Customer Reviews

Shattered Faith: A Woman's Struggle to Stop the Catholic Church from Annuling Her Marriage

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I am a Roman Catholic. My parents went through the annulment 'process' a year ago and based on personal experience - Mrs. Kennedy's book is, sadly, quite accurate. In an attempt to cater to the spirit of religious liberalism entrenched in american society, the church here no longer defends its own sacraments or the truth at all. But rather cheapens them with easy annulments. My parents paid their $600 or whatever, and poof, they were never married. To Catholics who really don't care about their religion, the annulment is just a piece of paper. But to Catholics who really believe, it is quite devastating. In my particular case, it has literally torn my family apart. I recommend this book to anyone who would like to gain a first hand insight into the absolute absurdity the US catholic church has sunk to.

I liked the use of anecdotes and the thorough detail about the behind-the-scenes conversations at the tribunal and the legal process. I thought the logical and philosophical arguments were sound. It was a bit longer a story than it needed to be. I did not like the ending in that she did not reveal the outcome of the appeal to the Rota. (Does anyone know?) The book is very candid and emotionally appealing. It makes a fair distinction between marriages which could be annulled (short-term, no children) and those which should not be, such as her own. Overall it is an engaging personal story that is buttressed with strong arguments that you may or may not choose to accept.

I have almost finished this book, and it is enlightening. I knew that the whole annulment process was a big joke -- when my ex and I divorced, arelative who was a priest actually asked if I wanted an annulment and assured me there would be no problem. I had no idea how pervasive or American a problem this was -- the American Catholic church must be the laughingstock of the remainder of the Catholic world!

The unofficial but de facto division within the Church is displayed abundantly in Kennedy's book. The American Catholic Church annulment machine grinds forward, shredding into bits those who are faithful to the Roman Catholic Church. What disturbs me is the claim that their primary concern is to bring those who are separated from the Church back to the Sacraments. Isn't marriage a Sacrament? Accepting lies about the validity or sacramentality of long-term marriages just so someone can remain in the Church is simply saying that good can come of evil. Not one single case cited by Kennedy was about cruelly mistreated spouses - they were all simply about one spouse in the marriage wanting to call it quits, while expecting to continue having a 'sacramental marriage'. While women are primarily the victims described by Kennedy, there have been numerous men who have faced the same perversion inflicted on the faithful. Yes, as Kennedy points out, and as the Church agrees, there are sometimes good reasons to declare a marriage invalid, but these are rare occurrences. Depression? Personality disorder? What about 'in sickness and health'? Shall the marriage vows be changed to say 'until imperfections are apparent' instead 'until death'? Let's face it - the promoters of easy annulments have lost their faith, or have altered it to accommodate the 'modern' trend du jour. The Church should stop putting money into the annulment machine and begin to offer counseling services that make sense. The scandal caused by this situation is blaringly obvious. Those who blame 'the Church' have no understanding of the depth of damage the American Catholic Church has done to the Church all over the world. Those who have torn a sacramental marriage assunder with no faith-based (i. e., good) reasons have a great deal to answer for. Kennedy tries gallantly to be fair in ascribing faults to the Church versus to members of the Church, though this difference is not always made clear enough. The Catholic faith (and Christ's mandate on marriage) remains what it is, despite the attempts by pseudo-Catholics to change it. In any case, the book is well-written, informative, and courageous. It reminds me of the statement that 'it is easier for a rich man to pass through the eye of a needle than to get into heaven.' I think I see why that may be true. Shame on American Catholic Church tribunals. Shame, and shame again.

I am not a Catholic; and knew little about annulment until reading this book; but I admire Sheila Rauch Kennedy for her courage in taking on this powerful clan for something she believes in. Joe Kennedy ought to be ashamed of himself. Or perhaps he is and that is why he resigned from politics.

Ms. Kennedy's book is a detailed and accurate account of the sham of marriage "nullification" within the Roman Catholic Church. Her experience has been like thousands of Catholics who have been victims of institutional chicanary. The act of calling marriages "invalid", especially when they have produced children,is reprehensible. After reading this book, I am convinced that annulment is nothing more than a modern day form of selling indulgences. The Church charges hefty sums in money and emotional toll to give its blessing to remarriages.

When I was a young Catholic divorced members of the faith were rare breeds. If they kept the faith they new they would have to live out their remaining days as a single person. Now the Church seems to work overtime to allow folks to annull marriages that endured for 30 years or more and that produced many children. Ms. Kennedy provides some interesting anecdotes of various women who protested the annullment process, and who generally were not successful. The weakness of the book is that it is anecdotal. Four or five stories do not provide valid overall data. In my opinion the author makes these stories overly long, and adds other extraneous material in a seeming attempt to flesh out the book to a respectable 200+ pages. As a divorced Catholic I feel that I could get an annullment (I knew my wife only 8 weeks when we married, and I deeply resented and didn't believe the priest's pre-marriage counseling that the primary reason for marriage was to have children), but feel that my 12 year marriage that produced 3 children was a true marriage. Anecdotal or not the process described by Ms. Kennedy left me with very negative feelings. And as someone with a background in Psychology, I find the description of the church's process for assessing mental status 20 or 30 years ago (barring some documented serious psychopathology) to be laughable.

The author has constructed a very careful and studied examination of Catholic Church policy and practices in their annullments of sanctified marriage vows -- granted to the tune of over 70,000 a year in our country. And, amazing to this reader, given her experience in the labyrinth of canon law, Tribunals, advocates who don't advocate, etc., she writes without rancor. That Ms. Kennedy chose to investigate so well the tortuous subject matter on behalf of her children's best interests is very clear throughout. This is not at all a "I was married to a Kennedy, and now I'll profit from the dirt" sort of work whatsoever. She will, refreshingly, disappoint Kennedy bashers, lovers, and voyeurs.

Readers who enjoy a variety of topics -- entertaing or weighty, will not be frustrated with this book. Ms. Kennedy writes very well, shows a good wit, and does a fine job of weaving both her own and other's experiences with the annullment process into this work. We are not at all bombarded with vile judgements or diatribes against the Church; rather, the reader is given respect by the author to undertake that task freely themselves, should they choose. Once you have read this book, you will likely have some of your darkest fears or feelings of what really goes on within the heavy oak doors of Church administration confirmed. The self-serving, short-sighted, anti-female, and moral bunkruptcy of the Catholic Church is patently obvious in their annullment business in this country. Whew! My own diatribe! Blind followers of the one true faith would be well advised to avoid this read!

While not a Roman Catholic, I found this to be a factual, rather than vindictive, book reflecting the feelings and experiences of several personal acquaintances. It should be required reading for every person contemplating entering into or leaving a Roman Catholic marriage. A simple study of a church where money appears to purchase outcomes. Martin Luther did not stop the selling of indulgences, it seems. Perhaps someone needs to nail something to another door

I ordered this book back on December 1, 2009. I did not have the time to read it until now October 2010. The book was very informative. What catch my attention was that the book that was sent to me by The Savvy Reader Used Books belong to a Library, it clearly marked as such. "Lakewood Manor Library."
It seems to me that nobody should sell a book that does not belong to them.