What's the story with annulments?

chocoholic
Fri, 13 Jan 2006 17:31:07 +0000

The children of an annuled Catholic marriage are still legitimate, as they were born within the marriage. Scroll down to #5:

http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/CU/ac1002.asp

5 Does an annulment make the children illegitimate?

No. The parents, now divorced, presumably once obtained a civil license and entered upon a legal marriage. Children from that union are, therefore, their legitimate offspring. Legitimate means “legal.” The civil divorce and the Church annulment do not alter this situation. Nor do they change the parents’ responsibility toward the children. In fact, during annulment procedures the Church reminds petitioners of their moral obligation to provide for the proper upbringing of their children.

Nevertheless, persons pondering the Catholic annulment process do often express this concern about the legitimacy of the children after that procedure. It’s a persistent rumor.