Dispensation
See also: Canonical impedimentThe Pope or a bishop can give a dispensation to an impediment, called sanatio in radice (Latin: "retroactive validation"). Some impediments can only be dispensed by the pope, while all others can be dispensed by the pope or a bishop.
A sanatio in radice retroactively dispenses the impediment and makes a putative marriage valid from the time the sanatio is granted. The sanatio revalidates a marriage by reason of a consent formerly given, but ineffective because of an impediment. When the impediment is removed or dispensed, the consent is ipso facto ratified and no renovation is required. In such a case, it is requisite that the consent of both parties to the marriage had not ceased and that their marriage had had the external appearance of a true marriage.
Read more about this topic: Validation Of Marriage
Famous quotes containing the word dispensation:
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)