text: The context for my remarks is the comments by LifeoftheLay:
  "The marriage was either valid or not. A joining was done or not done."
  "they themselves minister their own union in front of the Church"
  
  I really can't figure out the relevance to the conversation. I totally agree that if someone "fools" a tribunal, their second relationship is likely adulterous. Any error that leads to an annulment means the second marriage, witnessed by the Church, may be adulterous. This though is a flaw in the process that is separate from the main concern, marriages that are not recognized by the Church.
  
  The issue I'm raising is whether there is a marriage in the eyes of God, and how the Church can best nourish those relationships. The insertion of "in the eyes of the Church" and "in front of the Church" raises entirely different issues. What happens when the Church errs? Is the objective reality of marriage determined by the eyes of the Church?