What You Need To Know About Annulment Questionnaires

Recently, I was giving a talk at my parish regarding the annulment process and at one point, a woman stood up and reported that she had been asked to provide witness testimony in her friend's pending annulment case, but decided to opt out when she received the paperwork and reviewed the questions.

"The questions were so personal and I felt very uncomfortable at the thought of trying to write out my answers to them. I felt as if I would be betraying my friend's confidence so I decided not to participate."

This is a common sentiment among annulment petitioners, respondents, and witnesses. The annulment process can seem like a real intrusion into someone's personal life. So, I'd like to address this and another particularly sensitive issue regarding annulments to help out anyone who may be in this predicament. To help sort things out, I spoke with a canon lawyer Jacqueline Rapp, JD, JCL, MCD in a recent interview. Here is part of our conversation:

Many people avoid the annulment process or drag their feet during it because of the paperwork. They are put off by the extremely personal nature of the questionnaire. What advice can you give to someone in this position?

First of all, the reason it's so personal is because marriage is personal. It's a personal relationship between two people. It may seem to be intrusive but by it's very nature it has to be intrusive. A tribunal can't just ask some general questions and hope to create the bigger picture from that, so it's really important that we have as much information as possible when deciding a case.

Some people may not be good at expressing themselves through writing and that can be part of the awkwardness. If you are having difficulty answering the questions you can always ask for help from an auditor. Some dioceses have auditors who will sit with someone, ask them the questions and take their personal testimony. Then, they'll type out their answers and the petitioner will sign the document. If you have trouble writing out the answers, I recommend you ask your tribunal to provide you with an auditor.

Is it advisable to give just a one or two sentence answer, or should as much detail as possible be included?

It's important not to just give generalities. For example, you might write something like "He was an alcoholic," but that might mean something different to you than it does to me. It's better to write, "He was an alcoholic because... and fill in the details. The tribunal needs a detailed picture to make an informed decision.

I also had a chance to ask Jacqui about a concern I've heard repeatedly about the tribunal's decision to allow the respondent (the spouse who did not initiate the annulment process) to view the petitioner's answers to the questionnaire. This is a very sensitive issue for many people.

Some dioceses allow the respondent to view the petitioner's answers to the questionnaire and this has raised some concerns for spouses who have been in abusive relationships, in fact many of them avoid the process out of fear of provoking their ex-spouse. Why do tribunals allow this and what can someone do if they want to avail themselves of the process but fear provoking their ex-spouse?

The reason tribunals permit this practice is for the "right of defense." A person has the right to see what other people have said about them and they have the right to respond to it.

So, the practice is in place out of a sense of justice and fairness?

Yes. A respondent has the opportunity to read what was written and say, "None of that is true" and offer their own explanation. Any contradicting testimony is usually balanced by the responses from the witnesses who more often than not deny or confirm the testimony.

This concern usually comes from spouses who are afraid their ex-spouse will react angrily and possibly violently after reading the testimony. What can a person do if they feel they or their children are in danger?

There are several steps one can take in a case like this. In some places, if the responder doesn't know where the petitioner lives, for example, the wife has gone into hiding so-to-speak and the husband doesn't know where she lives, the tribunal will protect her information so he never finds out. Also, if both spouses still live in the same diocese, the petitioner can ask Rome to permit the case to be heard in a different diocese. Additionally, every piece of information he gets will only refer to her by her birth name.

However, if there is a real threat of physical danger to the petitioner or the children the tribunal will take that into account. It would be important to provide some proof of the threat, such as restraining orders or police reports, etc. In a case like this, instead of appointing an advocate, a tribunal will appoint a procurator who will represent the respondent. The respondent will not be contacted then.

To hear the podcast of my full interview with Jacqui, click here, and to find out more about her books, speaking and presentations, visit her website at kycanonist.com.