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ANNULMENT

The following definition comes from the U.S. Conference on Catholic Bishops Glossary of Catholic Terms:

annulment: Technically called a decree of nullity , an annulment of a marriage is a decision by a church court, confirmed by an appellate court, that a putative marriage was not valid from the start because something was lacking: full knowledge and consent by both parties, freedom from force or grave fear, or some other factor needed for a valid marriage. "Putative" (meaning apparent or seeming) is a key word in the entire process: It refers to a marriage in which at least one party acted in good faith, believing it was valid at the time it took place. Children from a putative marriage are considered legitimate even if the marriage is later ruled to be invalid. This has been a source of one of the major popular misunderstandings of annulments; namely, that an annulment somehow makes the children of that union illegitimate. Church law explicitly rejects this interpretation, saying that children of a putative marriage are legitimate even if the marriage is later judged to be invalid.

St. Thomas a'Becket maintains an extensive FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page on the process of annulment. You can also find out more about the annulment process at the Archdiocese of Detroit's Marriage Tribunal page.

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