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Divorce is painful enough: The Albany Diocese is "very pastoral" when it comes to leading Catholics through the annulment process, says Sister Marilyn Vassallo, CSJ.

"If it's done right, it becomes a healing for individuals," she stated. "Many people who receive annulments become very active in the Church."

On Sept. 28, the Diocese will sponsor a free evening workshop on annulments at the Dominican Retreat and Conference Center in Niskayuna. Two of the speakers will be Sister Marilyn and Dr. Michael Ritty, both canon (Church) lawyers from Canon Law Professionals in Feura Bush, as well as Rev. James Donlon of the diocesan Marriage Tribunal.

The trio will offer a step-by-step PowerPoint presentation for divorced Catholics on applying for a "declaration of nullity" - the Church's term for an annulment - and will clarify misconceptions people tend to have about annulments.

Many myths
The most common myth, said Sister Marilyn, is the notion that a Catholic's children become illegitimate if he or she receives an annulment. It saddens the speaker to hear the many questions and fears people have because the annulment process hasn't been explained to them well.

That's one reason for holding the workshop, she said: to educate not just Catholics seeking an annulment, but also the parish leaders they may encounter along the way. The event is open to priests, deacons and lay ecclesial ministers as well as divorced Catholics.

While working for 20 years in marriage tribunals in southern U.S. dioceses, Sister Marilyn trained volunteer advocates to assist Catholics through the extensive paperwork associated with annulments. She noted that this is often a good ministry for deacons, since most of them are married and their wives can get involved as advocates, too.

A lot of the Catholics she trained as advocates were people who had received annulments themselves. Sister Marilyn said she found that "very moving."

The upcoming presentation will cover the five processes for receiving an annulment. The most common processes, Sister Marilyn explained, are the "formal case," which involves two Catholics or others having been in a previous marriage that was not annulled by the Catholic Church; and the "lack of form," which involves Catholics having married before a justice of the peace rather than a Catholic priest or deacon.

She noted that many people wishing to join the Church through the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) program first need an annulment if they were married before, since the Church recognizes and respects the beliefs of other faith traditions.

Past experience
Sister Marilyn is happy that the Diocese is sponsoring the Sept. 28 workshop. Last summer, she led a retreat day on divorce and annulments at The Priory retreat house in Chestertown; she told The Evangelist that participants at that event said, "Why aren't people talking more about this?"

"I saw some people [become] less fearful because there were clarifications" of the Church's teachings on divorce and annulments, she recalled. As a spiritual director, Sister Marilyn was also able to meet with participants individually to explore their experiences and faith.

She said she could relate to their pain, since her own parents divorced in the 1950s, and resources were not available then to help them through the process.

This is a particularly apt time for the Diocese to hold a workshop, since Pope Francis established a commission last summer to simplify and streamline the annulment process, which just announced changes (see separate story in The Evangelist's print edition).

Pastoral pope
"Some procedures are so long and so burdensome, they don't favor [justice], and people give up," the pope was quoted as saying in a Catholic News Service story. "Mother Church should do justice and say: 'Yes, it's true, your marriage is null. No, your marriage is valid.' But justice means saying so. That way, they can move on without this doubt, this darkness in their soul."

In additon, this October, the Synod of Bishops on the Family will discuss the possibility of finding a way for some divorced Catholics who have remarried outside the Church to receive communion, something the Church has long banned.

Sister Marilyn said she doubts the Holy Father will make sweeping changes to Church teachings on divorce and remarriage after the synod, but she does think the sacrament of marriage will become an issue in the forefront for the Church.

The U.S. bishops, she said, are especially "concerned with family life and the passing on of the faith."

So are Catholics seeking annulments. Sister Marilyn said the two most common pleas she hears from those beginning the annulment process are, "I want to be able to receive communion with my children," and, "I want to have the fullness of participation in the Church."[[In-content Ad]]

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