For some, a divorce just isn't enough when the right person for a second marriage comes along. Catholics who want to marry again in the Catholic church also need an annulment.

“It's a wonderful process to have. It's a way to really help people,” said the Rev. James Young of St. Gregory Roman Catholic Church, 2 W. Beaver St., Zelienople. “It gives them a peace of mind.”

Young said until the annulment is granted, a divorced individual cannot celebrate another marriage in the church. He encourages people to get an annulment just after the civil divorce is final. That way they are prepared when they find someone they want to marry.

The Very Rev. Phillip Farrell, episcopal vicar for Pastoral Vicariate Region 4 serving the northern part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, said if a divorced Catholic without an annulment does remarry, for example in the church of another faith or in a civil ceremony, the Catholic will not be able to receive sacraments such as confession, confirmation or anointing of the sick.

“The first thing they should do is approach the place where they are getting married and talk to the priest or pastor and present their case and the priest or pastor will decide what process they need to go through,” said the Rev. Ron Maquiñana of St. Mary, Mother of God Roman Catholic Parish, 608 High Street, Freeport.

Young said an individual seeking annulment must have a priest willing to be their advocate and to apply to the diocese marriage tribunal.

“You help them through the whole process,” Young said. “Most of it would be written paperwork and then (the petitioner) would have one hearing where they would go and whoever the judge is would interview and review everything.”

Maquiñana said some people refer to an annulment as a Catholic divorce.

“They get confused about the difference between divorce and annulment,” said Maquiñana. “They differ in two ways. When we speak of divorce, it is a civil law decree with the state. Whereas annulment is a cannon law decree from the church.

“The state issues a marriage license and the state issues a divorce decree. The church celebrates the ceremony of matrimony and only the church can give (an annulment),” he said.

Young said an annulment considers the spiritual aspect of marriage not the civil aspect. There is an investigation to determine whether a sacramental marriage did not take place.

“To sacramentally celebrate a marriage in the church there has to be complete understanding of what the marriage commitment is. One has to be prepared to enter that commitment and be able to live that commitment.

“If any of those things are found to not be there, then the marriage could be declared null and void, but only from the sacramental aspect,” Young said.

He said the completed paperwork includes detail about the relationship before marriage and preparation for marriage.

The petitioner also provides information about “all the things that might have happened when things went haywire,” Young said. “All of that would be looked at and witnesses have to fill out forms ... they would give their opinion of how things were.”

A tribunal, a group of priests specifically trained in church law, receives the petition. Young said the work of the tribunal is confidential.

He said the process considers how the couple grew or didn't grow in the marriage.

“Two people come together, their love builds, their life builds, but it is together not individually. It looks at how that marriage matured,” he said. “It would also look at how did they handle difficulties when they came along.”

Farrell said contacting the former spouse is part of the process so there is a complete explanation, the whole story of the marriage.

“We try to look at the whole package. We try to look at the people,” Farrell said. “People generally do not get married with the intent to get a divorce.”

“The only time we would not contact the spouse would be if we could prove and verify that the couple was never married in the Catholic Church,” Farrell said.

In that case the annulment process is considerably simpler. However, if the couple was married outside the Catholic Church and later had their marriage validated in the Catholic Church, the full annulment process would be required.

Young said people have misconceptions about annulments.

“That it's very expensive and takes a long time. That it's almost impossible to get,” Young said.

He said there is no longer a fee for the process, which usually takes about a year.

Maquiñana said annulments can be delayed or denied.

“If the other party is not cooperative and there are questions the judge asks and they are not answered, it may take time,” Maquiñana said.

Young said even with an annulment, any children of the marriage are legitimate. The annulment does not change the status of children.

“The pope has encouraged people to seek annulments, and he has encouraged dioceses to provide all that's needed for the people,” Young said. “Our pope is really, really interested in helping people to be at peace in their life, happy in their life.”

“It's a very humane process,” Young said. “We're talking about their life in the church.”