This article will be permanently flagged as inappropriate and made unaccessible to everyone. Are you certain this article is inappropriate? Excessive Violence Sexual Content Political / Social
Email Address:
Article Id: WHEBN0006200013 Reproduction Date:
In the Canon Law of the Catholic Church, a canonical impediment is a legal obstacle that prevents a sacrament from being performed validly and/or licitly. The term is used most frequently in relationship to the sacraments of Marriage and Holy Orders. Some canonical impediments can be dispensed by the competent authority (usually the local ordinary but some impediments are reserved to the Apostolic See) as defined in Canon Law.
Roman Catholic sacramental theology teaches that the ministers of the sacrament of holy matrimony are the man and woman, and therefore any marriage contracted voluntarily between two baptized and unmarried adults is valid, though under ordinary circumstances the marriage must be blessed by a priest to be licit. However, various provisions in current canon law lay down additional requirements for validity, in apparent contradiction of this principle.
Impediments to marriage are classified according to many different criteria.
In regard to their effect on the sacrament,[1] impediments are either diriment, which invalidate an attempted marriage, or prohibitive (or impedient), which make a marriage illicit but valid. The 1983 Code of Canon Law does not list prohibitive impediments as such, and thus the distinction between validity and licitness is less clear than in previous formularies.
In regard to their origin, impediments are either from divine law, and so cannot be dispensed, or from ecclesiastical law, and so can be dispensed by the competent Church authority. Under the 1983 Code of Canon Law, ecclesiastical impediments only apply to marriages where one or both of the parties is Catholic. Under the prior 1917 Code, ecclesiastical impediments applied to the marriages of non-Catholic Christians as well, unless specifically exempted. Note that, as clarified by articles 2 and 4 of Dignitas Connubii,[2] the Catholic Church now recognizes the diriment impediments of other (i.e., non-Catholic) Churches and ecclesial communities when their members are parties to a marriage.
Impediments are also classified as follows:
Impediments to the priesthood are divided into "irregularities", which are permanent unless removed by the competent authority and "simple impediments" which may pass with time without action of an ecclesiastical authority. Canon Law also lists various impediments to the exercise of a priesthood that has already been conferred. The bishop can remove most irregularities and simple impediments, except for those involving public apostasy, heresy, or schism; abortion or murder, even if in secret; and existing marriages. Irregularities that cannot be removed by the bishop can be removed by the Holy See (i.e. the Pope or the appropriate dicastery of the Roman Curia[28]).
Note: In the following, canonical references to the 1983 Code of Canon Law are denoted by "CIC" (Codex Iuris Canonici), canonical references to the 1917 Code of Canon Law are denoted by "1917 CIC", and canonical references to the 1990 Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches are denoted by "CCEO" (Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium).
Family, Polygyny, Bride price, Islam, Love
Canon law (Catholic Church), Holy See, Eucharist, Bible, Law
Fraud, Rape, Blackmail, Sudan, Forced disappearance
Love, Parenting, Foster care, Inheritance, Common law
Vatican City, Rome, Pope, Roman Curia, Italy
Law, Civil law (legal system), Common law, Roman Law, Lutheranism
Canon law (Catholic Church), Law, Pope, Holy See, Catholic Church
Canada, Church of England, Canon law (Catholic Church), London, Isle of Man
Vatican City, Spain, Italy, Pope, Catholicism
Marriage, Wedding, Judaism, Israel, India