In the

canon law of the Catholic Church The canon law of the Catholic Church () is "how the Church organizes and governs herself". It is the system of religious laws and canon law, ecclesiastical legal principles made and enforced by the Hierarchy of the Catholic Church, hierarchical ...

, a ''vetitum'' (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for "a prohibited thing") is a prohibition, in the form of a precept, imposed by an ecclesiastical judge on a particular individual, in connection with declaring the nullity of marriage, that prevents them from contracting another marriage, at least until the cause of the nullity of the first marriage has ceased.Dr. Edward N. Peters, J.C.D.
Annulment Granted? Expect More than a Simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No’
accessed 9 May 2019. A ''vetitum'' prohibits marriage in the Catholic Church until the prohibition is removed. The term describes a prohibition against a particular behavior or action that is affixed to a party whose marriage was declared found to have been null in a declaration of nullity from a matrimonial tribunal of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. This prohibition or directive may involve one or both of the parties. A ''vetitum'' is imposed to delay the celebration of a future

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

until a given condition has been fulfilled or addressed. Thus, the pastoral purpose of a ''vetitum'' is to help an individual and/or a couple address the underlying problems that led to the breakdown of a former marriage union. At times a recommendation or a warning (a '' monitum'') may also be made by the tribunal which processes a formal petition for nullity.

References

Catholic matrimonial canon law Catholic procedural canon law Catholic Church legal terminology Tribunals of the Catholic Church {{Latin-vocab-stub