Archdiocese of San Antonio Office of the Tribunal Pastoral Center (210)-734-1661

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Archdiocese of San Antonio Office of the Tribunal Pastoral Center (210)-734-1661 Archdiocese of San Antonio Office of the Tribunal Pastoral Center (210)-734-1661 2718 W. Woodlawn Ave. Fax: (210) 734-1987 San Antonio, Texas 78228 Email: [email protected] Case: ________________________________ Prot. No.:__________________ PETITION FOR A FORMAL TRIAL OF NULLITY To the Tribunal of the Archdiocese of San Antonio: I, ___________________________________________________________, hereby petition that my marriage with Petitioner (if woman, use maiden name) ____________________________________________________________, be declared null and void. The marriage took Respondent (if woman, use maiden name) _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Name of Church or Court, plus City, State (and Country if outside the U.S.A.) On ____________________________________________________________. A final decree of divorce was obtained at Date of Marriage _________________________________________________ on ___________________________________________. City or County and State (Country if outside U.S.A.) Date of final decree The Tribunal of the Archdiocese of San Antonio has legal competence by reason of (Check only one box, the first one in numerical order that applies): #1. Marriage was contracted within the Archdiocese of San Antonio #2. Respondent lives within the Archdiocese of San Antonio #3. Petitioner lives within the Archdiocese of San Antonio #4. I hereby request that the Tribunal assess whether it is competent as the Forum of Proofs I base my claim of nullity on the Canonical Grounds of Defect of Consent, I hereby submit a preliminary statement and documents to show the reasonableness of my claim. MANDATE FOR THE ADVOCATE I hereby appoint and give my Mandate to whomever the Judge appoints as Advocate to represent me for this Process in First Instance, with the faculty of doing and performing in my name all that may be necessary and useful to my interests in this case. This Mandate includes the full right to delegate a substitute, authorization to review the published acts on my behalf, as well as authority to perform other duties required throughout the process. _____________________________________________ _____________________________________________ Petitioner’s Signature Signature of Priest/Deacon/Parish Minister PRINT Name __________________________________ Address ______________________________________ PRINT Name ________________________________ City, State, Zip _________________________________ Parish _____________________________________ Email ________________________________________ Address ____________________________________ R e v . 0 1 / 0 3 / 2 0 1 7 P a g e 1 | 10 Petitioner Home Phone __________________________ City, State, Zip _______________________________ Petitioner Cell Phone ____________________________ Parish Email _________________________________ Petitioner Work Phone __________________________ Personal Email _______________________________ Date: ______________ Best Phone__________________________________ Father’s name: _________________________________________________________________________________________ First Middle Last Address: _____________________________________________________________________________________ Telephone numbers: ( ) _________________ ( ) ________________ ( ) ___________________ Area Code (Home) Area Code (Cell) Area Code (Work) Mother’s name: _________________________________________________________________________________________ First Middle Maiden Last Telephone numbers: ( ) _________________ ( ) ________________ ( ) ___________________ Area Code (Home) Area Code (Cell) Area Code (Work) Received at this Tribunal on: __________________________ Notary: ______________________________________ Filing Fee ($100) Paid: $ ______________________ Date: ________________________________________ R e v . 0 1 / 0 3 / 2 0 1 7 P a g e 2 | 10 Case: ________________________________ Prot. No.:__________________ TRIBUNAL PRACTICES AND POLICIES In presenting a petition for a declaration of nullity of your marriage, you are asking that your marital status be clarified in the Roman Catholic Church. The Tribunal is an ecclesiastical court of law, and its proceedings are exclusively religious in nature. These proceedings are governed solely by the laws of the Roman Catholic Church. The primary purpose of the Tribunal is to gather and sift through evidence in order to discover truth and serve justice. It is also the Tribunal’s desire that the proceedings be a healing experience conducted in a spirit of Christian understanding and compassion. Out of respect for the human dignity of persons and the sacred nature of marriage, Church tribunals are required to approach each marriage as