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Ingles Tareawer
Ingles Tareawer
VATICAN CITY Pope Francis announced new procedures on Tuesday to make it easier for Roman Catholics to obtain
marriage annulments, a move intended to streamline a process long criticized by many Catholics as too cumbersome,
complicated and expensive.
The new rules take effect on Dec. 8 and are expected to speed up cases in which neither spouse is contesting the annulment.
These fast-track cases may be heard as soon as 30 days after a couple files an application, and at most within 45 days.
The new procedures also eliminate one of the two church trials that are required of all couples seeking an annulment, a
process that can drag on for years, at great cost.
To ensure that a case doesnt sleep, tribunals and judges will have to sleep a little less, said Msgr. Alejandro W. Bunge,
secretary of the commission that drafted the changes, speaking at a Vatican news conference on Tuesday.
Church officials acknowledge that many details still have to be worked out, including instructing bishops on the annulment
process. In the past, Francis has said the annulment process should be free, and Vatican experts said the new system was
expected to be free, not counting legitimate fees to maintain the tribunal process.
Divorce is a topic that has long splintered many of the Catholic faithful from the church. Under church law, marriage is
indissoluble, divorce is not recognized, and any Catholic who remarries without annulling a first marriage is committing
adultery.
Yet many Catholics are divorced, especially in the Western world, and the divide between reality and church dogma has
alienated many of the faithful. Many divorced Catholics, believing that annulments are too invasive and onerous, have
drifted away from the church without even bothering to undertake the process.
These reforms say, If you think a marriage is invalid, dont let the procedure frighten you away, John Thavis, an author
and Vatican expert, said in an interview.
The new rules demonstrate Francis approach to his papacy: Change procedures and tone, so as to attract people back to the
church, without changing doctrine. They are also a tacit acknowledgment of the challenges the church faces in the modern
world, and Francis attempts to find points of interaction.
Currently, the process begins when a spouse, usually assisted by a lawyer, petitions for an annulment. The other spouse is
contacted by a tribunal of clergymen; the spouse may cooperate, but that is not essential. Evidence is presented, witnesses
testify, and then an advocate for the church, known as the defender of the bond, examines the evidence and argues that the
marriage should not be dissolved. The tribunal issues a judgment that must be confirmed in another trial before an
annulment can be granted.
More than half of the annulments granted by the church worldwide go to Catholics in the United States, according to
statistics compiled by the Religion News Service. But even in the United States, the process can be arduous, requiring
testimony and documentation, and can take more than a year. Tribunals in some dioceses are overloaded with cases. The
cost, up to $1,000, can also be prohibitive, though waivers are available for those who cannot pay, and some American
dioceses have dropped the fees entirely in recent years.
About one-quarter of American Catholics say they have divorced, according to a study released last week by the Pew
Research Center, and about one-quarter of those have sought an annulment in the church.