The Annulment Process - Where is God?

God is revealed through our life experiences. Sometimes this is difficult to comprehend. Our sense is that some life experiences, such as death, grief, suffering, divorce, are better left in the past and forgotten. How can such suffering reveal the face of God? This question often leads us to ask the number one question on people's minds today, which is, does God cause this suffering, and if so, why? The Hebrew Scriptures often reveal a God of punishment and revenge - a God who punishes the sinner, and seeks revenge against the evil-doers.

However, Jesus, in the New Testament, reveals to us another face of God. Jesus shows us a God who loves us no matter what, and does not send us suffering, but helps to redeem it and learn from it. God wishes us to learn from our suffering and to find meaning through the pain, and thus, pass on what we have learned to others who need healing and compassion. Only then, can we truly experience healing and forgiveness.

What does this have to do with a church annulment? For many people, the church annulment process is simply seen as "going through the hoops" in order to re-marry in the Catholic church - In other words - " fill out the forms, get it done and over with and go on with life." That certainly is one way of approaching the catholic church annulment process. However, there is another way.

Writing your autobiography - examining your past, your courtship, and your marriage- as painful as it is, can be an experience of healing. During my 21 years experience in a Tribunal I have listened to many people's life stories, and it is through the telling of their stories- sometimes for the first time - that they finally understand where God was in all of their painful past. Only then, are they liberated from their pain, and only then can they face their future with a new-found freedom and grace.

So - I present you with a challenge:
- Can you approach this annulment process with confidence, knowing that God is with you through it all?

- Can you approach this process with a positive attitude, knowing that God will not abandon you on your journey?

- Can you ask yourself, what am I willing to learn about myself ? Am I willing to believe in a God of compassion and forgiveness?

Then, in a spirit of peace, am I willing to face the future with confidence, assured of God's bountiful grace?

May God be with you.

Do church annulments affect a child's legitimacy in church law?

No. When the Church declares a marriage of parents null many people are often confused about its legal impact upon the legitimacy of the children in church law.

The legal term "legitimacy" means that the child's father is known. He is the "husband" of the child's mother at the time of the child's birth. Before there was such a thing as DNA testing, this was the only way society could legally assume who was the father of the child.

An annulment does not "retroactively" affect the child's paternity. At the time of the child’s birth, the parents were known. It was at that moment that the legitimacy of the child was established.

Any statement or belief to the contrary–that an annulment renders a child illegitimate–is simply wrong!