EDITED: Questions About Marriage with Lack of Form
I have been told on one hand that if a Catholic gets married outside the CC without an appropriate dispensation or other permission, then that marriage is null.
I have also been told that no "marriage" is considered null in the eyes of the CC unless and until the Annulment process has gone to completion and the marriage has formally been declared null by the tribunal - every marriage is presumed to be 100% valid until and unless a decree has been made, even if the most dimwitted individual holding an advanced degree in hyperbolic topology would believe it was null - ordinary people simply don't have the authority to pass judgment on marriage nullity outside of the context of the Tribunal.
Are these statements both true? I see a lot of posts here about Catholics who have gotten married outside the CC and now want to "Convalidate" their marriage. Wouldn't another option be to simply decline to seek an annulment (considering as nobody but the couple themselves are allowed to file for it) and trust the CC when it says that all marriages are presumed valid until and unless they are proven null? The "marriage" would then be presumed valid, and the couple would never have to deal with the issues.
Is there an obligation to file a case with the Tribunal if you suspect that your "marriage" could possibly be null?
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