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Q&A

Marriage and Consummation

Fr. Charles Grondin

Question:

Can a Catholic priest marry a Catholic man and woman who can not physically consummate the marriage?

Answer:

While actually consummating a marriage is not required for validity (canon 1061 §1), being physically able to consummate the marriage is required for validity. “Antecedent and perpetual impotence to have intercourse, whether on the part of the man or the woman, whether absolute or relative, nullifies marriage by its very nature” (Code of Canon Law, 1084 §1).

Therefore, if a couple was unable to consummate the marriage, then the priest should not marry them.

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