Posted on 09/21/2014 1:29:09 PM PDT by marshmallow
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis has ordered a review aimed at simplifying the Church's procedures for annulments, the Vatican said on Saturday, a move that could make it easier for Catholics to end marriages.
A statement said Francis had appointed an 11-member commission of canon lawyers and theologians to propose reform of the process, "seeking to simplify and streamline it while safeguarding the principle of the indissolubility of marriage".
An annulment, formally known as a "decree of nullity," is a ruling that a marriage was not valid in the first place according to Church law because certain pre-requisites, such as free will, psychological maturity and openness to having children, were lacking.
In the past decades many within the 1.2 billion-member Church have complained that the procedure is too complicated and archaic.
Most annulments take place at the local diocesan level. Each decision must be reviewed by a second tribunal, a step reformers say is superfluous and should be eliminated.
The Church does not recognize divorce. Catholics who divorce and re-marry outside the Church are considered to be still married to their first spouse and living in a state of sin, which bars them from receiving sacraments such as communion.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
“Each man being his own pope, bishop, priest, and pastor is problematic”
Sometimes having a pope can be somewhat problematic as well. No one is infallible on any subject. No one.
“Hey I didn’t realize you are from the Cafeteria branch of the Catholic Church, where you get to pick and choose what YOU not the Church believes is right.”
I don’t communicate directly with Rome, although I’m sure you do.
All of my parish priests for the last 68 years have been sinners just like me... There have undoubtedly been some real good ones intermixed with the occasional pedophile.
Excluding ex cathedra, I’ll use my judgment with guidance from the Lord, thank you. Ex Cathedra IS the churche’s position on maters of faith. Everything else is an opinion. And they vary depending on the parish and the priest.
**Ex Cathedra IS the churche’s (sic) position on maters of faith.**
Faith and morals to be more precise.
And don’t forget the Magisterium.
“And don’t forget the Magisterium.”
A teaching of ordinary and universal magisterium is a teaching of which all bishops (including the Pope) universally agree on and is also considered infallible.
When was the last time THAT happened?
I’m not sure, but I’m thinking Humanae Vitae.
your graphic was out of focus. Couldn’t make it out.
A civil marriage by itself is NOT considered valid by the Catholic Church, but children of these marriages are still legitimate because legitimacy is a civil, not religious designation. The idea of a civil or non-Catholic marriage being ‘blessed’ by the Church is a misconception. These couples (after proper preparation) actually have to marry each other again, although Church-wise it is really the first time since they didn’t receive the Sacrament before.
In America, in spite of ‘the separation of church and state’ churches are allowed to perform the requirements for a civil marriage. In Mexico, there is true separation and couples must actually have 2 separate ceremonies, civil and church, because priests are not allowed to act as agents of the state.
I suppose things might have been different 50 years ago, but at least 20 years ago it was/is required that the couple get a marriage license issued by the state. This is brought to the priest ahead of time or the ceremony will not be allowed. This is what is signed by the couple, priest, and witnesses and filed with the courthouse. That is the civil part of the marriage. This is done in conjunction with the church ceremony, where you and your spouse conferred the Sacrament of Matrimony upon each other.
Even if for any reason someone believes they or their spouse were not capable of the Sacrament at the time of the wedding, the marriage is still considered to be valid and Sacramental, unless one requests an annulment and the whole process is completed and comes to the same conclusion.
O2
“In America, in spite of ‘the separation of church and state’ churches are allowed to perform the requirements for a civil marriage.”
In America, in spite of ‘the separation of church and state’ it is illegal in many states to perform a wedding ceremony and declare someone married without the permission of the civil authorities. Makes me wonder what a lot of faiths would do if the state refused to grant permission to them, perhaps as a punishment for not accepting the state’s ever mutating version of marriage.
Freegards
In America, review by a second tribunal can be relatively quick. The LA diocese sends its cases to Orange county for review, and vice versa. Well, it may add a couple weeks to the process, I guess.
It seems to me that, as a legal procedure, it is not all that rigorous. A lot of lee-way is given for testimony that might not be admitted in a state court.
I think all the Pope needs to do is to tell bishops to process people faster and they will hire a couple of extra personnel, or manage the tribunal better, and get it done.
It should be rigorous, but I do believe there are some things that could be done to ease the burden on the couples as well as on the tribunals.
I think some greater weight could be given to subsequent actions as being indicative of what was going on at the time of the wedding. For example, in the case of a spouse who abandoned the marriage and has remarried. From what I understand, that is used to prove the marriage is not salvageable, but not as an indication of the spouse’s state of mind at the time of the wedding. If the former spouse does not participate in the process, it is still very hard to prove that they did not believe the marriage was indissoluble at the time of the wedding.
In these cases and in others such as when there is verified physical abuse, it seems like there should be some streamlining of the process, since it is unlikely that these behaviors and beliefs sprung up suddenly after the marriage when they weren’t present before.
The main problem I see is that there are too many Catholic marriages (mine included) which should have never taken place. The Church doesn’t want to say ‘No’, even when there are obvious problems discovered in the preparation process. I believe/(hope) preparation is getting better, but I believe too many people consider it a formality, just another thing to be done before the wedding. I don’t think you should be able to set a date until it is done.
I also think it should be possible to ‘fail’ Pre-Cana, or at least have to go to summer school ;-). Seriously, though, of all the weddings planned, I wonder what percentage are cancelled or even postponed because the couple is not thought to be ready/compatible during pre-marriage counseling?
O2
So much is riding on what happens at the local parish when the couple wants to get married.
Also, at the other end of things, if an annulment is sought, a lot is riding on what the parish priest or administrator does regarding counseling of the parties.
One does wonder what training the priest gets and how it could be improved.
What an altogether bizarre, Stepford-like response to Kackikat’s testimony. Her friend doesn’t “understand” the annulment process?
If they're ending marriages, it's called *divorce*.
All the church is doing is making church sanctioned divorce easier for Catholics.
The Bible is the rule book for Christians, and the Word of God....that is who and what I submit to.....There are many Pastors I would submit to their authority, but only when they have submitted to the Word of God. Many are Anti-Christs who teach a gospel that is not true.
Man’s Doctrines are based on intellectualism and twisting the truth to support their own sins. God is intelligent design and the creator of the Universe. If he can create the world in all it’s complications, he can certainly keep the Bible and his word accurate.
To you “stupid is as stupid does”, like posting some picture to condemn something you don’t understand. God have mercy on your soul.
Like I said I am not Catholic, I am Christian...period.
I read the Bible and any other man’s explanation is Bull Crap.
“There are many Pastors I would submit to their authority, but only when they have submitted to the Word of God. Many are Anti-Christs who teach a gospel that is not true.”
You’ve hit the nail on the head. God expects US to search the Scriptures, test the spirits, “see if these things are true”. How else to know WHO to freely (not coercively, because we’re members of one another) submit to or WHO to refuse to give even Godspeed or welcome into our home (lest we share in their wicked work)?
Men who are of Christ don’t resent being checked out against Scripture. It was Paul, a true apostle, who famously commended the Bereans for doing so concerning his own teaching. The Catholic Church long ago past the point of no return in creating their own ersatz Levitical fortress which no one could rebuke or exhort...or rescue from itself. (To be fair, though, how many Protestant churches have done the exact thing! It’s a weakness of man to dominate or submit freely to domination.)
“Better a poor but wise youth than an old King who can no longer take a warning”—Ecclesiastes 4:13
Amen and Amen.
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