The Complementarity Between Man and Woman in Marriage

Abstract

In the rst part of this contribution we will try to focus our attention on the reality of the complementarity in juridical terms. This does not mean that we will merely study laws, whether canonical or civil, but rather pursue the intrinsic juridical dimension of that reality we call “complementarity between man and woman”, and in particular with regards to marriage. This vision is what Benedict XVI, in one of his addresses to the Roman Rota, called “Juridical an- thropology of marriage.” The second part looks at the issue from a di erent perspective, not by any means less important, in an attempt to dialogue with canonical science: the essential content of complementarity regarding capacity for marriage. In other words, that which is necessary for desiring and being capable of a true marriage.