Companion · Diagnostic
The nine substantive grounds of marriage nullity in the 1983 Code, walked one at a time. Verbatim canon text, plain-English summary, applicability self-checks, and a printable summary of the grounds you flag — designed to bring to the first meeting with the diocesan tribunal.
Read this first
What this page is. A diagnostic. You read each canon, you read the Companion’s plain-English summary, you sit with the applicability questions, and you flag the grounds you believe may apply. Your flags save to this browser; you can return and revise them. When you have flagged your grounds, you can print a one-page summary showing only those grounds, with the verbatim canon text and your own notes — the same kind of map an advocate would draft before a tribunal meeting.
What this page is not. It is not a substitute for the judicial vicar or an advocate (CIC can. 1481). The tribunal decides which grounds are formally in your case — that decision is made in the joinder-of-issue decree (CIC can. 1676 §2), which fixes the dubium (the precise nullity question) in writing. This page helps you bring an honest, canon-aware map to the conversation that produces that decree. It does not pre-decide it.
The canons here are real law. The verbatim text below is the official Vatican English translation of the 1983 Code of Canon Law. The plain-English summary is the Companion’s framing for the petitioner; the canon text governs the case, the Companion does not.
How printing works. The print button below shows a wall-sheet (8.5×11) summary of only the grounds you have flagged, with the verbatim canon text and your own notes. If you have flagged nothing, the print page prompts you to flag at least one. To print: click the button, then your browser’s print dialog opens. To return to this page after printing: cancel the dialog, or close the print preview.