A Catholic man and woman are married before a priest. Three years later the man says he married her for money and he wants the marriage dissolved. Can it be done? Complicated questions such as these arise in the Archdiocese of Atlanta and it is the duty of the Tribunal to see if there are answers.

The Tribunal’s daily work is to determine in practical cases a person’s freedom to marry within the limits defined by the laws of God and the church. Every diocese has a tribunal to safeguard the sanctity of the marriage bond, while at the same time allowing for a maximum degree of human liberty.

Father Eusebius Beltran, officialis or presiding judge of the Tribunal, said a variety of cases comes to the attention of the office. “A common case is one which involves the Pauline privilege,” he said. “This refers to 1 Corinthians 7:10 where St. Paul allows the dissolution of a marriage between unbaptized persons if one seeks to become a Christian and the other will no longer live in peace with him.”

“A related case is one in which one party is baptized and the other is not. Such a case may be dissolved in ‘favor of the faith,’ but there are many circumstances which must be considered before this can be done,” Father Beltran said.

There is also the more complex case of a marriage between two baptized persons which has never been consummated. Such a marriage may be dissolved if the non-consummation can be proved.

“These are cases where the church dissolves an already existing marriage bond,” Father Beltran said. “Sometimes the Tribunal will declare that no marriage bond ever existed, perhaps because of defective form. A Catholic must be married before a priest and two other witnesses, although the penalty of excommunication no longer applies. Otherwise there is a defect of form and no marriage exists.”

Every potential marriage case is first investigated by the parish priest. He will then refer the matter to the priests of the Tribunal who make a more thorough investigation and seek to prove the truth of the case. Father Beltran, who acts in the name of Archbishop Hallinan, is assisted on a part-time basis by Fathers William Hoffman, Simon Slattery and James Maciejewski.

Occasionally a marriage case will be so complex or touch on such a fine point of church law that final judgment must come from the pope. About 20 cases a year are referred to Rome by Father Beltran.

“Sometimes a final resolution of these cases will take many months,” the priest said. “I remember one case which took seven years before being resolved. While this may work a hardship on the concerned parties, it demonstrates the painstaking effort of the church to honor the sacredness of marriage.”