Is Vaginismus Grounds for an Annulment? A Response to a Reader

Overview

Can vaginismus be grounds for annulment in a Catholic marriage? A canon law explanation responding to a reader's question about impotence, marital consummation, and Church teaching.

Reader’s Question: 

A young Catholic couple discovered soon after marriage that the wife had vaginismus and could not endure intercourse due to extreme pain. She proceeded onto a treatment plan of physical therapy and dilators, which has resulted some improvements but she is still not fully healed of this ability ailment. However the couple has had two pregnancies, resulting in a son and is awaiting son #2.

Is their problem with vaginismus a cause for nullification?

Response: 

I think this stems from a common misunderstanding of how the Church defines sexual impotence from a canonical perspective. Here is the canon in question: 

“Canon 1084 - 1. Antecedent and perpetual impotence to have intercourse, whether on the part of the man or the woman, whether absolute or relative, nullifies marriage by its very nature”

Strictly speaking, therefore, one is impotent if any only if the bare minimum requirement for a marriage to be consummated is missing so that it is truly impossible for the marital act to take place and for the marital act to be consummated. Now some canonists do distinguish between organic impotence, which means the genital organs are defective in a way that prevents the marital act, and functional impotence, which happens when a psychological or some other condition prevents the completion of the martial act despite in-tact organs. However, in both cases, the completion of the marital act is prevented by the condition prior to the marriage and in a state of perpetuity. In this case, the very existence of natural born children conceived by the  marital act ipso facto rules out an impediment of impotence. Therefore, I would not consider it to be grounds for nullity. That being said, this sounds like a very tragic situation and we at the Apostolate for Marital Intimacy will be praying for this couple! In times like this, while medical treatment is pursued, building a strong foundation of emotional intimacy is pivotal for a happy marriage when obstacles beyond the spouses’ control get in the way of enjoying conjugal intimacy.