Are Catholic marriages (requiring annulments) that much harder to end than other marriages (requiring divorce)?
First, I hope this is hypothetical. If not, you have my sympathy. Second, if one spouse is in danger (or if the children of the marriage are) due to the other spouse’s mental illness, the first step would be a legal divorce and whatever other means of legal protection are in order. The Catholic Church does not condemn such a step in these circumstances — in fact, I know a priest who actively helps abused spouses get out of their marriages and into safety. Now for the annulment part of it. Without an annulment the couple is assumed to be spiritually bound for life, so neither spouse could remarry. But they could be divorced and/or separated. The annulment is only necessary if one spouse wishes to remarry. In the case of serious deception — like a spouse knowing he/she has a mental illness but intentionally hiding that from their betrothed, which would lead the finace to unwittingly enter into a dishonest marriage — that is typically grounds for annulment. If the mentally ill spouse r
