Diriment impediment synonyms, diriment impediment antonyms - FreeThesaurus.com Diriment impediment synonyms, diriment impediment antonyms - FreeThesaurus.com noun Words related to diriment impediment (canon law) an impediment that invalidates a marriage (such as the existence of a prior marriage) Related Words Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us , add a link to this page, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content . Link to this page: Copyright © 2003-2017 Farlex, Inc Disclaimer All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.

Ecclesiastical law - definition of ecclesiastical law by The Free Dictionary Ecclesiastical law - definition of ecclesiastical law by The Free Dictionary canon law diriment impediment - (canon law) an impediment that invalidates a marriage (such as the existence of a prior marriage) law , jurisprudence - the collection of rules imposed by authority; "civilization presupposes respect for the law"; "the great problem for jurisprudence to allow freedom while enforcing order" Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us , add a link to this page, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content . Link to this page: spoliation References in classic literature ? The precise extent of the common law, and the statute law, the maritime law, the ecclesiastical law, the law of corporations, and other local laws and customs, remains still to be clearly and finally established in Great Britain, where accuracy in such subjects has been more industriously pursued than in any other part of the world.

View in context It's a little out-of-the-way place, where they administer what is called ecclesiastical law, and play all kinds of tricks with obsolete old monsters of acts of Parliament, which three-fourths of the world know nothing about, and the other fourth supposes to have been dug up, in a fossil state, in the days of the Edwards. View in context Some centuries later a sect known as the 'Men of Understanding' -- Homines Intelligentia -- held that the soul of man cannot be defiled by bodily sin, and believed in a mystical state of illumination and a union with God so perfect that it exempted those who attain it from all subjection to moral and ecclesiastical law. Code of Canon Law: text - IntraText CT Code of Canon Law BOOK IV : THE SANCTIFYING OFFICE OF THE CHURCH (Cann. 834 – 848) PART I : THE SACRAMENTS TITLE VII: MARRIAGE (Cann.

1055 - 1165) CHAPTER II : DIRIMENT IMPEDIMENTS IN GENERAL Table of Contents | Words: Alphabetical - Frequency - Inverse - Length - Statistics | Help | IntraText Library Best viewed with any browser at 800x600 or 768x1024 on Tablet PC IntraText® (V89) - Some rights reserved by Èulogos SpA - 1996-2007. Content in this page is licensed under a Creative Commons License CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Canonical Impediments Home > Catholic Encyclopedia > I > Canonical Impediments Canonical Impediments Help support New Advent and get the full contents of this website as an instant download . Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more  all for only $19.99... General notion of an impediment The Latin word impedimentum signifies directly whatever embarrasses or hinders a person , whatever is an obstacle to his movements, and in this sense the baggage of an army was called impedimenta.

Juridical language applies the term to whatever hinders the free action of an agent, or to whatever prevents him from performing, or at least from performing regularly, any act that the law takes cognizance of. The impediment therefore affects directly the juridical capacity of the agent, restrains it, or even entirely suppresses it; indirectly it affects the action itself, which it renders more or less defective or even null. An impediment consequently produces its effect by reason of a defect; it ceases when the agent has legally recovered his capacity, whether that be by a dispensation or by his fulfilling the conditions requisite for the act he wishes to perform. The impediment, in other words, the restriction or suppression of the juridical capacity of the agent, may arise from natural laws from Divine law , or from human law, ecclesiastical or civil; we may, however, point out that certain cases of nullity, certain defects of acts that the law takes cognizance of, are caused by the absence of an essential constitutive element; for example in the case of a contract imposed by force on one of the parties, there would be no impediment unless in a wide improper sense of the term.

This general idea of impediments is applicable to all those acts in regard to which the law regulates the juridical capacity of the agents; for instance, acquisition of jurisdiction , contracts in religious matters, the sacraments . Canon law affords a multitude of examples. A layman , a heretic , an excommunicated person is incapable of acquiring spiritual jurisdiction ; better known are the restrictions placed on minors, religious, children not yet emancipated, etc., in the matter of making contracts; finally, there are many legal obstacles affecting the capacity of the faithful to receive licitly or even validly, baptism , confirmation, penance, and particularly Holy orders and matrimony. Canon law uses the word impediment in its restricted and technical sense, only in reference to marriage, while impediments to Holy orders are spoken of as irregularities (q.v.). We may remark, however, that several real impediments or obstacles to the reception of Holy orders are not called irregularities: thus, women and unbaptized persons , who are by Divine law incapable of being ordained , are not termed irregular. But speaking of matrimony, the word impediment refers to all obstacles, whether arising from natural or Divine law .

Another interesting fact is that whereas the word impediment has thus acquired a precise technical meaning in canon law, the cognate words impedire, impediens, impeditus, have preserved their wide grammatical signification and may be applied to other matters; so writers speak of those unable to go personally to Rome to be absolved from censures as impediti adire Romam, and the Constitution "Apost. Sedis" speaks of those who hinder (impedientes) the exercise of ecclesiastical jurisdiction . Impediments to marriage, in general The fundamental idea of an impediment to matrimony is contained implicitly in the well known prohibitions of Leviticus and some ancient canonical texts; in the latter may be discovered the basis of the celebrated distinction between diriment impediments which render a marriage null and void, and prohibitory impediments which only render it illicit; sometimes the canons of councils insist on the separation of the parties who have violated the law , which implies that the marriage was void; sometimes, on the contrary, they exact only an expiation or reparation, without dissolving the conjugal union, which implies that the marriage was valid though more or less in opposition to the law .

But these ancient canonical texts do not give a complete list of impediments, much less a general theory concerning them. It is only at the end of the twelfth century that we find, for the first time, the use of the word "impediment" in its technical sense, together with a catalogue of matrimonial impediments. In his "Decree", Gratian neither speaks definitely, nor does he give a satisfactory list; nor does Peter Lombard in his "Sentences". About 1190 Bernard of Pavia uses freely the expression, which became classical, "impedit contrahendum et dirimit contractus", and further he enumerated the impediments: "sunt autem quæ matrimonium impediunt xiv", but his list is not definitive; the technical names of each impediment remain for some time longer unsettled. However the doctrine of the School soon becomes fixed and with it the terminology. The distinction between diriment and prohibitory impediments is sharply marked, and a more or less successful attempt is made to classify the diriment impediments. Their number is not yet determined, not because the doctrine is uncertain, but because several of them may be included under the same title.

