Since early September, there has been much discussion among Catholics regarding the Holy Father’s announcement that significant changes were being made to Canon Law regarding how and why the annulment process is managed. In the two documents whose titles in English are “The Lord Jesus, Clement Judge” and “Clement and merciful Jesus”, Pope Francis wrote this:
“It is therefore the concern for the salvation of souls that, today as yesterday, remains the supreme objective of the institutions and laws, and drives the Bishop of Rome to offer to the Bishops this reform document, insofar as they share with him the task of the Church to protect unity in faith and in discipline regarding marriage, the cornerstone and origin of the Christian family.
The drive to reform has been fueled by the enormous number of faithful who, while wishing to be at peace with their conscience, are too often separated from the legal structures of the Churches due to physical or moral distance; charity and mercy therefore require that the same Church, as a mother, to be closer to her children who consider themselves separated”.
Through all the formal language of the two new documents, it is Francis’ deepest desire that the process become simpler, less burdensome, and more efficient in order to bring people separated from Christ in any way back to a closer and more loving relationship with Jesus and all the while remaining faithful to Catholic teaching on the sacrament of matrimony.
To this end, we will be publishing information in the parish bulletin through the month of January on the changes made to the process of annulment and other information about annulments which are important for us to know and understand when considering entering into the process.
What is an annulment?
“Annulment” is an unfortunate word that is sometimes used to refer to a Catholic “declaration of nullity.” Actually, nothing is made null through the process. Rather, a Church tribunal (a Catholic Church court) declares that a marriage thought to be valid according to Church law actually fell short of at least one of the essential elements required for a binding union.
Deacon John D’Amico
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