Annulment and Abuse

I got a question about abuse and whether that is grounds for annulment under Catholic canon law. As I am not a Canon lawyer (nor do I really wish to become one because a Marriage tribunal would never want me on the tribunal because I would ask too many really hard questions), I queried our Marriage Tribunal and received this response. 

First, the question (redacted fro privacy): 
What does the church do in cases of abuse in marriage? Is remarriage permitted after? It seems to me that abuse is a violation of vows . . .
 

The answer I received from my Diocese's Marriage Tribunal that is remarkably succinct and on point:

First, abuse depending on the circumstances, is certainly grounds for a separation or even a divorce to ensure the safety of the abused spouse and any children.

The question of remarriage is a little more complicated. To remarry after a divorce requires showing that the original marriage was null, that it was in fact defective somehow and therefore not a valid marriage bond.

A single act of abuse or even multiple acts of abuse if they don't occur until after years after the marriage would probably not be sufficient in and of themselves to demonstrate nullity of the marriage.

BUT, generally, mental, emotional, or physical abuse is a life pattern that is rooted in the abuser's formative years. There are usually indications of this during the courtship and engagement, typically ignored or rationalized away by the victim. After the marriage the abuse soon begins to intensify and become more frequent.

This pattern of abuse would indicate one or two possible grounds for annulment.

1) The abuser is psychologically incapable of fulfilling the obligations of marriage, a psychological anomaly that was present at the time of the wedding.

2) The abuser does not intend one of the essential elements of marriage, that is, the good of the spouse and goes into the wedding knowing full well that he/she will commit abuse. Thus the vows are entered into fraudulently.

These are two distinct canonical grounds for declaring the marriage null. The Church's tribunal would examine the testimony of the petitioner and witnesses and have a licensed psychological professional review the testimony to judge whether the alleged psychological anomaly existed.

If either of the grounds is demonstrated with what Church law calls "moral certainty", then the marriage is declared null.

The petitioner would then be free to remarry.

I hope this explanation helps. Feel free to ask further questions.