Certain canonists try to limit them to the quasi sacred number fourteen (twice seven); others reckon twelve, sixteen, or even more. The gloss of the "Decree" (Causa xxvii, q. 1, vº "Quidam", before can. i) says there are sixteen matrimonial impediments, fourteen of which are diriment; it enumerates them without order in the following distichs: Votum, conditio, violentia spiritualis, Hæc, si canonico vis consentire rigori Te de jure vetant jura subire tori. In spite of its insertion in the gloss, this enumeration was not adopted permanently, doubtless because it did not separate the prohibitory from the diriment impediments, and because the former class was incomplete. The list that was received almost universally, and which, with a few changes, still figures in most canonical treatises on marriage, and is followed step by step, by many authors including St. Liguori (Theol. Mor., I, VI, n. 1008), was composed by Tancred (1210-1214).

It contains four prohibitory impediments separated from thirteen diriment: Ecclesiæ vetitum, tempus, sponsalia, votum, Impediunt fieri, permittunt facta teneri. Error, conditio, votum, cognatio, crimen, Cultus disparitas, vis, ordo, ligamen , honestas, Dissensus, et affinis, si forte coire nequibis, Hæc facienda vetant connubia, facta retractant. But after the Council of Trent , which created the impediments of abduction and clandestinity , these thirteen were increased to fifteen; the last hemistich, "si forte coire nequibis", was replaced by "si clandestinus, et impos"; and for abduction was added the hexameter "Raptave sit mulier, loco nec reddita tuto". Though this method of enumerating them is so common, it is not satisfactory, being somewhat confused.

No official list of impediments has ever been promulgated , and indeed it would be very difficult to compile such a list, as there are many ways of reckoning the impediments improperly so called, all of which may be included under a defect of consent, such, for instance, as error , insanity, constraint, dissimulation and others. It is possible likewise to count in different ways the prohibitory impediments among which that of "mixed religion" must be included. Of the many definitions of matrimonial impediments formulated by canonists, we prefer that of D'Annibale (Summula, III, n. 428): "Any circumstance of which the law takes cognizance that is opposed to a licit or valid marriage." Impediments have been classified and divided in many ways, of which the following are the more important. (1) The chief division is that which distinguishes between prohibitory and diriment impediments, the former rendering the marriage illicit, the latter making it void; we have already said enough about this.

(2) They have been divided according to their juridical cause: some arise from natural law , as the different forms of defective consent, impotency, relationship in direct ascending or descending line; others arise from Divine law , which demands unity and perpetuity of marriage, thus forbidding polygamy and marriage after divorce ; others, finally, while suggested by natural and Divine law have been created by ecclesiastical law. (3) A distinction must be made between absolute and relative impediments. The former forbid any marriage of the person on whom the impediment falls, for instance, impotency, Holy orders , etc., the latter forbid the marriage with certain definite persons only; such for example are relationship, crime, etc. (4) Impediments may be also public or hidden according as the fact giving rise to them is known or secret, or in other words, may be proved easily or with difficulty. Examples of public impediments are relationship, lawful affinity, Holy orders , etc.; hidden impediments are those arising from purely private and especially concealed facts, for instance, affinity arising from illicit intercourse, certain forms of "crime", etc.

(5) A very practical division is based on the nature of the dispensation that is granted or refused by the church. Most of the impediments arising from ecclesiastical law are dispensed from with more or less felicity (cf. Lehmkuhl, "Theol. Mor.", II, n. 792). (6) Finally, it is important to distinguish impediments properly so called from those that are only improperly so termed. The former are those that arise from an absence of capacity to contract on the part of one of the individuals , who cannot enter into a valid marriage even if he performs all the customary external acts and has a firm intention of marrying. Such would be the case of a married man, who had obtained a divorce , he being thereby absolutely incapable of validly marrying another woman . Such also is the impediment of form, or clandestinity , which renders the contract null and void, if the requisite conditions of publicity have not been complied with, namely the presence of the parish priest of the locality or his delegate, and of two witnesses; it is an impediment properly so-called, though it does not act directly by affecting the personal capacity of the contracting party.

On the other hand, impediments improperly so called do not imply the juridical incapacity of the agent, but the absence of a due consent on his part, whether from want of knowledge , liberty, or will. In that case it is the contract that is nonexistent, because it lacks an essential element; wherefore, such impediments are not, properly speaking, created or established by the law , and are not matter for dispensation . They spring from the natural law in the sense that they are the application to Matrimony of the laws that regulate all contracts and arise from the very nature of things. Ecclesiastical law cannot intervene directly; it is limited to pointing them out and applying opportune measures to prevent as far as possible marriages affected by these different forms of defective consent. Marriage is juridically a contract, and a Christian marriage does not cease to be a contract because it is a sacrament. Being a sacrament it is a sacred thing, and as such is subject to the authority of the church; and, being a contract, the church can establish impediments to matrimony, either personal or formal.

Having the power to establish them, she can abrogate them, modify them, and, consequently, dispense from them in individual cases (see MARRIAGE ; DISPENSATION ). Impediments to marriage, in particular The following is the list of the impediments of marriage arranged in what seems the most logical order, with the essential notions on each, except where reference is made to special articles. Prohibitory impediments That is to say, those which render a marriage illicit, but do not impair its validity. Betrothal A valid engagement to marry , entered into by two individuals , constitutes an absolute, prohibitory impediment, that is, an obstacle to any other marriage; by plighting his troth, the man creates a correlative right on the part of the woman , and any other marriage would be a violation of that right (see BETROTHAL ). Vow Such also is the case of a vow , not any vow whatsoever, but a vow of chastity, and moreover a simple vow , for a solemn vow of chastity constitutes a diriment impediment. The obligation by vow towards God is an obstacle to any marriage; consequently it too is an absolute prohibitory impediment (see CHASTITY , and VOW ).

Mixed marriage Whereas the marriage of a baptized person with an infidel is null and void, the marriage of a Catholic with a baptized non-Catholic is the object of a prohibitory impediment, mixed religion (mixta religio); it is therefore a relative impediment. For the dispensation in case of mixed marriages and the conditions attached to it see MIXED MARRIAGES. Vetitum Ecclesiæ A prohibition, in the form of a precept, imposed by ecclesiastical authority on a particular individual, would also be a personal impediment if it had a general character; it affects only the capacity of an individual. This precept is imposed to delay a marriage until a given condition has been fulfilled, for instance, till the removal of the obstacle to a marriage arising from a preceding betrothal to another person . Forbidden times (tempus clausum, tempus feriatum) Is only an impediment improperly so-called, because it does not affect the personal capacity of the contracting parties, and, because it prohibits, not the marriage itself, but only the solemn celebration of the marriage; although, in truth , it is used commonly as if it forbade the marriage.

