1) Please consider the limit for the amount of characters by questions on Answerbag. 2) "In the Roman Catholic Church, annulment is a canonical procedure according to the Church's Canon Law whereby an ecclesial tribunal judges whether the bond of matrimony in a particular case was entered into validly. A number of conditions are necessary for the sacrament of marriage to be valid. Annulment is not the ecclesial equivalent of a divorce. A "Declaration of Nullity" is not a dissolution of an existing marriage, but rather a determination that a marriage never existed. According to the Church, an annulment affirms the Scriptural basis of divorce and at the same time affirms that in a true marriage, a man and a woman become one flesh before the eyes of God. The Church's teaching on marriage is that it is a Sacrament and that it is only validly contracted by the two individuals. Various impediments can render an individual unable to contract marriage. For this reason (or for other reasons that render the marriage null and void) the Church, after an examination of the situation by the competent ecclesiastical tribunal, can declare the nullity of a marriage, i.e., that the marriage never existed. In this case, the contracting parties are free to marry, provided the natural obligations of a previous union are discharged. -Catechism of the Catholic Church" "A reason for annulment is called an diriment impediment to the marriage. Prohibitory impediments (which do not exist in the Latin Church), such as being betrothed to another person at the time of the wedding, make entering a marriage illicit but do not invalidate the marriage. Diriment impediments, such as being brother and sister, or being married to another person at the time of the wedding, prevent such a marriage from being contracted at all, the result is a putative marriage. Diriment impediments or grounds for annulment include: - Consanguinity - Psychological state precluding ability to consent - No intention, when marrying, to remain faithful to the spouse (simulation of consent) - No intention, when marrying, to have children - Deception of one party by the other in order to obtain consent, and if the partner had been aware of the truth, would not have consented to marry - Abduction with the intent to compel marriage (known as raptus), constitutes an impediment as long as he/she remains in the kidnapper's power. (The abduction of a man constitutes an impediment in the Eastern Church but not in the Latin church.) - Failure to adhere to requirements of canon law for marriages, such as clandestinity - Impediment of Crime, bringing about physically (or through moral cooperation) the death of one's own spouse or the spouse of another, with the intention of marriage - Undispensed lack of form" Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annulment_(Catholic_Church%29 3) As far as I can understand the situation, it looks like there would not be any valid reason for the Catholic Church to annul this marriage. At least as far as the Pope is concerned. See also this: "Vatican sharpens message on marriage annulments" http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2008/s2477973.htm The Catholic Church basically does not allow divorce. There are very few exceptions. But this article also means that some annulments have been done in the past that the pope does not support. 4) In your particular case, this means: - from the point of view of civil law, your boyfriend can divorce and remarry (both civil marriages) - from the point of view of the Catholic Church, your boyfriend can separate from his wife, and live outside wedlock with whoever he likes, but he stays married with his wife and cannot be married with you (at church). You are committing adultery with him, by the way. Both things can happen at the same time. Well, maybe you can find some people inside the Catholic Church who will annul the marriage anyway. But it is not just a priest: it has to be "the competent ecclesiastical tribunal"...