Understanding Marriage Impediments in Canon Law
Impediments Due to Crime
Individuals who violate the law and attempt to dissolve their marriage through criminal means face obstacles. However, there are instances where a person achieves their marital goals while committing a criminal act. Canon law establishes two impediments in such cases:
Forced Abduction
Canon 1089 states that marriage is prohibited between a man and a woman who has been abducted or detained for the purpose of marriage. An exception exists if the woman, after being separated from her abductor and in a safe and free environment, voluntarily chooses marriage. Roman law did not always consider rape as grounds for prohibiting marriage. It was the Justinian Code that classified abduction as a debilitating circumstance for marriage, constituting a permanent impediment between the abductor and the victim, even with parental consent. Canon law views abduction as a situation where force diminishes the woman’s internal freedom, thus nullifying the marriage. If the woman endures the abduction and freely accepts the abductor as her husband, the marriage is considered valid under the following conditions outlined by the Council of Trent:
- The abductor must be male.
- The abducted woman must be the same woman the abductor intends to marry.
- The abduction must be carried out with the intention of marriage.
Crime of Preventing Marriage
Canon 1090 states that causing the death of a person’s spouse or one’s own spouse to marry that person invalidates the attempted marriage. Similarly, individuals who, through mutual physical or moral cooperation, cause the death of one of their spouses, also enter into an invalid marriage. The 1983 Code of Canon Law reduces the impediment of crime to the following figures contemplated in Canon 1090:
- Strict Conyugicide: Killing one’s spouse.
- Wrongful Conyugicide: Killing the spouse of one’s lover.
- Conyugicide by Mutual Conspiracy: Killing a spouse through mutual planning.
Requirements for 1 and 2:
- Intent to marry.
- Actual death of the person.
- Consent of the other person is not required.
Requirements for 3:
- Physical or moral conspiracy between the individuals.
- Intention to marry is not necessary.
The impediment can be dispensed by the Roman Pontiff and is rarely granted if the crime is public. Spanish civil law echoes this, stating that individuals who commit such crimes cannot marry each other. The prohibition begins upon conviction and is not retroactive, allowing marriage before sentencing. In some countries, even simple assault can constitute an impediment.
Impediments of Relationship
The current regulations categorize impediments into the following groups: Consanguinity, Affinity, Public Honesty, and Legal Relationship.
Consanguinity
Consanguinity refers to the blood relationship between individuals who descend from a common ancestor. Marriage is prohibited between persons related by blood in certain lines and degrees. A line represents the sequence of individuals descending from one another, and there are two types: direct and collateral. A degree signifies the distance between individuals in either direct or collateral lines. Not all consanguineous relationships prohibit marriage. Marriage is prohibited in both the ascending and descending direct line, as well as in the collateral line up to the fourth degree inclusive. Marriage is always prohibited between all degrees in the direct line and up to the second degree in the collateral line (e.g., siblings). Such marriages should never be permitted, even in cases of doubt. Marriage between individuals within the third degree of the collateral line may be dispensed by the judge upon request. Previously, spiritual consanguinity existed, meaning a godparent could not marry their godchild.
Affinity
Historically, affinity was linked to sexual relations, but now it arises from marriage. Marriage is prohibited between a person and the blood relatives of their spouse. Requirements:
- Existence of a valid marriage between two persons, regardless of consummation.
- Dissolution of the prior marriage.
Individuals cannot marry blood relatives in the direct line, but marriage with a sibling-in-law, for example, is permissible. Spanish civil law does not recognize this impediment.
Public Honesty or Quasi-Affinity
This impediment arises from an invalid marriage or concubinage. According to canon law, this impediment arises with the relatives of the person with whom one has entered into an invalid marriage or concubinage. Marriage is prohibited with first-degree relatives in the direct line of the person involved in the invalid union. This impediment can be dispensed by the local ordinary.
Legal Relationship
Legal relationship refers to the bond created between two individuals through adoption. Individuals connected by adoption in the direct line and second degree of the collateral line cannot marry each other. Prohibited unions include:
- Adopter and adoptee
- Adopted children of the adopter
- Ancestors of the adopter and the adoptee
- Adopted individuals and the legitimate children of the adopter
This impediment can be dispensed by the local ordinary. The Spanish Civil Code sets the minimum age for adoption at 25 years and emphasizes the adopter’s parental responsibility.