Which canonical impediment to marriage may be dispensed by a competent authority, and in what cases?

• A. Disparity of cult may be dispensed by the competent authority in certain cases
• B. Existing bond may be dispensed
• C. Close relatives by blood may be dispensed
• D. Sacred orders may be dispensed

Answer: (A)

Disparity of cult is an impediment to marriage that the Church can dispense in certain circumstances. This happens in mixed marriages where one party is Catholic and the other is baptized in a non-Catholic faith. The competent ecclesiastical authority—typically the local bishop, and in some cases the Holy See—may grant a dispensation so that the marriage may proceed. The dispensation is given with conditions aimed at safeguarding the Catholic faith in the family, such as the Catholic party’s commitment to do all in their power to have children baptized and raised Catholic, and to ensure the non-Catholic spouse does not obstruct the Catholic formation of the children. The other listed impediments—an existing bond, close relatives by blood, and sacred orders—are not dispensed in this same way and involve different canonical remedies or prohibitions.