue the validity of the marriage, if possible. His purpose is to guarantee your rights, the rights of your former spouse, and of the Church. If you have an Advocate, he will write a brief or summary argument. An Auditor will be appointed to prepare the case for the Judge.

7. The Judicial Vicar will name the Judge who will decide your case; in more difficult cases three Judges are named.

8. If the annulment is not granted, the Petitioner may appeal to a higher Church court. The appeal court for the Diocese of Tucson is the Diocese of Phoenix, Arizona.

9. If the annulment is granted, the case must automatically be reviewed at the Appeal Tribunal in Phoenix.
Back to Questions.

Are there any civil effects to a Church annulment?

There are no civil effects to a Church annulment in the Church in the United States. It does not affect in any manner the legitimacy of children, property rights, inheritance rights, visitation rights, names, etc. A Church annulment is a declaration from the Catholic Church that a particular union, presumably begun in good faith and thought by all to be a valid marriage, was in fact an invalid union as the Church defines marriage. There is no attempt in this study or investigation to impute guilt or to punish persons. On the contrary, the purpose of an annulment procedure is, whenever possible, to reconcile persons to full sacramental participation in the community of the Church. Back to Questions.

How long does the entire process take?

It is virtually impossible to predict the length of time an annulment process will take because of a number of variable factors No two cases are the same. With the complete cooperation of everyone needed in a case, the present hope is for each case to be completed within approximately eighteen months.

This is not a guarantee. By Church Law no priest is permitted to set dates for remarriage in the Church until an annulment has been actually granted.

Each Petition is acted upon as soon as possible; the Tribunal will process each case as efficiently as possible. Back to Questions.

Is there a fee for Tribunal services?

The Tribunal's expenses in handling an annulment case are considerable: setting up files, records, correspondence, phone calls, etc. A case must be prepared and maintained at least until the death of the parties.

The Marriage Tribunal is subsidized by the Catholic faithful of the Diocese, most of whom never require its services. The cost of each annulment is over $1,000.00. The person seeking the annulment agrees to pay $450.00, while the Diocese subsidizes the rest ($550.00). Fifty dollars of this total is asked to be submitted with the Petition at the beginning of the case as a filing fee, the remaining $400.00 should be paid during the process. Any manner of remitting this amount, according to your means, will be acceptable and appreciated. Should there be dire financial stress, please contact the Tribunal.

One's ability or inability to pay the entire fee in no way affects the progress or outcome of a request. The services of the priests involved are entirely gratuitous.

Additionally, in cases where a psychological consultation is required, it is necessary to ask the Petitioner to meet the consultant's fee ($75.00); this is payable directly to the psychological consultant who works on the case. Back to Questions.

If you have further questions, you are welcome to contact anyone of the staff at:

The Tribunal
Diocese of Tucson
P. O. Box 31
Tucson, Arizona 85702-0031
(520) 792-3410

or

tucannulment@diocesetucson.org