[maryz]

There is a difference between civil marriage and sacramental marriage. A church annulment means that the marriage was not sacramental; it has no effect on the legality of the civil marriage or the legitimacy of the children. I believe the civil divorce has to be final before you can petition for an annulment -- if you could get an annulment without a civil divorce and remarried, you would be guilty in the eyes of the state of bigamy.

BTW, I think in your first post here, you meant "palpable," not "palatable." ;-)

[JesusIsLord]

BTW, I think in your first post here, you meant "palpable," not "palatable..

My mistake. You are correct.

You assert, "there's a difference between civil marriage and sacramental marriage". What the RC church fails to acknowledge is that a secular or non-RC marriage is a legitimate marriage. The first institution was marriage - not the church, RC or otherwise. That's the point that's missed!

The RC church's presumption that it can annul a legal marriage is an example of an arrogance and falseness that Christians have come to reject.