During a recent event Pope Francis stressed the importance of prioritising the care of people and evangelisation in the application of the Catholic Church’s canon law. Francis spoke at a February 14-18 course sponsored by the Roman Rota, a Vatican tribunal that deals primarily with marriage cases. The pope challenged the idea that canon law Read more
A ‘permanent catechumenate’ for marriage formation is needed, Pope Francis told a gathering organised by Diocese of Rome and the Roman Rota. The Rota is the Church’s highest appellate court which handles marriage nullity cases. A permanent catechumenate would guide couples beyond their marriage in preparation and celebration, into the first year of their life Read more
A former judge of the Roman Rota, the Vatican’s highest appellate court, has accepted a plea bargain in an Italian criminal court. He faces a conditionally suspended sentence of one year and two months in prison on charges of sexual molestation and possession of child pornography. Read more
Pope Francis has restored a capacity to the Vatican’s main marriage court that had been restricted by St John Paul II. In a December 7 rescript, Francis allowed the Roman Rota to grant an annulment even if the grounds for doing so weren’t the ones originally specified in the case under review. Before 1994, the Read more
Pope Francis has said he wished that all marriage annulment processes could be free of charge. In an address to the Roman Rota in January, the Pope said: “The sacraments are free. The sacraments give us grace. “And a matrimonial process pertains to the sacrament of matrimony. How I wish that all processes were free.” Read more
Pope Benedict XVI believes the world’s current crisis of faith in God has caused a crisis for the Christian vision of marriage, even to the extent that lack of faith could affect the validity of a marriage bond. “Faith in God, sustained by divine grace, is therefore a very important element for living in mutual Read more