My annulment was denied — may I receive the Eucharist if my conscience says the marriage was invalid?
The short answer
No. Conscience (the internal forum) cannot overturn a tribunal's ruling (the external forum). Marriage cases of the baptized belong to the Church's judges, because marriage is public, not merely private. The Holy See calls the contrary position inadmissible.
Internal vs. external forum
A Catholic cannot use conscience to overturn a diocesan tribunal's decision. Marriage cases of the baptized belong to the ecclesiastical judge by proper right (canon 1671).
Marriage is public
Marriage is not simply a private decision; it involves the Church and the spouses individually and as a couple. Refusing to recognize the Church's role in judging nullity would deny that marriage is a reality of the Church — a sacrament (CDF, 1994 Letter, 8).
Inadmissible
The same letter says it is inadmissible to let personal conscience finally decide whether a previous marriage existed; even when someone is subjectively certain, nullity must be established with certainty in the external forum (7, 9).
Continue exploring
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