Except for the just payment of Marriage Tribunal staff, the reforms make the annulment process free and remove the need of a second review that the marriage was invalid.

Pope Francis has also sped up the process leading to annulment in situations where the evidence appears clear.

Announced, Wednesday, the changes came in two motu proprio (at the Pope's own initiative), Mitis Iudex Dominus Iesus ("The Lord Jesus, Clement Judge"), and Mitis et Misericors Iesus ("Clement and Merciful Jesus").

In the introduction Pope Francis stressed the adjustments "do not favour the nullifying of marriages, but the promptness of the processes."

While the changes do not alter the Church's teaching on the indissolubility of marriage, they represent significant change; shifting delegated power from the Church's centre to local bishops.

The Pope says he is motivated by the desire to help Catholics who "are too often separated from the legal structures of the Church due to physical or moral distance".

For many years Catholics around the world have complained that it takes too long an annulment, if they can get one at all and that they are too costly; in some instances reaching into the hundreds or thousands of dollars for legal and tribunal fees.

Without the annulment, currently, divorced Catholics who remarry are forbidden from receiving Communion.

The two motu proprio are dated August 15 (Feast of the Assumption) were unveiled on September 8 (Birthday of Blessed Virgin Mary) and come into effect on December 8, 2015, (Feast of the Immaculate Conception) and the beginning of the Year of Mercy.

They are available on the Vatican website. Currently they are only in Latin and Italian.

On May 29, 2015, the New Zealand Bishops' Conference announced that the Marriage Tribunal will no longer charge fees.

Sources:

• NCR
• Catholic Culture
• Vatican Radio
• Vatican Radio
• Image: Blogspot

He was speaking after Pope Francis announced that the marriage annulment process is to be simplified.

"The changes simplify the process and will hopefully speed it up; They are very welcome," said Dew.

"We will need to think through how the changes will work in relation to our National Tribunal and the Regional Tribunal which we share with Australian Dioceses."

"Pope Francis said in making the announcement that the process has been simplified and made easier but the grounds for nullifying a marriage have not changed."

In May of this year the NZ bishops announced that the marriage tribunal would no longer charge fees for the process.

The Vatican commentator Robert Mickens says many in the secular media have once again misunderstood what Pope Francis has done.

"Just as some thought he single handedly decided recently that the Church could now forgive the sin of abortion, as if it had never done so before," he says.

"They think he is now allowing any Catholic who is currently divorced and civilly remarried to make everything all right by getting a guaranteed quickie annulment."

"But it's not quite that easy. Or at least it is not supposed to be."

Source

• Supplied New Zealand Catholic Bishops' Conference
• globalpulsemagazine.com
• Image: www.tvnz.co.nz

Bishop Richard Lennon announced this is to promote the common good of the faithful of Cleveland.

A typical annulment case costs petitioners about US$450. The overall cost of each case is about three times that.

The Cleveland diocese's marriage tribunal will take on the full costs of the cases.

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