Pope Francis announces measures to simplify annulments

[Velar Fricative]

www.nytimes.com/2015/09/09/world/europe/pope-francis-marriage-annulment-reforms.html?_r=0

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis announced new procedures on Tuesday to make it easier for Roman Catholics to obtain marriage annulments, a change intended to streamline a process long criticized by many Catholics as too cumbersome, complicated and expensive.



Under the new rules, the process will be much faster for cases in which a couple is not contesting the annulment.



Such cases had required two separate judgments from a diocesan tribunal. Now, the process, overseen by local bishops, will require only one judgment. Moreover, the new rules require that the hearing process be held within 30 days of application, eliminating a longer waiting period.



Francis is also instructing Catholic bishops to be more welcoming to divorced or separated Catholics “who have abandoned the church.” Local dioceses will be asked to establish commissions to reach out to couples seeking annulments.



Francis outlined the new rules in two papal letters, known in Latin as Motu Proprio, or personal administrative decrees. In speeding up the annulment process, Francis is trying to make the church more merciful and responsive to the needs of Catholics, yet he does not want to appear to be encouraging divorce.



Francis wrote that his new rules “do not favor the nullity of marriages, but the expedition of trials, as well as a just simplification.”



Divorce is a topic that has long splintered many of the Catholic faithful from the church. Under church law, marriage is indissoluble, and divorce is not recognized. Yet many Catholics are divorced, especially in the Western world, and the divide between reality on the ground and church dogma has alienated many.



Many Catholics had been watching closely to see how Francis would address the issue of annulments as part of a broader debate about whether the church should allow divorced and remarried Catholics to receive the sacraments such as communion.



The church has long offered an annulment process in which a marriage can be declared invalid if the husband or wife can prove the union failed to meet certain requirements. In August 2014, Francis appointed a commission to study the best way to overhaul the annulment process.



The new rules allow local bishops to establish tribunals to hear annulment cases. The tribunals should consist of three members, ideally clerics, although the rules allow a bishop to appoint up to two lay members of the diocese to a tribunal.

[IIOY]

I sincerely hope that this man has adequate personal security.

[sfy]

Sept 8, 2015 8:03:21 GMT -5 IIOY said:

I sincerely hope that this man has adequate personal security.

Anyone devout enough to be angry (and I know their numbers are strong) has to know that you can't come back from hurting the Pope.  There aren't enough Hail Marys in existence...

[IIOY]

Sept 8, 2015 8:30:26 GMT -5 sfy said:

Sept 8, 2015 8:03:21 GMT -5 IIOY said:

I sincerely hope that this man has adequate personal security.

Anyone devout enough to be angry (and I know their numbers are strong) has to know that you can't come back from hurting the Pope.  There aren't enough Hail Marys in existence...

We see time and again how people are able to warp their own religious beliefs to justify violence in the name of greater good.  Take someone who is slightly unbalanced to begin with, and I don't think this is beyond the realm of possibility at all. Certainly Catholic leaders themselves haven't always been above harming one another.

[sfy]

Sept 8, 2015 8:33:30 GMT -5 IIOY said:

Sept 8, 2015 8:30:26 GMT -5 sfy said:

Anyone devout enough to be angry (and I know their numbers are strong) has to know that you can't come back from hurting the Pope.  There aren't enough Hail Marys in existence...

We see time and again how people are able to warp their own religious beliefs to justify violence in the name of greater good.  Take someone who is slightly unbalanced to begin with, and I don't think this is beyond the realm of possibility at all. Certainly Catholic leaders themselves haven't always been above harming one another.

Yeah...as soon as I hit the "post" button, I thought about how much killing has been done by people who think they are doing God's work.  You're totally right.

[wawa]

So he's not actually changing the requirements for annulment right? (What are those btw?) He's just cutting down the red tape to prove that you've met those requirements?

Is this really a big deal? I mean in terms of getting angry about it if you are opposed to divorce.

[eclaires]

Sept 8, 2015 9:03:53 GMT -5 wawa said:

So he's not actually changing the requirements for annulment right? (What are those btw?) He's just cutting down the red tape to prove that you've met those requirements?

Is this really a big deal? I mean in terms of getting angry about it if you are opposed to divorce.

Honestly I would be surprised if this even bothers some of the most devout Catholics.  I could be wrong, but most Catholics I know think the annulment process is ridiculous.  I think this just streamlines some of it.  Some people wait for a really long time for annulments.

Also, at the parish level, being incredibly accepting of divorced people (even those that have remarried without annulments) has always been my experience.  

[LoveTrains]

Sept 8, 2015 9:34:06 GMT -5 eclaires said:

Sept 8, 2015 9:03:53 GMT -5 wawa said:

So he's not actually changing the requirements for annulment right? (What are those btw?) He's just cutting down the red tape to prove that you've met those requirements?

Is this really a big deal? I mean in terms of getting angry about it if you are opposed to divorce.

Honestly I would be surprised if this even bothers some of the most devout Catholics.  I could be wrong, but most Catholics I know think the annulment process is ridiculous.  I think this just streamlines some of it.  Some people wait for a really long time for annulments.

Also, at the parish level, being incredibly accepting of divorced people (even those that have remarried without annulments) has always been my experience.  

Are the divorced still prohibited from taking communion?

[pamela]

Sept 8, 2015 10:18:29 GMT -5 LoveTrains said:

Sept 8, 2015 9:34:06 GMT -5 eclaires said:

Honestly I would be surprised if this even bothers some of the most devout Catholics.  I could be wrong, but most Catholics I know think the annulment process is ridiculous.  I think this just streamlines some of it.  Some people wait for a really long time for annulments.

Also, at the parish level, being incredibly accepting of divorced people (even those that have remarried without annulments) has always been my experience.  

Are the divorced still prohibited from taking communion?

Technically, yes. In practice, it's on the individual to abstain I'd assume. I've never seen communion denied. Now maybe the priest has talked with someone privately, but actually in the communion line, it's hard to imagine.