These forbidden periods, though formerly much longer, were reduced by the Council of Trent (Sess. XXIV, cap. x, "De Reform. Matrim.") to the two following times: from Advent to the Epiphany, and from Ash Wednesday to Low Sunday . Diriment impediments That is to say those that render the marriage null and void, form three groups: First type Impediments properly so called, which are personal incapacities, some absolute, some relative. Two arise from the physical incapacity of the subject: impuberty and impotency. Puberty is the state of physical development requisite for generation. The age of puberty varies with the individual and the climate; the legal presumption of the Roman law fixed it at twelve years for girls and fourteen for boys. The church has followed this rule or presumption, but it has not made want of a fixed age an impediment properly so-called which would render the marriage void under every hypothesis.

It is presumed that young people reach the age of puberty at twelve and fourteen; it is presumed that they do not reach it before this time; but if as a matter of fact they have reached it, and a marriage be necessitated by the circumstances of the case (quando malitia supplet ætatem), the marriage is valid without dispensation . Formerly real dispensations from this impediment were granted, but on the condition that the common life should begin only later. Impotency is the state of one who is incapable of normal sexual relations. It is clear that an impotent person cannot validly contract marriage since he is physically incapable of realizing its object. For this particular impediment we must refer to the technical treatises on the subject and limit ourselves to some conclusions. The impotency which is a cause of nullity is the incapacity of having conjugal relations (impotentia coeundi), not incapacity of engendering (impotentia generandi), in other words, sterility.

No one is presumed impotent once he has reached the legal or real age of puberty; consequently, no one, except eunuchs, can be prevented by authority from marrying ( Sixtus V , 27 June, 1587). The different classifications of impotency, absolute or relative, antecedent or subsequent, perpetual or temporal, to be met with in various treatises, are of no practical importance now. Only perpetual antecedent impotency is a cause of nullity; nowadays it is seldom necessary to examine too closely into this matter, as all cases arising from it are treated as far as possible under the form of dispensations of non-consummated marriages. Next we have an impediment based on the presumption of want of consent, abduction (raptus). In as far as it is an impediment, it is the incapacity of the abductor of contracting valid marriage with the woman whom he has abducted , until she has first been allowed to go free.

Two impediments arise from religious obligations which exclude marriage with any person whosoever they are: A solemn vow (votum), that is to say, a vow taken in an order that has a solemn profession of its members, whether men or women ; and Holy orders (ordo), that is to say, the sub-diaconate and major orders. Another impediment of a religious nature is that called disparity of worship (cultus disparitas); it renders void the marriage of a Christian with an infidel, that is, of a baptized person with one who is unbaptized (see DISPARITY OF WORSHIP ). Next in order we have a previous matrimonial engagement (ligamen), an impediment rendered void any marriage of a married person , during the lifetime of the person to whom he or she has been validly married. The respect due to marriage has caused to be prohibited the union of persons who have attacked the sanctity of the marriage of one or other of the parties by killing his or her partner, or by committing adultery with a promise of marriage or an attempted marriage; that is the impediment of crime (crimen).

(See CRIME.) Finally, respect due to family and kin forms the basis of the impediment of relationship (cognatio), which occurs in five forms: (a) natural relationship or community of blood (consanguinitas), which prohibits all marriages in the direct ascending or descending line in infinitum, and in the collateral line to the fourth degree or fourth generation; (b) alliance or affinity (affinitas), which establishes a bond of relationship between each of the married parties and the blood relations of the other, and forbids marriage between them to the fourth degree. Such is the case when the affinity springs from conjugal relations; but as canon law considers affinity to spring also from illicit intercourse, there is an illicit affinity which annuls marriage to the second degree only; (c) public decorum (honestas publica), a legal anticipation of affinity; those who will be related by the consummation of marriage are already looked upon as related when they are betrothed or have only ratified the marriage contract.

This impediment is as extensive as affinity, if it springs from a reception of the Sacrament of Matrimony; if it arises solely from betrothal it extends only to the first degree; (d) spiritual relationship (cognatio spiritualis). Spiritual birth has been considered as producing a kind of relationship between those who took an active part in the rites of Christian initiation, baptism , and confirmation, and marriage between them is forbidden. The impediment arising from these sacraments has been restricted by the Council of Trent (Sess. XXIV, cap. ii, "De Ref. Matri."); it prevents the marriage of the sponsor with the child or with the child's parents , also the marriage of the minister of the sacrament with the person baptized or confirmed and with his parents .

But we must remark that as far as the Sacrament of Confirmation is concerned there can be no question of the marriage of the minister; also as confirmation requires only one sponsor, who must be the same sex as the person confirmed, this impediment cannot arise between them; the only case therefore where it would occur is in a marriage of the sponsor in confirmation with the parent of the child, which would be null and void; (e) Lastly there is the purely legal relationship of adoption, with the prohibitions of marriage attached to it in Roman law ; the church has merely accepted and ratified them. Second type The second kind comprises the only diriment impediment that is based on a question of form, to wit, clandestinity. Third type Next we have the impediments, improperly so called, which do not affect the capacity of the agent, the nullity of the marriage being caused by a defect of consent. This defect may arise from the intellect or the will; hence we have two classes.

Arising from the intellect , we have: insanity; and total ignorance , even in confuso, of what marriage is (this ignorance however is not presumed to exist after the age of puberty has been reached); and lastly, error , where the consent is not given to what was not intended. All cases of error do not annul a marriage but only those that arise from an error regarding a person ( error personœ) or a quality affecting a person (redundans in personam). There is an error affecting a person that forms a separate class, namely, a mistake relating to his liberty (conditio servilis): a marriage with a slave who is believed to be free is null and void. Arising from the will, a defect of consent may be caused through deceit or dissimulation when one expresses exteriorly a consent that does not really exist; or from constraint imposed by an unjust external force, which causes the consent not to be free (vis et metus).

