DIRIMENT IMPEDIMENTS TO MARRIAGE IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, CHAPTER II

A diriment impediment renders a person unqualified to contract marriage validly. Diriment originates from Latin, dirimere to hinder, to stop, or to eliminate.

Public and Occult Impediments:

An impediment is public if there are witnesses who are aware of the facts and are ready to testify to it or there are documents to prove its existence.  Hence, if an impediment is not public it will be occult.

IMPEDIMENTS IN THE CHURCH, SECTION B

ABDUCTION:

No marriage can exist between a man and a woman who has been abducted or at least detained with a view of contraction marriage with her unless the woman choose marriage of her own accord after she has been separated from the captor and established in a safe and free place.

The essential elements that lead to impediments are: the person abducted must be a woman, the abduction is done against the will of the person, and the motive is for marriage

CRIME:

Anyone who with a view to entering marriage with a certain person has brought about the death of that person’s spouse or of one’s own spouse invalidly attempts this marriage

CONSANQUINITY:

Consanguinity is about true blood relationship between persons. A marriage is never permitted to exist here

AFFINITY:

Affinity is based on valid marriage and exists between a spouse and the blood relations of the other spouse. Marriage cannot validly exist between the man and blood relation of the woman or between the woman and blood relation of the man because they are related by affinity

Note that brothers and sisters of the man are not related to the brothers and sisters of the woman by affinity. It is only the married party who is related to the blood relatives of one he or she marries.

PUBLIC PROPRIETY:

Impediment arises from an invalid marriage established from notorious public concubinage. Marriage is prohibited in the direct line and only in the first degree which means that a man will not marry the daughter of his spouse (whether married or not) born to her in her previous marriage/union  

LEGAL RELATIONSHIP:

Once a legal relationship has taken place according to civil law, an impediment to canonical valid marriage arises between the adopted persons. It prohibits marriage between a person and his or her adopted parent and between adopted brothers and sisters.

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