However, if they divorce and the Jewish man wishes to marry an unmarried Catholic he is unable to do so. The church considers him bound to his first marriage for life. Once the Church recognizes a marriage as a valid, any question of invalidity must come before a church tribunal. A petition of this sort would only occur if the subsequent marriage involved a Catholic. The faith community at large is concerned for its individual members.
Marriage is both a private and public reality.
In this instance of the Jewish marriage there are two options. The first is the formal procedure which calls into question the consent of the two parties as it existed on the wedding day - a declaration of nullity. The second option involves a dissolution of the Jewish marriage. It is possible to dissolve a non-sacramental marriage according to church law. There are two processes in church law which dissolve non-sacramental marriages.