My sister is asking for an annulment of her marriage. Does that make their children illegitimate?
My sister is asking for an annulment of her marriage. Does that make their children illegitimate?
In short, absolutely not.
The Code of Canon Law 1137 addresses the issue quite succinctly: “The children conceived or born of a valid or putative marriage [one thought to be valid but later declared invalid] are legitimate.” In other words, if the Church issues a declaration of nullity for a marriage, any children born in that union are legitimate. The other canons dealing with legitimacy need to be understood in their proper context, which I will give in the following paragraph. Canon 1139 states that for children born out-of-wedlock, they are “legitimated” either by the subsequent marriage of their parents or by a declaration of legitimacy by the Holy See. Finally, Canon 1140 states that in regards to canonical effects, illegitimate children are equal in all things to legitimate ones.
It is crucial to remember that the above wording is strictly technical and makes clear that children born to single mothers are not penalized by the law. What’s more, spiritually and theologically, there are no distinctions. In God’s eyes, every child is legitimate and holds the upmost dignity. Every child is a gift. Today the Church heavily emphasizes the importance of supporting women in unplanned pregnancies, many of whom exercise heroic courage in carrying their children to full term.
Historically, one of the greatest tragedies was that social distinctions were made between children born to married parents and those born out-of-wedlock, leading women to conceal and even terminate their pregnancies. While much of the prejudice was cultural, the Church also fell into making unfair distinctions. (For example, the 1917 Code of Canon Law — no longer in force — made illegitimacy an impediment to ordination to the priesthood.) Such distinctions led to many tragedies, and in some cultures women who carried to full-term were separated from the community and often pressured into putting their children up for adoption.
Even today, isolated accounts still surface of priests refusing to administer sacraments to children born to single mothers. Whenever this happens, the leadership of the Church is quick to respond. The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith recently reiterated that single mothers with children should have access to all the sacraments. Pope Francis put it in even stronger terms while he was still the archbishop of Buenos Aires: “There are priests who do not baptize the children of single mothers because they were not conceived in the sanctity of marriage. These priests are the hypocrites of today, who turn God’s people away from salvation.”
It is sad that such an emphasis was ever placed on legitimacy as a criterion for social acceptance or status within the Church. Pope Francis has been quick to apologize for those who have suffered by the sins of Church leadership, and certainly prejudice towards children born to single mothers fall into that category. The best way to make amends is to regard every child as a blessing and every loving parent with profound respect.
Father Scott Jones is the episcopal vicar for the Northern Vicariate of the Archdiocese of St. Louis.
