Defect of Birth
Encyclopedia
Defect of Birth was, under former Roman Catholic canon law
, a canonical impediment to ordination, stemming from illegitimacy. Under the current 1983 Code of Canon Law, illegitimacy no longer has any canonical implications or consequences. Defect of birth was an impediment to the reception of orders, and inhibited the exercise of the functions of orders already received. The prohibition did not touch the validity of orders, but made the reception of them illicit.
The defect of illegitimate birth could be remedied in four ways: (1) by the subsequent marriage of the parents, if they were capable of contracting a marriage at the time of birth; (2) by a rescript of the pope; (3) by religious profession; (4) by a dispensation.
Canon law
Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
, a canonical impediment to ordination, stemming from illegitimacy. Under the current 1983 Code of Canon Law, illegitimacy no longer has any canonical implications or consequences. Defect of birth was an impediment to the reception of orders, and inhibited the exercise of the functions of orders already received. The prohibition did not touch the validity of orders, but made the reception of them illicit.
The defect of illegitimate birth could be remedied in four ways: (1) by the subsequent marriage of the parents, if they were capable of contracting a marriage at the time of birth; (2) by a rescript of the pope; (3) by religious profession; (4) by a dispensation.