Nicole Kidman Never Married Tom Cruise In Eyes Of Catholic Church

what a picture.

Nicole looks...well, let's just say she looked "different" back then. Her skin is SO tight these days. It's a shame she altered her face the way she did, because she looks beautiful in that picture. The red hair is SO much more suited to her than the blonde.

and Tom...I can't believe I'm saying this...but Tom actually looks GOOD in this pic. HE looks different these days, too. I think he's gotten cheek implants or something.

Is it really considered "generating children" if the children weren't biologically theirs? I mean the Catholic church doesn't recognize gay marriage and plenty gay couples adopt. Just thinking aloud...

It was more likely annulled because marrying a tiny, short, grinning, couch jumping alien is not recognized by the church.

Her face is COMPLETELY different now...it must freak her family out.

I'm not really understanding how this bit is news yet its all over the place. It's not news that her first marriage was NOT held in the catholic church. So why people are freaking out that she could marry this time in the catholic church is beyond me. If someone knows enough about catholicism to know that you can't get divorced and then remarry in the catholic church....they should know that said divorce has to be from a catholic marriage. It's a widely known loophole......not news.

I would not care where or how I got it. I would take the catholic church's ruling that I was never married to the freak show if that was what it took.

Yep I would be about as catholic as I could get to be able to say... See never happend...lol

Kind of like when JR woke up and Bobby was not dead...

What's the big deal and how hard is it to understand? Marriages are CIVIL contracts, and they may *also* be religious ones--someone who is married by the county clerk is no less legally married then someone married by a priest, but there is no religious covenant involved, hence the Catholic Church would not acknowledge that covenant to have taken place, or to have it been broken.

In order for the Church to have acknowledged a marriage occurred, it would have have been a religious ceremony (which would also be civilly valid). If there is no covenant, i.e. a religious recitation of vows, then it's not a valid religious marriage, and therefore it never occurred.

Children or not, there never has a religious marriage, and so there never was a religious divorce.

I'm not getting this story at all. My spouse was also not married in the catholic church but he still had to get an annulment before we wed. This was the same situation for a friend of ours, she too had to get an annulment even though she wasn't married previously in the catholic church. If this story is true, which I doubt, than the church must have given her special privileges because of her celebrity.

cruiser27--if you get married in a catholic church then you need an annulment from that marriage to get remarried in a catholic church. if there was never a marriage in a catholic church then the annulment isn't required to get married in the catholic church b/c the church doesn't acknowledge any marriages but those in the church.

cruiser,

She did get it annulled. That's what the whole story is about.

Yes, the Catholic Church DOES recognize marriages in other churches--but they have to be in RECOGNIZED churchs, like Baptist, Methodist, Episcopalian, etc. Scientology is NOT a recognized church, because there is no belief in God and the trinity, so it's no more religiously binding then getting married by Elvis in Las Vegas.

A marriage where there has been a civil and religious contract made, before a member of the clergy and in accordance with a recognized church's faith and guidelines, then there is necessity for the Catholic Church to determine the prior marriage be annulled, for one reason or another. (Not a lot of reasons valid, except that no true marriage existed, either because one party went into it with a lie, or withheld having children, was not free to marry in a covenant, etc.)

The Church does not consider any marriage in any other church to be non-existent. But it does consider Scientology not a "church" and therefore there is no sacrament of marriage and no promises made to God.

Catholicgirl, my spouse was never married in the catholic church the first time and he still had to get an annulment, likewise for a friend of mine. It was required for both of us (different states) to get annulments and my spouse had to write a letter as to why his marriage needed to be annuled and his ex had to sign the documents before we could be married in the catholic church. I know, our catholic priest helped us take care of everything. I am catholic and this is what we had to do. So I'm not getting this news story at all, she did get special privileges if she did not have to get an annulment or the church does things differently in Australia. But that is not the way things are done in the United States.

CatholicGirl:

I had to get an annulment of my first marriage in order to marry in the Catholic church even though it wasn't a Catholic marriage.

If a divorce occurs in a Catholic marriage, the parties can never marry in the Catholic church again except for very extenuating circumstances such as fraud, abuse, etc. or until one or the other dies.

This article is stupid. An annulment is the Church stating that the marriage was never valid. So there WAS an annulment.

