Where did I say there would be no paperwork involved? They still need a marriage licence too, right?
Your second link actually proves the opposite of what you say.
"a Church tribunal (a Catholic Church court) declares 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."
and
"For a Catholic marriage to be valid, it is required that:... their consent is given in the presence of two witnesses and before a properly authorized Church minister. "
It's kind of fuzzy, but it is my understanding that formal paperwork (ie, an annulment) is not always required. In any case, it is always given if the person was not married by a duly authorized Catholic minister.
Why split hairs here and muddy the waters?
The giant misunderstanding is that divorced people can't have a Catholic marriage. That is not always true. If the previous marriage was not a Catholic marriage they most certainly can. Period.
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I didn't state or suggest that you said no paperwork would be involved. I was responding to your quote (below), in which you stated that if the previous marriage "was not before God, then you are good to go."
I did not what anyone to get the impression that if they were married previously (non-Catholic ceremony) then divorced, there would be no need to disclose this because 'it didn't count.'
It counts until the Catholic Church decides otherwise. There's still a process involved. In my parish, there is paperwork involved, but not to extent of obtaining a decree of nullity for a Catholic marriage.
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Quote Originally Posted by AceDetective View Post
" This was discussed at great length and so many people got it wrong that I'll use bold:
A previous wedding only counts against you if it was a catholic wedding. You are allowed one and only one marriage before God.
If your previous marriage was not before God, then you are good to go.
edit: removed all caps, 'cause that was kinda rude "