Catholicism teaches that marriage is for life; divorced Catholics are forbidden to remarry. Annulment is the only way around this prohibition, but until recently annulments were extremely rare. Since Vatican II, however, there has been an astonishing increase in the number of annulments in the USA. This book explores how and why the American system became geared to the mass-production of annulments. Pathbreaking and provocative, it will be of intense interest to clergy and laity alike, and to all who are concerned with the state of the Church today.