The Price Of Remission

by Chris Bodenner

A reader writes:

There’s one big reason I have for feeling that Catholic annulments are bogus.  They charge for them. I worked with a guy who was divorced.  He was soon to be married again and wanted to be married by a Catholic priest.  When he spoke to his priest about an annulment, he was told almost immediately that it would cost him $5,000 for the various courses and sessions he would have to attend.  He was so taken back and insulted that he walked out, with a few words to the priest, and left the church.

We’re talking about an enormous potential mistake, where two people supposedly entered into a Sacrament but were incorrect to do so, against God’s approval.  So if the church were serious about correcting such a mistake, why do they charge for it?  And why do they charge so much?  Do only well off people make mistakes when they are young?