valid, presuming that you and your former spouse both meant what you said and accomplished what you intended when you first exchanged vows. There are numerous reasons or “grounds of nullity” why this presumption can be overturned, but decisions in such cases are not arbitrary. Declarations of nullity are not favors given to innocent or deserving parties. They are statements about the deepest spiritual truth of your former union, as best as any human judge can determine. Judges must have moral certitude based on the evidence brought forward that your former union was missing one of the elements for marriage as the Church teaches God intended it to be. In the absence of such certitude, the judge must rule in the negative – that is, nullity has not been proven. CONCERNING THE RESPONDENT (YOUR FORMER SPOUSE) I realize that Church Law requires that my former spouse be contacted and offered the opportunity to testify. I agree to make every effort to locate my former spouse so that he/she can be contacted by the Tribunal to participate in the process. I understand that I myself need have no direct contact with my former spouse, unless I feel it is in my own best interests to contact him/her and encourage his/her response. I also understand that the Tribunal strongly encourages Petitioners to inform Respondents in advance of filing their petition, as experience shows they tend to be more cooperative. CONCERNING THE WITNESSES I understand that witnesses are necessary to process my petition for a declaration of marriage nullity. I agree to make every effort to encourage their cooperation, but understand that I am in no way to assist them in preparing their testimony. CONCERNING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TRIAL AND PLANS FOR A FUTURE MARRIAGE I have initialed to show that I have read and understand the following points with regard to my petition for a declaration of nullity: ____ I understand that my ex-spouse has the right to read my petition and testimony of my witnesses. ____ First, that no assurance can be given of an Affirmative decision (that is, one granting a declaration in favor of nullity). ____ Second, that no assurance can be given as to a definite time for the completion of the Tribunal process. ____ Third, that ABSOLUTELY no arrangements can be made and no date scheduled for a future Catholic marriage or convalidation (not even a tentative date) until after I have received a final notification that an affirmative decision has been issued. ____ Fourth, that if the circumstances causing the invalidity of the marriage so indicate, the Tribunal may require that I seek professional counseling before any subsequent marriage in the Catholic Church is permitted. All expenses in connection with such therapy or counsel are my responsibility. R e v . 0 1 / 0 3 / 2 0 1 7 P a g e 3 | 10 Case: ________________________________ Prot. No.:__________________ CONCERNING CONFIDENTIALITY Because of the sensitive nature of information gathered in this process, and because the Tribunal wishes to promote a spirit of reconciliation, all the information, gathered in the course of the investigation is considered confidential. This information is never made available except as required by Church Law for inspection by the Petitioner, the Respondent, and the officers (clergy, religious and lay) of this Court and the properly designated ecclesiastical Court of Appeals. This information is never made available to the witnesses or anyone acting on their behalf. Nor is this information ever made available in any civil legal proceedings. In accord with applicable standards of professional accountability, reports from psychological counselors are always withheld from the Petitioner and the Respondent. For serious reason (such as the avoidance of defamation of character, physical danger, severe family discord, or true scandal) witnesses may ask that their testimony be withheld from the Petitioner and/or the Respondent. The decision whether to withhold any testimony, however, belongs solely to the ecclesiastical judge acting in accord with the requirements of the canon law of the Catholic Church. CONCERNING EXPENSES AND FESS While the Tribunal makes every effort to minimize costs, the processing of marriage nullity cases incurs significant expenses for salaries, postage, office equipment and the like. 50% of the Marriage Tribunal is subsidized by the Archdiocese of San Antonio. While our ministry to you will never be affected by your ability to pay fees, any financial contribution that you make to the Tribunal would be very helpful to defray the expenses that are related to your case. We suggest that you submit with your case a $100.00 deposit. Once the case has been completed a further amount of $350.00 would be very helpful to our ministry. Please note that your contribution to our ministry
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