Doesn't there have to be a mass with reception of communion even if permission had been obtained to have it in the yard of your home?
If there was no priest or deacon officiating, that makes me suspect there was no annulment.
The other arguments aside as to the unbinding by annulment (I know that's not what it really is), if there is no priest or deacon officiating, I don't see how it can be a valid Catholic marriage.
If they are not in a valid Catholic marriage (accepting annulments as valid), he should not be receiving communion on that basis.
There is no mention in articles on the web any of the details of the wedding to indicate if a priest or deacon officiated.
Thanks for helping me with this. There is another thread on this and I dug out my canon law book, and it is as you say.
A Mass or Holy Communion is not a requirement for a Catholic Marriage between 2 baptised catholics, strictly speaking, but an official witness of the Church is required, such as a priest or deacon with proper faculty, as well as 2 other witnesses, which could be the church janitor and the organist, if there are no other guests at the marriage in an extreme example.
The sacrament of Marriage is where the Bride and Groom are the celebrants, not the priest, who is only a witness.
The bishop also has the power to grant dispensation in regards to the presence of a priest or deacon in rare and unusual circumstances and still recognize the Marriage. This is specially the case where a catholic marries a protestant in a protestant church where the protestant minister is the one officiating. Yes, kinda messy stuff.
The Church would recognize a "natural law marriage" outside of a Church, such as a city hall deal, but does not regard it as a sacramental marriage, which will require "regularization" to rectify the situation.
All the above are in general terms, I must say I am not familiar with Kerry's first or second marriage, have not researched them. But I do know he is one giving catholics serious scandals with his pro-abort stand.