I just did a bit of reading because this all seems very extreme, even for you.
Basically the Tribunal will declare a marriage invalid if it is determined one or both of the parties entered in to the marriage under false pretenses and did not have intent to be faithful or bring children in to the world. It is very clear in ALL the reading I have done that if your spouse cheats on you it does NOT mean the marriage is invalid as long as that was not their intent when they entered in the marriage.
The four requirements that must be met AT THE TIME THE MARRIAGE STARTED:
*Be able to exchange consent, and do so freely and unconditionally *Consent to fidelity, indissolubility, and openness to children *Not have any impediments to marriage *Follow the sacrament properly
Impediments include:
Church law recognizes twelve specific impediments to marriage. They include things like coercion, being too young, already being married, blood or in-law relations, having received holy orders, being under vows of chastity, or being impotent (permanently unable to engage in sexual intercourse).
Are you trying to tell us that your W, on the DAY YOU WERE MARRIED did not agree to be faithful to you and raise children with you? A marriage cannot be invalid if infidelity happened if BOTH PARTIES agreed to all four requirements on the day the contract started.
If your W did not agree to be faithful to you on your wedding day then why in hell did you marry her? And there are all kinds of scenarios I read about regarding baptism or spouses of differing religions and the Catholic Church honors ALL marriages.
And really, if you were so concerned your marriage was not valid in the eyes of the Church then why did you wait until your W cheated on you and left you to get on this road to discovery? Do you think happy people are looking for ways to find out if their marriage is valid in the eyes of the Church?
On every site I went to it says you will need 6-12 witnesses to fill out documentation to support your case for the Tribunal Investigation. In addition to paying the fees for the Investigation (and hell, it seems some of these cases go all the way to Rome) you might be required to pay a psychologist and other professionals OUTSIDE THE CHURCH to review your case. In addition, your W will be contacted although she is not required to participate.
I am confused. The Investigation process is used to invalidate a marriage from the START of the marriage - not once some problems occur. Are you saying you believe your marriage was NEVER valid from minute 1 and you are just now getting around to checking it to the validity of your marriage? Why now?