Finally a consent, even real, is destroyed if to the contract be added clauses or conditions contrary to the essential elements of marriages , as divorce or adultery ; but it must be noted that a mere concomitant intention is not a cause of nullity; not being expressed formally as a condition, it is presumed non-existent. It is clear that the impediments improperly so-called are as varied as the ways in which the validity of the matrimonial consent, psychologically considered, can be affected. Canonical impediment - The Full Wiki The Full Wiki More info on Canonical impediment Wikis Advertisements Note: Many of our articles have direct quotes from sources you can cite, within the Wikipedia article! This article doesn't yet, but we're working on it! See more info or our list of citable articles . Related top topics Encyclopedia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 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 ) as defined in Canon Law.

Contents 5 Footnotes Impediments to marriage 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. [1] In regard to their effect on the sacrament, [2] 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 contain 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, [3] 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: public, which can be proved in the external forum, or occult, which cannot be so proved [4] ; absolute, which apply to one party regardless of the other party, or relative, which apply only in relation to certain other parties; permanent or temporary, according to the duration of the impediment; and (for ecclesiastical impediments) whether they can be dispensed by the local ordinary under ordinary circumstances, or whether their dispensation is reserved to the Pope [5] Advertisements List of diriment impediments to marriage Age.

[6] If the man is under 16 years of age, or the woman is under 14 years of age, then their marriage is invalid. This is an ecclesiastical impediment, and so does not apply to a marriage between two non-Catholics. However, note that in a marriage between a Catholic and a non-Catholic, the age limitation applies to the non-Catholic party as well. [7] Each national episcopal conference has the authority to set a higher minimum age as a prohibitive impediment. Note that, in general, individual bishops do not have this authority (cf. CIC c. 1075 §2). [8] In Canada, and also in New Zealand, this minimum age has been set to 18 years old for both parties. [9] In England and Wales, this minimum age has been set to be in accordance with civil law (i.e., 16 years old for both parties). [10] In Gambia, Liberia, and Sierre Leone, this minimum age has been set to 18 years old for the man and 16 years old for the woman.

[11] In the Philippines, this minimum has been set to 20 years old for the bridegroom, and 18 years old for the bride. [12] In South Africa, and also in Switzerland, this minimum age has been set to be in accordance with civil law. [13] In Nigeria, the episcopal conference has delegated the authority to set a higher prohibitive minimum age to the individual bishops. [14] The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has not enacted a higher prohibitive minimum age for marriage. [15] Physical capacity for consummation lacking [16] . Per Canon 1084 §3 "Without prejudice to the provisions of Canon 1098, sterility neither forbids nor invalidates a marriage." Both parties, however, must be physically capable of completed vaginal intercourse, wherein the man ejaculates "true semen" into the woman's vagina. (See [1] for details.) To invalidate a marriage, the impotence must be perpetual (i.e., incurable) and antecedent to the marriage. The impotence can either be absolute or relative.

This impediment is generally considered to derive from divine natural law, and so cannot be dispensed. [17] The reason behind this impediment is explained in the Summa Theologica : [18] “In marriage there is a contract whereby one is bound to pay the other the marital debt: wherefore just as in other contracts, the bond is unfitting if a person bind himself to what he cannot give or do, so the marriage contract is unfitting, if it be made by one who cannot pay the marital debt.” Previous marriage [19] . Previous marriages, whether conducted in the Catholic Church, in another church, or by the State. All previous attempts at marriage by both parties wishing to marry must be declared null prior to a wedding in the Catholic Church, without regard to the religion of the party previously married. Divine, absolute, temporary. Disparity of cult [20] . A marriage between a Catholic and a non-baptized person is invalid, unless this impediment is dispensed by the local ordinary. Ecclesiastical, relative. Sacred orders [21] . One of the parties has received sacred orders.

Ecclesiastical, absolute, permanent (unless dispensed by the Apostolic See). Perpetual vow of chastity [22] . One of the parties has made a public perpetual vow of chastity . Ecclesiastical, absolute, permanent (unless dispensed by the Apostolic See). Abduction [23] . One of the parties, usually the woman, has been abducted with the view of contracting marriage. Ecclesiastical, temporary. Crimen [24] . One or both of the parties have brought about the death of a spouse with the view of entering marriage with each other. Ecclesiastical, relative, permanent (unless dispensed by the Apostolic See). Consanguinity [25] . The parties are closely related by blood. Ecclesiastical or divine, depending on the degree of relationship. Relative, permanent. Affinity [26] . The parties are related by marriage in a prohibited degree. Ecclesiastical, relative, permanent. Public propriety [27] . The parties are "related" by notorious concubinage . Ecclesiastical, relative, permanent. Adoption [28] .

The parties are related by adoption. Ecclesiastical, relative, permanent. Spiritual relationship [29] . One of the parties is the godparent of the other. This no longer applies in the Latin Rite , but still applies in the Eastern Catholic Churches . Other factors which invalidate marriage Lack of form. When a marriage of a catholic takes place without following the laws and rites of the Catholic Church. Coercion. This impediment exists if one of the parties is pressured by any circumstances to enter into marriage. (In order for the impediment to cease, the situation must change so that the party can marry freely of his or her own will.) Psychological immaturity or mental incapacity To enter into sacramental marriage, both parties must understand and have the capacity to accept all that it entails. Refusal to have children One of the goods of marriage is children. A man or woman physically capable of fathering or, respectively, conceiving a child but who intends never to have children may not marry in the Catholic Church. Intention of fidelity lacking. Fidelity of each party to the other is a good of marriage. If this intent is lacking in either party, the couple may not marry in the Catholic Church. Civil Law.

The Church recognizes the restrictions of civil law on marriage. If one of the parties is younger than the legal age for marriage according to civil law, the marriage may not take place in the Catholic Church. Impediments to ordination to the Priesthood 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. Irregularities Mental illness that prevents fulfillment of the duties of the priesthood. [30] Physical incapacity to perform the rites of the Church. A priest must have his hands to celebrate the sacraments. He must also be able to ingest the wheat host and the wine. (A complete gluten intolerance, for example, is an impediment). [30] Apostasy, heresy or schism.

