Abstract

The conducted analyzes show that the representatives of the doctrine of canon law perceive paraphilias as a threat to marriage and family, considering them as an example of psychosexual disintegration of a given person. According to the canonists, the discussed deviations may prevent the conclusion of a valid marriage covenant due to the paraphiliac’s incapacity to undertake and fulfil important marital duties such as: establishing a conjugal marital community of life, to establish an interpersonal relationship between spouses, to maintain a permanent, faithful, mutual and long-lasting relationship, to maintain heterosexual community, to give birth and raise offspring or to have intimate life realised humano modo. However, the mere presence of paraphilia does not prejudge the fact that a person is incapable of entering into marriage. In this regard, the canonists recommend taking into account the degree of intensity of a given anomaly, thus referring to the studies of Urbano Navarrete and Italian psychiatrist Gianfrancesco Zuanazzi. At the same time, it is necessary to avoid rash judgement as to the severity of the paraphilia in question, and to carefully evaluate each case submitted, taking into account the type of deviation, its features and also the personality of the contracting party.