One of the main roles of the Brentwood Tribunal Office is to process annulment applications. Annulments are internal procedures of the Catholic Church, and have no standing in civil law in the United Kingdom. The granting of a declaration of nullity allows a divorced Catholic to re marry in the Catholic Church, or for a Catholic to marry a divorced non-Catholic. In some circumstances, it allows for someone to seek reception into the Church.

Cases are prepared by the Brentwood Office; judged here at 1st Instance, then forwarded on to Westminster for a 2nd Instance decision. If the two Courts are in agreement the annulment will be granted. However it should be stressed that there is no guarantee of this, as the presumption is that a marriage is valid, and the allegations on which the enquiry is based must be supported by testimony from other sources if they are to be proven. The appeal court for Brentwood is the Westminster Metropolitan Tribunal, and ultimately the Roman Rota.

There are several different processes which may be applicable, depending on an individual’s circumstances. If you feel the Tribunal Office may be able to help you, please contact them directly, or through your Parish Priest.

The Tribunal Office is open Monday – Friday, 9am -1pm, 2pm -5pm (by appointment only).

All initial queries from priests, parishioners, or any interested party, can be dealt with by post, telephone, fax, or by email.

Judicial Vicar
(Rt Rev Mgr) Gordon Read

Tribunal Administrator
(Mrs) Karen Avery

Tribunal Assistant
(Mrs) Carmen Lambert

Tribunal Judges
Rt Rev Mgr Gordon Read MA, BD, JCL
Rev Joseph White
Rev Paul Bruxby JCL
Rev John Harvey BA(Div), JCL, MCL, KHS
Mrs Karen Avery

Defenders of the Bond
Rev James Cassidy CRIC
Mr S Ritchie
Mr M Ashe QC

Advocates
Mrs Kathleen Newell
Sr Jan Murdock