p0lar_bear Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 When someone is married, you don't sit there and try to figure out if they really are married, you just assume that they are. The Church assumes the validity of a marriage until it is questioned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenchild17 Posted September 8, 2004 Author Share Posted September 8, 2004 Yeah, I understand this. But, are they really married or not? If the marriage is annulled it's to assume that it never existed. So an annulled marriage must never have been a real marriage, correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p0lar_bear Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 Correct, but until it is actually annuled it enjoys the "favor of the law," it is [i]assumed[/i] to be valid....kind of like in the US courts a person is innocent until proven guilty...the fact that a crimal is presumed to be innocent until convicted in court doesn't mean he was innocent and then wasn't... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenchild17 Posted September 8, 2004 Author Share Posted September 8, 2004 Assumed innocent until proven not so. So the marriage really would not be legit, but it would be assumed as such. Still confusing but I can live with this for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p0lar_bear Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 Think of it this way... I was baptized as an infant. I have a baptismal certificate and everything. I'm assuming my baptism was valid. The Church, in allowing me to receive the Sacraments, is also assuming I am validly baptized. OK, now say the priest baptized me in the name of "the creator, the redeemer and the sanctifier." My baptism would not have been valid, so I would have to be validly baptized before I could receive the Eucharist or Confession again. However, until I have some reason to question the validity of my baptism, I'm going to receive the Eucharist and go to confession, etc. Just like marriages, my baptism is assumed to be valid until proven otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phatcatholic Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 this is one of those conversations that would have been much more effective in person.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenchild17 Posted September 8, 2004 Author Share Posted September 8, 2004 Yeah tell me about it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenchild17 Posted September 8, 2004 Author Share Posted September 8, 2004 Alright, so the reason I asked this is because it was brought up by a protestant on another board. How can I best put a response together comprised of all the answers to my questions thus far? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phatcatholic Posted September 9, 2004 Share Posted September 9, 2004 the simple answer is this: --"legitimate" vs. "illegitimate" is a civil, not an ecclesiastical distinction. thus, if the Church annuls a marriage, this has no bearing on the legitimacy of the children. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p0lar_bear Posted September 9, 2004 Share Posted September 9, 2004 [quote name='phatcatholic' date='Sep 8 2004, 07:59 PM'] this is one of those conversations that would have been much more effective in person.... [/quote] Ahh, the limitations of Phatmass.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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