Annulment in the Catholic Church

According to the Catholic Church, an annulment is a declaration by a Catholic church court that a marriage thought to be valid according to Church law actually fell short of at least one of the essential elements required for a binding union.

The essential requirements for a Catholic marriage are:

(1) the spouses are free to marry

(2) they are capable of giving their consent to marry

(3) they freely exchange their consent

(4) in consenting to marry, they have the intention to marry for life, to be faithful to one another and be open to children

(5) they intend the good of each other

(6) their consent is given in the presence of two witnesses and before a properly authorized Church minister