From the article "She didn't get an annulment". I can't continue to argue with you folks all day but I'm telling you the catholic church in the United States does require you to get an annulment when you were married to someone out of the church, even if it was scientology. I know, I had to do it to be married in a catholic ceremony. These people adopted 2 children together and were together for 10 years, a regular church would not dismiss this so easily. They are getting special priviliges or have been married by the most liberal church around, and my priest was very liberal but he still made us do it. My spouse was not married in a church cermony either, no religion involved, ie, not a religious ceremony recognized by the church and we still had to get a annulment.

I think that Miu misspoke when she said Nicole didn't get an annulment.

The article SHOWS they indeed did get an annulment. Hence why it went on with the paragraph "Annulment is, nevertheless, controversial in some Catholic circles. How can the Church rule a marriage never really happened, especially if it's been a long one and generated children?"

Folks, an annulment is when the Church rules a marriage never really happened.

The intro to this article needs to be corrected.

Nevermind. It's not Miu's fault. The BBC is just stupid.

Any marriage can be deemed "null" in Catholic terms if there was no priest presiding over the wedding (which means the bishop of that diocese didn't give his blessing).

Nicole only needed a religious annulment to get remarried in a Catholic church. It's not legally binding (i.e., if you want to legally end the marriage you need a civil annulment as well), but contractually observed by the Catholic Church.

The marriage to Tom was legal, but not "divinely sanctioned," so Nicole could get remarried in the Church with proof of the above.

This is why I'm never having a religious wedding, despite my grandmother's protests.

Viva los Pantalones!, I agree. Adopted children doesn't necessarily constitute "generating children."

I'm not Catholic, but I believe if one partner finds out the other is unable to bear children (or even refuses to), then that is grounds for annulment, despite the length of marriage. My uncle and his wife's marriage was annulled for that reason.

I wish people would stop referring to annulments as proclamations by the Catholic Church that a marriage "did not exist". If a marriage took place, of course it existed!! The children are not considered illegitimate and ALL marriages having taken place in a church using the trinitarian formula: "...father, son, holy spirit" are absolutely recognized.

An annulment is simply a recognition that the sacramental characteristics (lack of a better word) did not exist within that union. For example, if one of the spouses committed fraud in order to get the other spouse to marry them. Dumb example, but it shows that the sacrament did not exist even BEFORE the marriage took place. Hence, did not exist and was not known until the fraud was found out.

Here's an idea: Maybe the Catholic Church was able to dismiss her first marriage because IT WAS NEVER CONSUMMATED??

You can obtain an annulment, it doesn't matter how long you were married. In other words length of the marriage you are trying to annul doesn't really have any bearing on whether or not you will be granted an annulment. Some reasons annulments are granted include consent (inability to give consent, especially in cases where a person in the marriage is an alcoholic), deception, abuse, fraud... Not to generalize but if you are seeking one, you get one... I have never heard of someone NOT being granted their annulment. It's a long process you have to go through hearings and the person in charge often seeks testimonials / interviews from other people to substantiate what you are saying. A divorce can be faster and easier and is a more mainstream way to do things.

Also, annulments are done through the Vatican, not by each country to do what they want.

Earlier this year it was all over the news that she got an annulment. The article's not accurate.

"Every one who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery" (Luke 16:18; cf. Mark 10:11-12).

To Answer Cruiser27... ALL civil AND Church marriages need to be Annuled before marrying in the Catholic Church. So, if you married in an Elvis chapel in Las Vegas... that marriage would need to be annuled. The process is simpler for those NOT married in Church but necessary none-the-less.

Therefore... Nicole ABSOLUTELY had an annulment before marrying and NO special requests were taken for her celebrity status... it was just easier because she wasn't under a covenant (including God)with Tom.

NOTE: ONLY the DAY OF THE WEDDING is looked at for consideration of annulments. What were your intentions... did it include unity and procreation and, most important, the Trinity? Only on the wedding day when the vows were declared... not further into the marriage or lack thereof.

LASTLY: Children are NOT considered illigitmate EVER in the eyes of the Church. They are always a blessing! They are NOT even a factor in the annulment because it comes down to the promises made on the DAY (mentioned above).

That word is only used in the legal side and not church side.

It is important to clear up so people recognize what was missing in that marriage during the annulments and also the new vow becomes Holy before God and commitments to each other through marriage should not be taken lightly! Find strength in struggles through Jesus' example on the cross!

Suck it up!

From everything I have read, the catholic chrch doesn't recognize a marriage made in the church of Scientology, thats why she didn't have to get an annulment..good luck 5to her and keith, they look very happy...