Hi, Michelle —
Reasons for annulment relate to:
Paragraphs 1625-1637 from the Catechism of the Catholic Church cover this area under:
- III. Matrimonial Consent, and
- Mixed marriages and disparity of cult.
Most annulments are granted due to defective consent, and I assume your parent's annulment is also due to this.
In Matthew, Jesus does state that once you are in a valid marriage it is permanent. Sexual relations with another would objectively be adultery, even after a civil divorce but notice the parenthetical phrase in Matthew 19:9, which is interpreted in some newer translations as unless the marriage is unlawful. Whoever divorces (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery.
For the ancients, Mosaic law allowed for the dissolution of marriage for several reasons, some of which would be reasons for an annulment today, such as a marriage of close relatives (incest). Unlawful marriage, as Jesus may be referring to in Matthew 19:9, is another way of saying invalid marriage.
The Catholic Church sees that marriage is made with the mutual consent of the parties
(the I do's) to a permanent, faithful, life-giving union, and is made unbreakable with sexual consummation. When someone applies for an annulment, an investigation occurs in order to figure out if both parties truly gave their full consent to the marriage vows which, at their essence, includes:
- the vow to fidelity
- permanence (until death), and
- openness to children.
If one party held back internally on any of these essential goods of marriage, they were not saying I do's to what marriage really is; there would be no real consent to marriage. Also, it may be investigated as to whether one party was unable to make such vows. Again, this would make the vows invalid because of their psychological inability to hold them.
The term illegitimate is one the civil law uses, not the canon law of the Church. The Church recognizes that God infinitely loves every child born, regardless of how they were conceived or in what setting. Legitimacy has meaning if there is:
- property or
- money to inherit . . .
none of which is the concern of the Church, hence there is no reason for Her to use the term.
A putative marriage is a union, in good faith, thought to be a marriage, even if it was later determined to be invalid. For those who enter a putative marriage in good faith or were a part of one, there is no sin involved.
One can legitimately wonder, though, if the Church is awarding too many annulments. The Vatican allegedly has not been too happy with the amount of annulments granted in the U.S. by legitimate marriage tribunals. If one party in the union still believes their marriage is valid after being declared null and void, they may petition to Rome for it to be reviewed. It is not uncommon for the Holy See in Rome to override the judgment of a tribunal is the U.S.
Hope this helps a little.
Paul
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