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Andrew,
The good news is that your parish priest will be able to give you simple
answers. There are many variables here. Your marriage form (town clerk)
is considered by the Church to be a valid, non-sacramental marriage,
as long as there were not other impediments to a valid marriage (such as
mental illness, serious emotional immaturity, prior marriages on either part,
etc.).
One impediment could be that you did not know she was a felon — deception
about an important thing is grounds for nullity. However, if the felony was
after the marriage, not a secret from before, then it would not affect the validity.
Welcome to the faith! I am so happy for you! Regardless of your marriage
status, you may receive Holy Communion. You are only barred from Communion
if you are living in sin, i.e. living with someone
whose not your wife or otherwise in a state of serious sin. Your Baptism
removed all sin from you however, it is necessary to go to Confession for
any serious sins committed since Baptism, and it is helpful to confess less serious
sins, because Christ meets us and gives us healing grace in the sacrament.
Now, to the root question:
You should seek to get your marriage examined to
see if it was null and void from the beginning. If it was, you are free to marry.
Even if the Church sees that your marriage was valid, there is something
called the Pauline
Privilege.
It comes from St. Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. By the Pauline
Privilege is meant that the Church can dissolve a natural marriage bond (a
valid but non-sacramental bond) and allow the baptized Catholic party to
re-marry, if the prior (unbaptized) party left, deserted, or refuses to live
peacefully. Your situation would seem to fit that description.
So, the important thing is to bring the original situation to your pastor and
ask him to start the steps necessary to either grant the Pauline Privilege
or investigate the validity of the marriage.
It would be best to do this before
your dating is so far along that you are considering marriage.
Best wishes,
Mary Ann
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