Patrocinio, Brazil - A paraplegic man who was forbidden to get married in the Roman Catholic Church because he was impotent is the subject of a new documentary.
The Brazilian man, Hedir Antonio de Brito was two weeks away from marrying Elzimar de Lourdes Serafim, a widow, in August 1996, when he received a shocking letter from the local bishop denying their application for a marriage certificate.
According to canon law, any man or woman who is impotent and unable to have intercourse cannot get married.
De Brito wrote a letter to Pope to appeal the bishop's decision, but did not get a response.
The invitations had already been mailed and the couple were determined to get married, even if it meant going against the church.
De Brito, a leading disability advocate in Brazil, felt the church was discriminating against him, so he wrote to a local radio station.
His letter was read on the air, awakening the town of Patrocinio to the couple's plight, and support for them spread across Brazil, eventually catching the attention of international media.
Documentary maker Flavia Fontes said: "I could not believe that the church would do this to somebody who probably had many obstacles in his life."