Previous rejection of the faith which was public and notorious is an impediment. [31] Attempted Marriage. The attempt to marry despite an existing valid marriage or vow of chastity, or the marriage to a woman who had an existing valid marriage or vow of chastity forms an irregularity even after the death of the spouse. [32] Participation in an abortion or murder. Any prior act, statement, financial or moral support which contributed positively to a specific case of successful abortion or murder is an impediment. This could include driving a woman to the abortion clinic or paying for her abortion. Paying taxes to a state that funds abortions would generally not be considered a "positive" contribution to the abortion. [33] Attempted suicide, self mutilation, or mutilation of others. Any premeditated attempt at suicide disqualifies one as a candidate for ordination. The act of mutilation must be performed "graviter et dolose" in order for it to be an impediment (cutting off a hand or foot, castration, etc.) [34] Attempt to perform an act proper to the priesthood or episcopate. This applies to hearing acts such as hearing confessions, presiding at marriages, etc.

when one has not received the proper ordination to do so. [35] Simple impediments to ordination Previous marriage. This applies to Latin Rite priests and bishops and Eastern Catholic bishops only. All previous marriages must be declared null, or the spouse must have died. In the case of a deceased spouse, most bishops require that the children be raised to adulthood before the man can undertake a vocation to the priesthood. [36] Political office or other positions that a priest is not permitted to occupy. This impediment disappears as soon as the candidate is no longer in office. [37] Recent baptism. The bishop must determine when a newly baptized person is sufficiently mature in his faith to undertake an ordained ministry in the Church. [38] Irregularities to the exercise of the priesthood Reception of ordination with an irregularity. If the irregularity is not brought to the bishop's attention before ordination, a priest might be ordained who has an irregularity. Such a priest cannot exercise his ministry until the irregularity is removed. [39] Apostasy, heresy or schism that occurs after ordination, if this act is publicly known. [40] Commission of acts that would have led to an irregularity.

[41] Simple impediments to the exercise of the priesthood Reception of ordination with a simple impediment. [42] Physical or mental illness that prevents fulfillment of the duties of the priesthood, until the bishop determines that the priest may resume the exercise of his ministry. [43] See also 1990 Code of Canon Law for the Eastern Rites (CCEO) Dignitas Connubii (Instruction to be Observed by Diocesan and Interdiocesan Tribunals in Handling Causes of the Nullity of Marriage), Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2005. ISBN 88-209-7681-1. New Commentary on the Code of Canon Law, ed. by John P. Beal, James A. Coriden, and Thomas J. Green, Paulist Press, 2000. ISBN 0-8091-0502-0 (hardback). ISBN 0-8091-4066-7 (paperback, 2002). Code of Canon Law Annotated, ed.

by Ernest Caparros, Michel Thériault, and Jean Thorn, 2004. ISBN 2-89127-629-9 (Wilson & Lafleur). ISBN 1-890177-44-X (Midwest Theological Forum). The Canon Law of Marriage and the Family, by John McAreavey, Four Courts Press, 1997. ISBN 1-85182-356-5. The Invalid Marriage, by Lawrence G. Wrenn, Canon Law Society of America, 1998. ISBN 0-943616-78-6. Canon Law: A Text and Commentary, by T. Lincoln Bouscaren and Adam C. Ellis, Bruce Publishing Company, four editions. Deals with the 1917 Code of Canon Law. Nullity of Marriage, second edition, by Frank J. Sheed, Sheed & Ward, 1959. Deals with the 1917 Code of Canon Law. [2] [3] .

Footnotes ^ Note: In the following, canonical references to the 1983 Code of Canon Law are denoted by "CIC", canonical references to the 1917 Code of Canon Law are denoted by "1917 CIC", and canonical references to the 1990 Code of Canon Law for the Eastern Churches are denoted by "CCEO". ^ 1917 CIC c. 1036 Diriment impediment Diriment impediment Diriment Dir"i*ment, a. [L. dirimens, p. pr. of dirimere. See {Dirempt}.] (Law) Absolute . [1913 Webster] {Diriment impediment} (R. C. Ch.), an impediment that nullifies marriage . [1913 Webster] The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000. Dirk Look at other dictionaries: diriment impediment — [ dɪrɪm(ə)nt] noun (in ecclesiastical law) a factor which invalidates a marriage, such as the existence of a prior marriage. Origin C19: diriment from L.

diriment , dirimere interrupt … English new terms dictionary diriment impediment — noun (canon law) an impediment that invalidates a marriage (such as the existence of a prior marriage) • Topics: ↑canon law, ↑ecclesiastical law • Hypernyms: ↑hindrance, ↑hinderance, ↑deterrent, ↑ … Useful english dictionary diriment impediment — Law. a fact or circumstance that renders a marriage void from the beginning. * * * … Universalium Impediment of Crime — Impediment of Crime † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Impediment of Crime An Impediment of Crime nullifies marriage according to ecclesiastical law, and arises from adultery and homicide separately or together. The Roman civil law prohibited… … Catholic encyclopedia Diriment — Dir i*ment, a. [L. dirimens, p. pr. of dirimere. See {Dirempt}.] (Law) Absolute. [1913 Webster] {Diriment impediment} (R. C. Ch.), an impediment that nullifies marriage. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English diriment — [dir′ə mənt] adj.

[&LT; L dirimens, prp. of dirimere, to interrupt &LT; dis , apart + emere, to take: see REDEEM] invalidating; nullifying: chiefly in R.C.Ch. diriment impediment, an obstacle invalidating an attempted marriage … English World dictionary Impediment of Crime — The Impediment of Crime or crimen is, in the canon law of the Roman Catholic Church, a diriment impediment to marriage arising from certain circumstance involving homicide and adultery an impediment such that it prevents the marriage bond from… … Wikipedia impediment — /ɪmˈpɛdəmənt / (say im peduhmuhnt) noun 1. some physical defect, especially a speech disorder: an impediment in speech. 2. obstruction or hindrance; obstacle. 3. (usually plural) impedimenta. 4. Chiefly Ecclesiastical Law a. a bar, usually of… … Australian English dictionary diriment — adj. Law nullifying. Phrases and idioms: diriment impediment a factor (e.g. the existence of a prior marriage) rendering a marriage null and void from the beginning. Etymology: L dirimere f.

dir = DIS + emere take … Useful english dictionary impediment — impedimental /im ped euh men tl/, impedimentary, adj. /im ped euh meuhnt/, n. 1. obstruction; hindrance; obstacle. 2. any physical defect that impedes normal or easy speech; a speech disorder. 3. Chiefly Eccles. Law. a bar, usually of blood or… … Universalium 16+ CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Abduction Home > Catholic Encyclopedia > A > Abduction Abduction Help support New Advent and get the full contents of this website as an instant download . Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more  all for only $19.99... Abduction may be considered as a public crime and a matrimonial diriment impediment . Viewed as a crime, it is a carrying off by force , physical or moral, of any virtuous woman , or even man, from a free and safe place to another place morally different and neither free nor safe from the captor's power, with intent to marry her or to gratify lust .

