Does an annulment make children illegitimate?

[PJO]

I’m not Catholic, so I’m completely ignorant of this element of your Church. If a couple annuls their marriage after they have children, then 1.), what is the perspective of the Church on their marriage, and 2.), how does this affect thier children?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

PJO:

What is the perspective of the Church on their marriage?

An annulment is a declaration that a sacramental marriage did not exist from the beginning of the marriage.

PJO:

How does this affect thier children?

An annulment does not render children of the marriage illegitimate. They were born within a legal and putative (i.e., presumed valid) marriage. An annulment is a determination of the spiritual status of the marriage and the freedom of the spouses to marry in the Church. It does not in any way affect the children’s legitimacy.

**Recommended reading:

Annulment Questions-and-Answers
Annulments and the Catholic Church** by Edward Peters