Annulments in Toronto (Canada).Toronto--As a follow-up to the April '99 article on annulments, we received a copy of the report submitted by the head of the Toronto Marriage Tribunal, Father Brian Clough Brian Howard Clough, OBE (21 March, 1935 – 20 September, 2004) was a successful footballer and subsequently football manager, most notable for his success with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. , to the archdiocesan arch·di·o·cese n. The district under an archbishop's jurisdiction. arch  di·oc Council of Priests, dated Nov. 17, 1998, and covering the year 1997. The opening paragraph reads: "In 1997 we decided 462 cases in the affirmative. There were no negatives, but 122 cases were closed before decision and a further 96 had no petition presented. 23 cases were transferred to other tribunals for lack of competence, and 79 preliminary applications were not pursued. The Appeal Court has not reversed one of our decisions in more than three years." The seventh paragraph reads: "The Tribunal spent $2,012,000 last year, approximately the same as 1992. The Archdiocesan subsidy amounted to $1,705,000. The big ticket item is salary." The report explains that the average case is estimated to cost $3,500-but the cost to the applicant seeking a declaration of nullity nullity n. something which may be treated as nothing, as if it did not exist or never happened. This can occur by court ruling or enactment of a statute. The most common example is a nullity of a marriage by a court judgment. NULLITY. is held down to $800. The difference, $1,705,000, is being paid for by archdiocesan parishioners, a decision made by the Cardinal. Comment The person who sent it to us adds the following comment: "Marriage enjoys the favour of law, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. canon law canon law, in the Roman Catholic Church, the body of law based on the legislation of the councils (both ecumenical and local) and the popes, as well as the bishops (for diocesan matters). , that is, marriages are presumed to be valid: Canon 1060. Given the track record of the Toronto tribunal, one has to conclude that they are more of an administrative assembly line aiming to grant every annulment annulment Legal invalidation of a marriage. It announces the invalidity of a marriage that was void from its inception. It is to be distinguished from dissolution or divorce. To justify annulment, the marriage contract must have a defect (e.g. possible, rather than a judicial tribunal which genuinely seeks to investigate marriages based on the presumption A conclusion made as to the existence or nonexistence of a fact that must be drawn from other evidence that is admitted and proven to be true. A Rule of Law. If certain facts are established, a judge or jury must assume another fact that the law recognizes as a logical of validity for them. For the Toronto tribunal, all failed marriages are invalid ones. They seem incapable of contemplating the possibility that a valid marriage may fail. And the same can be said for the appeal tribunal in Ottawa." We want to note that this correspondent did not sign his name. We print his comment because it seems to us to be a valid observation. |
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