Abduction considered as a matrimonial impediment is a violent taking away of any woman whatsoever, chaste or unchaste, from a place free and safe to a morally different place, and there detaining her in the power of her abductor until he has coerced her into consenting to marry him. Abduction as a crime is of wider scope than is the impediment, inasmuch as the former includes man-captors and intent to gratify lust , both of which are excluded from the scope of the impediment. On the other hand, the impediment is of wider import than the crime in as far as it includes all women , chaste as well as unchaste, while the crime excludes the corrupt. This difference arises from the fact that the State aims to suppress the public crime as a menace to the safety of the commonwealth, while the Church cares, directly and immediately, for the freedom and the dignity of the Sacrament of Marriage. Abduction is often divided into Abduction by Violence (Raptus Violentiae) and Abduction by Seduction , or Elopement (Raptus Seductionis).

The former is when a woman evidently reluctant, and not consenting either to the flight or to the marriage, is forcibly transferred with a matrimonial intent from a secure and free place to a morally different one and there held under the abductor's influence by force , physical or moral, i.e. threats, great fear , or fraud equivalent to force, as it is a well-known axiom that "it is equal to be compelled to do a thing as to know that it is possible to be compelled to do it" a woman enticed by fair words and fraud and deception consents to go with a man for other reason than matrimony from one place to another where he detains her by force or fraud equivalent to force, in order to coerce her into a marriage to which she objects a woman who, although she had already consented to a future marriage by act of betrothal , yet strenuously objects to abduction, is carried off violently by her betrothed or his agents from a free and safe place to another morally different and there detained until she consents to marry him. Some deny, however, that the raptor in this case is guilty of abduction, saying that he has a right to his betrothed .

He has, indeed, a right to compel her to fulfil her engagement by public authority , not, however, by private authority. His carrying off of the woman against her will is the exercise of private authority, and therefore violence to her rights . Abduction by Seduction (Raptus Seductionis), or Elopement, is the taking away from one place to another, by a man, of a woman of age or under age who consents to both the flight and the marriage without consent of her parents or guardians ; or a woman who, although she refuses at first, finally, induced thereto by caresses, flattery, or any allurement, not however equivalent to force, physical or moral, consents to both flight and marriage without knowledge or consent of her parents or guardians. Abduction by seduction, as defined is held by Roman law to be abduction by violence inasmuch as violence can be offered to the woman and her parents simultaneously, or to the woman alone, or to the parents and guardians alone; and in the elopement, while no violence is done to the woman , violence is done to the parents or guardians.

On the contrary, the Church does not consider violence done to parents , but the violence done only to the parties matrimonially interested. Hence, elopement, or abduction by seduction, does not induce an impediment diriment. Pius VII , in his letter to Napoleon I (26 June, 1805), pronounced this kind of abduction no abduction in the Tridentine sense. The Church considers it, indeed, a wrong against parental authority, but not a wrong to the abducted woman . The old Roman law (Jus Vetus), mindful of the actual or imaginary "Rape of the Sabines", dealt leniently with woman-stealers. If the woman was willing, her marriage with her abductor was allowed and solemnized by the lictor leading her by the hand to the home of the raptor. Constantine the Great , to protect female virtue and safeguard the State, forbade (A.D. 320) such marriages. The law was neither universally received nor observed. The Emperor Justinian (A.D.

528, 533, and 548) forbade these marriages and fixed the punishment, for the principal and his accomplices in the crime, at death and confiscation of all their property . Legal right to avenge the crime was given to parents , relations, or guardians; to put to instant death the abductor caught in the act of Abduction. Appeal by the victim in behalf of her abductor, on the plea that she gave consent, was denied. The law awarded the confiscated property to the woman , if she had not consented to the abduction; to her parents , if they were ignorant of, or adverse to, it, and their daughter consented to the abduction; but if the woman and her parents consented to the carrying off, then all the property lapsed to the State, and the parents were banished (Codex Just., IX, Tit. xiii; Auth. Collat., IX, Tit. xxvi; Novell., 143; Auth. Collat., IX, Tit. xxxiii; Novell. 150). The Byzantine Emperor, Leo VI (886-912), called the Philosopher, approved (Constit.

XXXV) the former laws in all particulars, with the exception that if swords or other deadly weapons were carried by the abductor and his accomplices during the abduction a much severer punishment was inflicted than if they were not carried. The old Spanish law condemned to death the abductor who also ravished the woman , but the abductor who did not ravish was let off with a money fine to be equally shared by the abducted and the State. If the woman had consented to the abduction, the whole fine reverted to the State. Athenian law commanded the abductor to marry the abducted, if she so willed, unless the woman or her parents or guardians had already received money instead. The earlier Byzantine law enjoined, but the later law forbade, the marriage. Among the Germanic nations the crime of abduction was compounded by pecuniary gifts to the parents or guardians. The Church did not accept the Roman law which declared all the marriages of the abductor with the abducted, without exception, entirely and perpetually null and void. She held as valid all marriages in which there was present true and real consent of the captured women . According to St. Basil (2 Canonical Epist. to St.

Amphilochius, xxii, xxx, fixed date, an. 375, Post-Nicene Fathers, 2d series, VIII, Scribner's ed.), the Church issued no canons on abduction prior to his time. Such a crime was, doubtless, extremely rare among the early Christians . In the fourth century, as men grew more audacious, the number of wife-captors became exceedingly numerous. To check this, the Church in several particular councils, besides the punishment of service, confiscation of goods, and public penance, decreed sentence of excommunication (to be judicially pronounced) against laics , and deposition from ecclesiastical rank against clerics , who had violently carried off, or helped to carry off, women . Pope Gelasius (496) permitted the marriage of the abductor with his captive if she was willing, and they had been betrothed , or had mutually discussed their future marriage prior to the abduction. Antecedent to the ninth century, however, the canons make no mention of abduction (raptus) as a matrimonial impediment, either diriment or impedient.

