Morals of the Church
Library › Wouters, Manual of Moral Theology › Volume II › Book III. On the Aids of the Christian Life, or on the Sacraments › Treatise VIII. On Matrimony › Dissertation II. On Matrimony Itself › Part II. On Matrimony, Insofar as It Is a Sacrament, Particularly › Section III. On the Reception of the Sacrament of Marriage › Chapter IV. On Dispensation from Impediments › Article III. On the Petition for a Dispensation

Section — Wouters, Manual of Moral Theology

§ I. On the Person Petitioning

813.

Although petitioners can recur immediately to the Superior, nevertheless in ordinary practice the dispensation is petitioned in their name by the pastor or by the confessor: by the pastor, if the dispensation must be sought for the external forum; by the confessor, if it must be sought for the internal forum. Hence the confessor who detects an impediment whose dispensation must be sought for the external forum should send the penitent back to the pastor. I said:

I. The pastor should petition for a dispensation which must be sought for the external forum; when, however, a dispensation must be sought for the external forum has been explained on p. 655. In the case in which the petitioners belong to different parishes, whether of the same or of different dioceses, the dispensation is to be petitioned:

  1. If the impediment is proper to one or to both parties, for instance if one or both are bound by a public vow, through the respective pastor. But if the petitioners belong to different dioceses, he should recur to their respective Bishop.

  2. If the impediment is common or correlative, as when there is question of consanguinity, affinity, etc., by common usage the pastor of the bride is accustomed to petition for the dispensation; nevertheless he should not omit to ask the pastor of the bridegroom whether he thinks anything should be noted. But if the petitioners are of different dioceses, the dispensation of one Bishop suffices, because when the impediment is removed on the part of one, the other party also becomes free.1 Finally, if one party is non-Catholic, the dispensation should be petitioned by the pastor of the Catholic party, and recourse should be had to this party's Bishop.

II. The confessor should petition for a dispensation which must be sought for the internal forum. When, however, a dispensation must be sought for the internal forum has been explained on p. 655. Besides:

  1. If the impediment is proper to one or to both parties, for instance if one or both are bound by a private vow, the dispensation should be petitioned through the respective confessor, and therefore by the same confessor if both petitioners approach the same confessor.

  2. If the impediment is common, as when there is question of the impediment of crime, the dispensation should be petitioned by the confessor who has detected the impediment, unless the confessor of the other party has already undertaken that matter.

III. The pastor or confessor should petition for the dispensation in the name of those about to marry, and indeed: 1° if the impediment is proper to one party, in the name of this one alone; 2° if it is proper to both parties, in the name of the bridegroom and in the name of the bride individually; 3° if it is common or correlative, in the name of both parties together. If, however, only one party is Catholic, it should be petitioned in this one's name alone.

Finally, a dispensation can also be petitioned with the parties unaware; nevertheless it should not be petitioned in this way unless it is better that the impediment not be made manifest to them except together with the dispensation obtained (St. Alphonsus VI, 1145).

1 Cf. Sacred Penitentiary, September 4, 1839.

The Person Petitioning