angelmom
The love stays...forever in our hearts
bakerprune64 said:My MIL tried to get her 23 year (and two kids later) marriage annulled just so she could get remarried in the Catholic church. If you have kids together, you shouldn't be allowed to do that. Wouldn't that make your children "bastards" since the marriage "didn't exist" in the eyes of the church? Btw, the Diocese turned down her request for annullment, and she had to get married by at the court house.
No, this is another common misconception about the Church. The annullment does NOT mean that the marriage did not take place, nor that the children are illegitimate. It means that the sacrament of marriage did not take place, that is, the covenant with the man, the woman and God. Anyone can apply for an annullment, but they aren't easily granted. Some of the reasons are things like "lack of consent" (if one person was coerced or unable to give consent because they were already married, for example).
A civil annullment is an entirely different thing.