In the Western Church , at least from the ninth century, the marriage of the captor with his captive, or any other woman , was perpetually prohibited. This was not, however, the universal church discipline , but rather the discipline peculiar to those nations among whom the absence of strict laws made abductions more numerous. The bishops of the Frankish nation felt the necessity of severe legislation to meet the evil , and therefore, in many particular councils, e.g. Aix-la-Chapelle (817), Meaux (845), etc., issued stringent canons which continued as the peculiar law of the Franks until it was abolished by Innocent III . Furthermore, the impediment was impedient, not diriment (according to the most common opinion). Marriages celebrated in opposition to the prohibition were held to be valid, although illicit. The Council of Meaux (845) forbade the abductor ever to marry the rapt woman , but permitted his marriage with any other woman after he had performed the prescribed public penance. Gratian ("Decretum Caus.", XXXVI, quaest. ii, ad finem) inaugurated a milder discipline .

He, relying upon the (supposed) authority of St. Jerome , taught that an abductor ought to be allowed to marry the abducted, provided she was willing to have him for a husband. After the publication of his decree in the twelfth century, this milder discipline was generally observed and met with the approval of many popes . Finally, Innocent III ("Decret. Greg.", lib. V, tit. xvii, cap. vii, "De Raptoribus") decreed for the universal Church (especially aiming at the perpetual prohibition by the particular councils) that such marriages might take place as often as a prior reluctance and dissent on the part of the woman should change to willingness and consent to the marriage, and this (according to the common interpretation) even if the woman was in the power of the captor at the time she consented. This decree practically did away with the impedient impediment of abduction, which was merged into the impediment of vis et metus. The Innocentian law continued to be the ecclesiastical discipline up to the sixteenth century. The Council of Trent introduced an entirely new discipline .

To guard the liberty and dignity of marriage, to show its detestation of a horrible crime dangerous alike to the purity of morals and the peace and security of society , and to bar the criminal from gaining the result intended by his crime, the Fathers decreed: between the abductor and abducted there can be no marriage, as long as she remains in the power of the raptor; but if the abducted, having been separated from the abductor, and having been placed in a safe and free place, consents to have him for a husband, let her marry him; yet, notwithstanding, the abductor with all his advisers, accomplices and abettors, are by the law itself excommunicated and declared forever infamous , incapable of acquiring dignities, and, if they be clerics , deposed from their ecclesiastical rank. Furthermore, the abductor is bound, whether he marries the abducted or not, to dower her with a decent dowry at the discretion of the judge (Concil. Trid., Sess. XXIV, vi, "De Reform Matrim."). This law was to take immediate effect, requiring no promulgation in individual parishes . Such also is the law in the Oriental Churches (Synod.

Mont. Liban., 1736, Collect. Lacens., II, 167; Synod. Sciarfien. Syror., 1888). The difference between this law and that of the Decretals ( Innocent III ) is evident. According to the Decretals , the woman's consent, given even while she was in the raptor's power, was deemed sufficient. The Council of Trent does not consider such consent of any avail, and requires consent given after the woman has been entirely separated from the control of the raptor and is dwelling in a place safe and free from his influence. Should she desire to marry him, the marriage may be celebrated, the priest having first obtained permission from the bishop (according to some) whose duty it is to testify to the cessation of the impediment and that the dowry prescribed by the Council has been made over and is subject to the sole use and discretion of the abducted. The general law of the Church does not require the aforesaid bishop's permission, but individual bishops can and do make laws to that effect.

The Council of Trent by this law safeguarded the freedom of marriage (1) on the part of the man, by allowing him to marry the abducted woman , and (2) on the part of the woman , by protecting her from being coerced while in the abductor's power into a marriage against her free will and consent. This impediment of abduction (raptus) is one entirely distinct from that of vis et metus. The latter entirely looks to the freedom of consent; the former, to the freedom of the place where true consent must be elicited. Of ecclesiastical origin, this impediment is temporary and public, and does not bind two unbaptized persons unless the civil law of their country invalidates such marriages. It does, however, govern the marriage of an unbaptized abductor with a Catholic abducted woman , and vice versa.

Amidst the conflicting opinions of canonists and moralists as to whether abduction by seduction, abduction of a betrothed , abduction of a minor against the will of her parents , or the abduction of a man by a woman , induces the impediment or not, it is necessary to remember that this impediment is of Tridentine origin, and therefore the Council of Trent was sole judge of the necessary conditions ; that the Roman or any other civil law or any prior ecclesiastical law had nothing to say in the matter; that the question under investigation was the impediment, not the crime, of abduction; and that in rebus odiosis, which this is, the words of the Council of Trent must be strictly adhered to and interpreted. Four elements are essential in an abduction in order to induce thereby the Tridentine diriment impediment, to wit: (1) a woman ; (2) change of locality; (3) violence ; (4) matrimonial intent . (1) Any woman , whether moral or immoral, maid or widow , betrothed or not, even a public woman , may be the object of a violent abduction inducing the Tridentine impediment and punishment.

Lessius , Avancini , and others hold that a man is not guilty of abduction who carries off his betrothed . The Council of Trent makes no exception, hence we should not. The abduction of a man by a woman is not included in the Tridentine law. The contrary opinion (De Justis and other earlier authors) is at variance with the language of the Council , which always speaks of the raptor, but nowhere of the raptrix. A woman can be guilty of the crime of raptus; but the question here is not about crime, but about the Tridentine impediment. She may be an agent or accomplice of the abductor and, as such, incur the penalties decreed by the Council ; but it does not admit her as raptrix. (2) Change of Locality. -- Two places are necessary to an abduction  one, the place from which, the other, the place to which, the reluctant woman is violently taken, and in which she is also violently detained.

