A man paralyzed below the waist in a fall and a nurse he met while recuperating planned to marry this spring, but a little-known law of the Roman Catholic Church is standing in the way.

Larry Bonvallet and his fiancee want to have the ceremony in the church her family has attended for years. But when the couple went to a priest with their plans, he told them Catholic Church law states that only people who can have a sexual relationships can marry in the church.

Mr. Bonvallet, 32 years old, was paralyzed in a fall from the roof of his parents' home five years ago. While recovering at Riverside Hospital, he met his future fiancee. He is still confined to a wheelchair and is incapable of having sexual relations.

His fiancee, 26, who did not want to be identified, said she does not want children but that she does want a Catholic wedding in the church she has attended since she was a child, St. Stanislaus.