Null and void wedding if you use the condom. This is what the Cassation Court decided with a shocking sentence (814/2009), rejecting the appeal of a woman who didn’t want the annulment of her religious marriage, already recognized by the Apostolic Tribunal of the Roman Rota. The case of Elisabetta and Fabio, who were married in 1992, will make history. He suffered from a disease (the Reiter syndrome) that could have been sexually transmitted his wife and “potential” baby. The couple always used the condom because of the man’s disease.

When they separated, the Roman Rota annulled the marriage because it did not generate offspring. For the Church, in fact, amongst the duties of married couples is also procreation. The State in fact can also annul a marriage if the couple makes love always using precautions. The two separated in 1999.

The Roman Rota of Lazio had annulled the wedding. Afterwards, the Appeal Court of Rome confirmed the decision and the woman presented an appeal to the Cassation Court saying that she wanted to protect her health, as article 32 of the Constitution asserts. But the Cassation Court did not accept her reasons.

Translated by Chiara Nunnari from John Milton Institute