HUMAN EVENTS reported last week that Sen. John Kerry (D.-Mass.), who says he is a practicing Catholic, may have problems with his church over the issues of abortion and gay marriage as he seeks the presidency. But there may be more trouble ahead. According to news reports in Time and the New York Times, Catholic League president William Donahue pointed out in an April 2 news release, Kerry's second marriage in 1995 to ketchup heiress Teresa Heinz took place before Kerry had sought an annulment of his first 18-year marriage. It is not known whether this annulment was actually granted, and Kerry has not confirmed or denied it.
"If Kerry did not receive an annulment, then he is not married in the Catholic Church and cannot receive the sacraments," said Donahue. "But even if he was annulled, did he and Teresa Heinz get married in the Catholic Church following the annulment? If not, then Kerry is not married in the Church, thus raising all sorts of questions." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution tried to find the answer in February, but reported that "Kerry's office didn't respond to several e-mail and telephone requests" regarding whether he got an annulment. The Providence Journal-Bulletin wrote on March 23 that Kerry "will not say whether he obtained an annulment of his first marriage."
