**Fragment of a Letter to the Patriarch of Grado**
Benedict, servant of the servants of God, to the Patriarch of Grado: greetings.
The law of divine constitution has established the apostolic see as the teacher of the whole world, so that whatever is doubted anywhere may have its resolution sought from this chair. Your Highness has written to us, the occupant of that same chair, and a certain man of yours named Joannes has inquired about the marriage of his surviving daughter. The matter is this: his other daughter, now deceased, had been betrothed to a young man named Stephanus with simple words of promise, but before the wedding could take place, she was overtaken by death. The question is whether the surviving daughter may lawfully marry that same young man, or not. Joannes has testified that this matter is considered ambiguous among you. With God's guidance, we render it most certain with these words.
That first-created man [Adam], the root and origin of our kind, seeing the rib taken from him fashioned into a woman, spoke among other things in a prophetic spirit: *For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh* [Genesis 2:24]. By these words he indicated that a man and a woman cannot become one flesh unless they are joined together by carnal union. Therefore, since the young man was never physically united with the other woman through the bond of marriage, we cannot see how they could have become one flesh through the mere words of a betrothal promise. For kinship of blood is spoken of in words, but it is not created by words, nor does a kiss produce a kinship, since it brings about no mingling of blood.
Since therefore the situation of this Joannes is precisely as stated — that he wishes to join his second daughter in marriage to the man to whom he had previously arranged to betroth his first — by the authority of the apostolic office we declare that this may be done without any taint of wrongdoing, provided it meets the consent of both parties. For why should something be prohibited which Holy Scripture never declares must be prohibited? Nor do the civil laws, in enumerating the persons who may not contract marriages with one another, say anything about a case of this kind. Therefore, do not refuse what you have no grounds to deny.
**Fragment of a Letter to the Patriarch of Grado**
Benedict, servant of the servants of God, to the Patriarch of Grado: greetings.
The law of divine constitution has established the apostolic see as the teacher of the whole world, so that whatever is doubted anywhere may have its resolution sought from this chair. Your Highness has written to us, the occupant of that same chair, and a certain man of yours named Joannes has inquired about the marriage of his surviving daughter. The matter is this: his other daughter, now deceased, had been betrothed to a young man named Stephanus with simple words of promise, but before the wedding could take place, she was overtaken by death. The question is whether the surviving daughter may lawfully marry that same young man, or not. Joannes has testified that this matter is considered ambiguous among you. With God's guidance, we render it most certain with these words.
That first-created man [Adam], the root and origin of our kind, seeing the rib taken from him fashioned into a woman, spoke among other things in a prophetic spirit: *For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh* [Genesis 2:24]. By these words he indicated that a man and a woman cannot become one flesh unless they are joined together by carnal union. Therefore, since the young man was never physically united with the other woman through the bond of marriage, we cannot see how they could have become one flesh through the mere words of a betrothal promise. For kinship of blood is spoken of in words, but it is not created by words, nor does a kiss produce a kinship, since it brings about no mingling of blood.
Since therefore the situation of this Joannes is precisely as stated — that he wishes to join his second daughter in marriage to the man to whom he had previously arranged to betroth his first — by the authority of the apostolic office we declare that this may be done without any taint of wrongdoing, provided it meets the consent of both parties. For why should something be prohibited which Holy Scripture never declares must be prohibited? Nor do the civil laws, in enumerating the persons who may not contract marriages with one another, say anything about a case of this kind. Therefore, do not refuse what you have no grounds to deny.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.