Marriage is a sacrament whose ministers are the bride and groom with the assistance of a priest. For the Church the marriage is an intimate community of life and love (GS 48) by its nature indissoluble, faithful and open to procreation. The act which constitutes a marriage is the consent of the spouses, that consent must be free and conscious (can.1057). Given the elementary knowledge of these premises, the marriage may be invalid for a number of reasons, some of which are intuitable immediately, others which aren’t. It is clear that if we imagine marriage as a contract, however hateful this may be the similarity, it may be invalid either because the parties have not accepted some of the obligations that it entails (indissolubility, fidelity, children) or because one or both were not able to understand the scope, or because – though theoretically aware of the nature and scope of the basic obligations of the contract – one party (or both) was not able, for psychological reasons, to assume those obligations that he or she specifically knew and accepted. Since then that consent must be free and conscious, all that prevents this freedom (violence, fear) or that consciousness (the error, the intent) have effect in nullifying the agreement. The Church, who is always respectful of the rights of the spouses, evaluate the coercion of freedom that can come both from the outside  and from the  souls of the contractors. Particular attention is therefore given to psychological issues, provided for in can.1095 to assess the capacity to contract marriage.

Finally, for the marriage, given the nature of public act and not merely private, are a particular form which the failure to comply may lead to revocation (can.1108). These are, in a shamefully inaccurate and imperfect summary, some grounds for nullity of marriage. In addition, other specific reasons (the grounds) exists such as age, consanguinity, the bond of marriage, the rat, the crimen, the public and perpetual voting of  chastity of the priesthood, the helplessness, the publica honestas listed and regulated by cann.1083-1094. Anyone who has read the Betrothed remembers the list, in Latin, who don Abbondio tells to Renzo Tramaglino to dissuade him from marrying Lucia Mondello.

However, I will stop here. I believe in fact that the matter is so sensitive that it imposes a clear choice: either we make a precise exposure the most comprehensive possible of the canon law of marriage, both from a substantive point of the case (key issue is the importance of Rotale jurisprudence) or you must evaluate each case as a case in itself.

Every marriage has its own story, each person is unique and irreplaceable, as are the unique personal and family emotional, social and work experiences of each of the parties to the marriage. The canon law is very complicated, and I believe that only a specific examination of each wedding with the help of an expert can be useful. I find it unnecessary and perhaps harmful, here a list of individual sterile grounds of nullity, because it threatens or deceive people and leads them into error, however, on the possible revocation or on the possible validity of their marriage. To take a trivial example, it is generally accepted that not wantin children in marriage leads  to invalidity. Having said that, in fact we have not provided any useful indication. We must investigate the extent of that intent, on what were the real beliefs and desires of the party when he or she  said that he/she does not want children. Then it should be explained how we should prove this desire. It is obvious that this analysis can only be made personally interrogating the person who would not have wanted children, and that the detailed exposition of the elements of law and fact that regulate this head of invalidity could influence, even unconsciously, the reader and pollute any necessary discussion. Anyone who has doubts about the possible invalidity of his marriage should always, in my opinion, first go to a priest for an initial examination, then take appropriate steps to investigate, with the help of a qualified professional, the issue.