Ecce Fides - Pillar of Truth - St. Patrick's Basilica

• Alcoholism, drug addiction
• Sexual dysfunction
• Lack of desire for children
• Lack of desire to raise one’s children as Catholics
• Inability for faithfulness
• Inability to comprehend the permanence of marriage
• Pressure to marry
Of course these are but a few of the grounds for annulments. And again, I must strongly and fervently
reiterate that a marriage that follows the proper ecclesiastical form is always presumed to be valid unless
challenged! For example, a spouse may be married to a drug addicted, alcoholic, manic-depressive spouse,
but if that bond between the husband and wife remains intact, then one must assume that the grace of God
is giving this couple the capacity to deal with these difficulties--and therefore the marriage is assumed to be
sacramental.
But one might ask how do we justify an annulment in terms of Scripture? After all, doesn’t the Bible
say: “A man shall leave his father and mother, and he shall cling to his wife, and the two shall become
one” (Eph. 5:31); “they are no longer two but one flesh” (Mk. 10:8); and “what God has joined no man
must separate” (Mk. 10:9; cf. 16:18; 1 Cor. 7:10-11).
This is where philosophy serves us well. If there are marriages that God has joined together, there
must necessarily be some marriages or unions which God has not joined together. Likewise, the reality of
two becoming one in marriage implies that one must in fact have the free will and capacity to live this
reality of oneness! Hence, from a purely philosophical point of view, some marriages are not sacramental
marriages, that is, marriages elevated to the level of a sacrament since they are not joined by God’s blessing
nor are they blessed with the ability of two people becoming one.
Scripture supports these philosophical conclusions when it refers to “unlawful marriages,” marriages
prohibited by God (cf. Acts 15:20; 15:29; Mt. 19:5-9; cf. Lev. 18).
It is in part for this reason that John the Baptist was beheaded. John condemned the unlawful, invalid
relationship between King Herod and Herodias, the wife of Herod’s brother Philip (Mt. 14:3-12).
An annulment is a recognition of a non-binding, non-sacramental union. It is based on Scripture
and the natural philosophical conclusions that flow from the Scriptures.
IV
THE TRINITY AND THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS
Is there a Trinity? Who is Christ? Who is the Holy Spirit?
Christians are brought to future life by one thing…that they recognize that there is a oneness, a
unity, a communion between the Son and the Father, and that there is a oneness, a unity, a
70