A National Tribunal Service has been established to ensure that Canon or church law is applied consistently and impartially throughout the Church in England and Wales.
It will be based in the Bishops’ Conference headquarters in London and have one of two penal tribunals in Liverpool.
At a Mass on Saturday, November 4, Cardinal Vincent Nichols described the new tribunal service as “a focus of practical love and service” which would “ensure that the rights and obligations of all the Christian faithful are upheld, robustly and impartially, and that justice and equality must prevail”.
He added: “This is love in action.”