4. There must be free consent of both parties.
5. Physical capacity. Permanent and incurable impotence is an impediment to marriage.
6. Moral impediments. No person who has taken holy orders which involve a solemn vow to celibacy can contract a valid marriage. Marriages between Christians and Jews are forbidden.
Consanguinity and Affinity.—Marriage is forbidden between ascendants and descendants, between full or half brothers and sisters, between first cousins and between uncles and nieces or aunts and nephews. The relationship may arise from legitimate or illegitimate birth.
For Jews, however, the impediment of consanguinity extends no further in the collateral line than to marriage between brother and sister or between a woman and her nephew or grandnephew.
A Roman Catholic is expressly forbidden to marry a divorced party until after the death of the latter’s former consort.
Preliminaries.—A valid marriage can take place only after formal publication of the banns and the solemn declaration of consent.
Banns are published by announcing the coming marriage together with the full names of both parties, their birthplace, status and residence, on three consecutive Sundays or holidays. In the case of Jews the banns must be published on three consecutive Saturdays or feast days.
Celebration.—The solemn declaration of consent must generally be given before the spiritual pastor of one of the parties or before his representative. Two witnesses are necessary.
A civil marriage in which the solemn declaration of consent is given before the chief administrative official of the district, in the presence of two witnesses and a sworn secretary, is obligatory if neither party belongs to a legally recognized religious sect.