These two places must be morally (some say physically, some virtually) different  the one, from which may be her own or her parents' home, where she is a free agent; the other, to which, must be subject to the power or influence of the abductor, where, though she is free in very many of her actions, she is not perfectly free in all. It is not necessary that the place to which be the house of the abductor; it suffices if it be under his control or influence. Two rooms or two stories in a small dwelling, the home of one family ; a street and an adjoining house; a public highway and a nearby field, would not afford the necessary change of locality. Removal, though violent, from room to room as above, would not induce the impediment under consideration, though some hold the contrary opinion. In case of a large castle, or mansion, or tenement-house, where many families dwell, the violent transference of a reluctant woman from a part where her family dwells to another remote part where a different family lives would constitute sufficient change of locality. If a woman is violently seized, e.g.

in a room, and is violently kept there without change to another room, or if she willingly, without any enticement on the part of the man, goes to a place and is there violently detained with matrimonial intent, she does not suffer abduction in the Tridentine sense. It is a mere sequestration, or detention. Some jurists, however, think otherwise, claiming virtual change (from state of freedom to that of subjection) to be sufficient to induce the Council's impediment. Physical transference from one place to another, however, is absolutely necessary to constitute raptus; virtual transference does not suffice. Should a woman be forcibly removed from a place to which she went willingly to another where she is detained against her will with matrimonial intent, it is abduction. (3) Violence.  Abduction always presumes that the abducted dissents, and that her unwillingness is overcome either by physical force, i.e. laying hands upon her, or moral force, i.e. threats, great fear, and fraud equivalent to force. Mere importunities, fair words, sweet phrases, gifts, and promises are not sufficient to constitute the moral force requisite for abduction.

It is immaterial whether the principal, of and by himself, or through his agents and accomplices, uses this force, moral or physical. Women as the agents of the principal, may exercise it, and not infrequently do so. (4) Matrimonial Intent. -- The intention or motive of the criminal act is all important. To induce the impediment the intent must be to marry the abducted woman . Were the motive other than marriage, e.g. vengeance, pecuniary gain, or gratification of lust , there would be no abduction, no impediment, no penalties (S. Cong. Cone., 23 Jan., 1585). This is evident also from the custom of the Roman Curia , which, in all dispensations given or faculties granted to ordinaries to dispense in cases of affinity , consanguinity , etc., prefixes "provided that the woman was not abducted on account of this [marriage]". This impediment exists only between the abducted and abductor who, of and by himself, or with the assistance of others, had carried her off with intent to marry her. No impediment arises between the abducted and the agent or abettors of the abduction.

She could validly, therefore, marry one of the agents or accomplices while still under the control of the abductor. When the intention is doubtful , judgment is arrived at from consideration of the circumstances. Thus, if a man violently carries off his betrothed or a woman with whom he has had conversations looking to future marriage, it is presumed that his intention was marriage. If doubts still remain, the law presumes the motive to be matrimonial. Where it is abundantly evident that the initial motive of the abduction was lust , it is not abduction, but sequestration, or detention, although afterwards, during the captivity, the captor promise marriage in order to attain his lustful object. The contrary opinion, held by Rosset (De Matrimonio, II, 1354), Krimer, and others, is at variance with the principle of law, that in crimes the beginning, and not what happens accidentally is what the law considers. Were the intent twofold, e.g. lust and marriage, then the carrying off is abduction and induces the impediment. The abduction must be proved , not presumed.

The mere word of the abducted woman , especially as against the oath of the so-called abductor and the absence of all rumour, does not establish the fact. The existence of the abduction once admitted, the burden of proof rests upon the abductor. He must conclusively prove that the abducted willingly consented to both abduction and marriage. If she admits consent to the flight, he must still prove conclusively that she gave willing consent also to the marriage; otherwise the impediment holds and the penalties are incurred. Should he claim (in order to exclude impediment) that his motive in the beginning of the transaction was not marriage, but lust , and that he proposed marriage in order to attain his initial purpose, then he must, by the most conclusive evidence, establish his assertion, since the law presumes that his motive was matrimonial. Punishments The abductor and his advisers and abettors and accomplices in a complete (copula not required), not merely an attempted, abduction are, by the law itself ( Tridentine ), excommunicated (not reserved ), and made perpetually infamous , incapable of acquiring dignities; if they be clerics , they also incur deposition from their ecclesiastical rank.

The abductor is also bound, whether the woman marries him or not, to dower her with a decent dowry at the discretion of the bishop . The priest who celebrates the marriage while the woman is under restraint does not incur the excommunication nor any other penalty, unless he has advised the abductor that he would aid him in his abduction by his presence and ministry. The agents and the like, in an abduction of a woman validly and freely betrothed , but unwilling to be carried off, do not incur excommunication and other Tridentine punishments (S. C. Prop. Fid., 17 April, 1784). The vindictive punishments are incurred, at least in the ecclesiastical court , by a declaratory sentence. The abducted woman , not the abductor, has the right to challenge the validity of her marriage celebrated while under control of the abductor. No particular time is prescribed by law, but she should, however, unless prevented by reasonable cause, present her plea as soon as possible after her entire separation from the control of the abductor. Dispensation The Church as a rule does not dispense with this impediment. It even refuses to grant other dispensations , e.g.

affinity, if the woman was abducted; indeed any dispensation granted, in which mention of the abduction has been omitted, is held as invalid. There are some cases in which the Church has dispensed when it is abundantly evident that the consent of the woman was really free, although circumstances prevented her entire separation from the control of the abductor. The late Instruction of the Congregation of the Inquisition (15 February, 1901, in the "Analecta Ecclesiastica," Rome, 1901, 98) to the bishops of Albania (where abduction is of very frequent occurrence) refused a general repeal of the law for their country, adding that the frequency mentioned, far from being a reason for relaxing, was rather a reason for insisting on the Tridentine law; yet, where it was abundantly evident that the consent of the woman under restraint was truly a free consent, and that there were reasons sufficient for the dispensation , recourse should be had to Rome in each single case. Further, in the extraordinary faculties given to bishops (20 February, 1888) for dispensing in public impediments persons in danger of death, the impediment of raptus is not excluded.

The civil codes of today, as a rule, do not recognize abduction as an impediment diriment to civil marriage , but consider it as a species of vis et metus. The codes of Austria and Spain , however, still hold it as an impediment, and among the jurists of Austria there is an earnest endeavour to make it an impediment absolute and perpetual, so that the abducted woman , if still under control of her abductor, may not marry even a third party. Diriment impediments - definition of diriment impediments by The Free Dictionary Diriment impediments - definition of diriment impediments by The Free Dictionary Noun 1. diriment impediment - (canon law) an impediment that invalidates a marriage (such as the existence of a prior marriage) deterrent , hinderance , hindrance , impediment , balk , baulk , handicap , check - something immaterial that interferes with or delays action or progress canon law , ecclesiastical law - the body of codified laws governing the affairs of a Christian church Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us , add a link to this page, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content .

Link to this page: Copyright © 2003-2017 Farlex, Inc Disclaimer All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.

Question: In Western ecclesiastical law a diriment impediment invalidates what?
Answer: Marriage