The capacity of sexually abused persons to marry : a canonical appraisal

Abstract

My wish to research a subject which I could put into practice together with my lifetime background in the Nursing Profession, led me to choose Canon Law and prompted my tutor, Msgr Joseph Bajada to suggest that, I should research the trauma caused by child sexual abuse and its effect on the ability to marry. This dissertation will deal with the long-term negative effects which result from the resulting psychological trauma of sexual abuse in childhood and their effect on the ability of the survivor to give a valid marital consent. A literature review of the long-term negative effects of child sexual abuse as continued by the behavioural sciences and also by clinical and empirical research will be given. The value of this section is therefore, mainly informative. Having established that the trauma is of a psychological origin, the survivor's ability to marry will be discussed, and this in relation to the required canonical discretion of judgement and the ability to assume the essential obligations of marriage as laid down in Canon 1095.2 and 1095.3. The Canonical jurisprudence of Ecclesiastical Tribunals in dealing with such cases will be explained. The important dialogue between the psychological/psychiatric experts and the judge, which is of vital importance for the judge to reach moral ce1tainty in reaching a final decision in marriage nullity cases, will be presented. Finally the local scene will be presented, based on cases decided by the First Instance of the Metropolitan Tribunal of Malta during the years 2002 to 2004, which were examined for the purpose of this study. Case studies decided by the Roman Rota, the Metropolitan Tribunal of Malta, and other Ecclesiastical Tribunals will be presented. The aim of this study is mainly informative and is meant to illustrate the complex nature of the long term effects of child sexual abuse and the resultant difficulties encountered when dealing with cases of marriage nullity, where the ground for the incapacity is the result of sexual abuse in childhood.