By Michael Motes

At the age of 28, Fr. Edward Dillon is the youngest priest in the country to hold the position of officialis of a marriage tribunal. The Metropolitan Tribunal is that office of the Archdiocese of Atlanta which deals with marriage cases and, as officialis, Fr. Dillon heads a panel of judges which either grants an annulment from the Atlanta office or prepares a case to be dealt with in Rome.

The process of a Catholic obtaining an annulment or dissolution is a long and complicated one. The average length of time required is between seven and eight months, according to Fr. Dillon, but some cases take much longer. The record length of time in Atlanta was 13 years.

Fr. Dillon works with two types of marriage cases, formal and informal. To date this year, the tribunal has finished about 30 formal cases and the officialis anticipates that by the end of the year about 60 cases will have been completed.

Both formal and informal cases initially are dealt with in the same manner. The applicants are first required to fill our a detailed questionnaire. This is studied carefully by the tribunal and then witnesses’ testimonies are taken.

Obtaining the witnesses’ statements is one of the most time-consuming factors in marriage cases. Quite often the witness lives outside the archdiocese and must be dealt with through the mail. A priest in the area where the witness lives is asked to help with the questionnaire or statement of the witness. The priest acts as consultant to the witness, thus making the statement an official ecclesiastical document once the priest has signed it.

Fr. Dillon pointed out two changes that will soon come into effect in an effort to speed up the process. Witnesses’ testimonies will be taped on an experimental basis. The judges will then tape their comments, rather than the present form of preparing written observations.

Another experiment will be to mail questionnaires directly to a witness, rather than having a priest take the testimonies. The witness can either go to a priest or have the document signed before a notary public, thus making it a civil document, which would be admissible in the marriage case.

Once the proper documents and testimonies have been obtained, the case goes before a panel of three judges. One priest acts as advocate, arguing for the dissolution of the marriage. A priest acting as defender argues with the advocate. Fr. Dillon explained the process as being similar to the Federal Court of Appeals. Statements ranging from four to five pages to many times that number are read and discussed. When a decision has been made in Atlanta, it is sent to Baltimore, for confirmation of the Atlanta decision.

During the time the tribunal is dealing with a case, the applicants who filed for dissolution are asked not to contact their witnesses.

When working with informal cases, the tribunal deals with involved parties almost entirely through the mail, Fr. Dillon explained. A person who has been married before or wishes to marry someone who has been previously wed approaches his parish priests. The priest then fills out a questionnaire and sends it to the tribunal. Fr. Dillon then writes to the petitioner asking him to sign a formal petition requesting the tribunal to declare the previous marriage null. Witnesses are then sent questionnaires. Approximately 30 informal cases have been handled by the tribunal this year.

Among the general areas into which marriages that the tribunal has been asked to dissolve are divided are (1) The Pauline Privilege in which two people who were never baptized have married and one later desires to be baptized (dealt with in Atlanta). (2) Privilege of Faith in which a baptized non-Catholic marries a person who was never baptized and then wants to become Catholic and (3) A marriage which was never consummated, which is usually between two baptized Catholics, both of these cases are sent to Rome. Cases can fall into other areas depending on the grounds on which the dissolution or annulment is sought.

In addition to Atlanta cases, Fr. Dillon is currently trying cases for the dioceses of Charlotte and Raleigh. Bishop Lynch of Raleigh comes to Atlanta about every two months to confer with Dr. Dillon. Cases can be tried in other dioceses, provided permission is obtained from the ordinary and officialis of the dioceses in which the petitioner lives and the ordinary and officialis of the diocese in which the case is to be tried.

Although divorce is certainly no laughing matter, Fr. Dillon did recall a coupe of amusing cases. One involved a petitioner who had been married “quite a number of times” and could not remember the order in which the various spouses occurred.

Fr. Dillon says that the average couple petitioning for divorce are in their 20s and have been married five to six years. The most common ground is “defect in form,” which means that they were married by someone other than a priest.

The officialis has some interesting comments on marriage and the purpose of the tribunal.

“Tribunals in general must get out of the rut of public image,” he says. “We must work to save marriages, rather than dissolve them.”

He would like to see a series of “realistic marriages courses” being taught. He currently is taking part in Pre-Cana conferences held at Sacred Heart Church. The conference consists of four speakers offering different programs. A priest deals with liturgy and the sacrament of marriage. A doctor discusses medical and sexual aspects of marriage. A married couple, who as sociologists, lecture on marriage. And either Fr. Dillon or a substitute discusses the psychology of marriage. By the end of the summer, Fr. Dillon hopes that other courses of this type can be established.

“Marital problems are very serious throughout the country,” he says. “marriage is in very bad shape and currently one out of every four marriages ends in divorce. I don’t think that we can solve the nation’s marriage problems, but we could help some through more counseling.

“By the time a couple comes to the tribunal, it is usually too late to save the marriage. In marriage everyone becomes an expert. They get a book or read Anne Landers and think they can solve their own problems. We need to get couples to start over once they begin to have difficulties. Most marriages break up because of small problems that have gone unaided over the years. If people would only approach marriage realistically, knowing that they will have problems and talk things over there would probably be fewer divorces. There is an amazing similarity between marriage and cancer. If you get to the trouble in time, there is a good chance both could be saved.”

With Fr. Dillon as its presiding officer, the Metropolitan Tribunal consists of Fr. Eusebius Beltran, Msgr. R. Donald Kiernan, Msgr. John F. McDonough, Msgr. John Stapleton, Fr. Joseph Ware and Fr. Joseph Beltran as pro synodal judges; Fr. Thomas Kenny, Fr. Michael Woods and Fr. James Fennessy, defenders of the bond: and Frs. Joe Sanches, Desmond Daly, and Liam Tuffy, advocates. Carmel Whitcomb is secretary to Fr. Dillon and an ecclesiastical notary.

As of this week, Fr. Vincent Mulvin is working at the tribunal on a full-time basis.