Annulments

Annulments

A Catholic annulment is also called a decree of nullity. Nullity means invalid.

When you are asking for a Catholic annulment, you are saying that the marriage was never valid in the first place due to either certain circumstances not being in place. For example, one can say they were not of sound mind when the marriage took place, or if one party never intended to commit to a lifelong, exclusive marriage.

Thus, a Catholic annulment petitions the church to open a hearing to determine if the marriage was, in fact, not authorized. That being said, the marriage still existed and your children (if any) are not illegitimate because at the time of marriage, you were legally considered married in God's and the church's eyes.

The Purpose of an Annulment is to Receive a Cleansing

Many people believe that a divorce is the by-all-end-all to a marriage. A civil divorce is only legal in the eyes of man's law and government. In the eyes of God, a man and woman are married for life when they stand before Him and say "I do." Thus, grounds such as "irreconcilable differences" don't exist for God.

Thus, if a Catholic were to obtain a civil divorce and not a Catholic annulment, they would be committing adultery in the eyes of the Lord. By obtaining a Catholic annulment, you are, in essence, saving yourself from sin and receiving a cleansing in God's eyes. This is also why you are allowed to remarry because you are considered pure once again as you were before your first marriage, i.e. a virgin.