You're a tough bunch.

We recently heard from Hayden, whose wife Charlee was an alcoholic and drug addict and cheated on him repeatedly. He said he stayed married to her and had five children with her because he was Catholic. Most of you didn't buy it. You found Hayden as guilty as Charlee ...

SEAN: If I ever had kids, people like Charlee would have to walk over my corpse to take them away. Whether I'm Catholic or Buddhist, my kids' safety and well-being would be my first priority.

KELSY: Charlee was a nightmare, but Hayden was obviously still having sex with her on a regular basis, so who's the dumb one? He had no business having more children with an obvious addict, Catholic or not. He might not want to use birth control, but tough cookies. He seemed willing to have unprotected sex with a drug addict whom he knew slept around. I'm finding it hard to dredge up any sympathy for this whiner.

ADDISON: The complete stupidity of Hayden boggles the mind. He couldn't get divorced because he's Catholic, but could have five children with a drug addict!

KIKI: Sorry, but I was raised Catholic, and this story doesn't make sense. They don't kick you out of the church for having a civil divorce, as long as you don't remarry. And even if your local priest objects to a civil divorce (rare under such circumstances in the U.S.), Hayden could have gotten a legal separation, obtained custody of the children and protected them from that woman.

BRYN: Hayden could have filed for an annulment with the Catholic Church and also filed for custody with the courts. Considering that Charlee is an irresponsible drug addict, I don't think he would have encountered much resistance from either the Church or the courts. Instead, he chose to play the victim and father five children, at least one of whom was not biologically his. Hayden needs counseling to heal whatever issues led him to make such poor choices.

DREW: Cheryl, please do the world (and especially, those badly educated Catholics) a favor by refusing to repeat the misunderstanding that Catholics are not permitted to divorce. Here's what's true: Catholics may get civilly divorced just like anyone else. This settles property and custody issues. Catholics may not get remarried without permission from the Church. The "no divorce" excuse is rot, and untrue.

MITCH: He should have stopped at child No. 1, but was probably told in no uncertain terms that divorcing her was wrong and he'd be to blame for the failure because he was such a good Catholic. He felt caught and it took him a long time to find the strength to defy everything he believed in and finally leave the abusive relationship.

How has your religion or ethnicity influenced your relationship? Send your tale, along with your questions and problems to [email protected]. And check out my ebooks, "Dear Cheryl: Advice from Tales from the Front" and "I'll Call You. Not."