KANKAKEE, Ill. -- The Catholic Church cannot waive an obscure rule and allow a paralyzed, impotent man to wed his nurse because sex and children are the 'very nature of marriage itself,' a diocese spokesman says.

Larry Bonvallet, paralyzed from the waist down in a fall from the roof of his parents' home five years ago, said Tuesday he will appeal the ancient rule all the way to the Vatican if necessary.


Bonvallet, 32, and his 26-year-old fiancee, a nurse at a Kankakee hospital, planned to marry May 15 in the Roman Catholic church the woman attended as a child.

But the Rev. William Donnelly, chancellor of the Joliet diocese, said the edict is clear that couples unable to consummate a marriage cannot marry.

'You're talking about the very nature of marriage itself,' Donnelly said. 'It is a relationship between two people. It implies the right of sexual actions, procreation to create children.

'The case is similar to the case of someone who is mentally ill. We would need a statement from a doctor that the guy has worked through his treatment and is capable of taking on the responsibilities of marriage.

'It is impossible to waive the rule. He cannot fulfill his function as a husband.'

Bonvallet, a Presbyterian, said he wants to marry in the Catholic Church for his wife's sake.

'If there is no other choice, we will consider marrying in another church,' he said. 'But her mother and father are devout Catholics. She's following their guidance.'

Bonvallet called the church rule 'archaic.'

'It seems the law must have been written in the Stone Age,' he said. 'It doesn't seem that the Catholic church is willing to flex its laws to meet the needs of the disabled.

'It's not only my pride that's been hurt, it's the pride of countless others who are handicapped.'

Bonvallet said he and his fiancee found out about the edict when she asked her priest, the Rev. Michael Sawlewicz, to perform the marriage ceremony.

'He said he could not marry me if I could not have sexual relations with my wife-to-be,' Bonvallet said.

Sawlewicz told Bonvallet he had to get a note from his doctor stating he would be able to consummate the marriage.

'I called back a week later and I asked, 'What if I can't get a note?' Then he said, 'I can't marry you.'

'He is 76 years old. So she went to another priest who is a little more liberal. But he said we would have to be able to consummate the marriage.'