VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 151   
   DATE 08-09-2015   
      
   Summary:   
   - Motu proprio "Mitis Iudex Dominus Iesus" and "Mitis et misericors Iesus": the   
   Pope reforms the procedures for declaration of marriage nullity   
   - Presentation of the Holy Father's Motu proprio on the reform of procedures   
   for   
   the declaration of marriage nullity   
   - Other Pontifical Acts   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Motu proprio "Mitis Iudex Dominus Iesus" and "Mitis et misericors Iesus": the   
   Pope reforms the procedures for declaration of marriage nullity   
    Vatican City, 8 September 2015 (VIS) - "Mitis Iudex Dominus Iesus" and "Mitis   
   et misericors Iesus", on the reform of canonical processes for the declaration   
   of nullity of marriage, in the Code of Canon Law (CIC) and the Code of Canons   
   of   
   the Eastern Churches (CCEO) are the two letters issued "Motu proprio" by the   
   Holy Father Francis, published today.   
    In the first, "Mitis Iudex Dominus Iesus", the Pope writes that the Lord   
   Jesus,   
   "clement Judge, Pastor of our souls, has entrusted to the Apostle Peter and his   
   Successors the power of the keys to fulfil in the Church the works of justice   
   and truth; this supreme and universal power to bind and dissolve here on earth   
   affirms, corroborates and vindicates that of the Pastors of the particular   
   Churches, by virtue of which they have the sacred right and, before the Lord,   
   the duty to judge their own subjects".   
    "Throughout the centuries", he continues, "the Church, in matters of marriage,   
   acquiring a clearer awareness of the Words of Christ, has understood and   
   explained in greater depth the doctrine of the indissolubility of the sacred   
   conjugal bond, has developed the system for the annulment of matrimonial   
   consent, and has more suitably disciplined the relevant judicial process, so   
   that ecclesiastical discipline is more consistent with the truth of the   
   professed faith".   
    "All this has always been done with the supreme law of the salvation of souls   
   as a guide. ... Aware of the above, I have undertaken to reform the processes   
   for   
   the declaration of nullity of marriage, and for this purpose I have constituted   
   a Group of persons eminent for their competence in legal doctrine, their   
   pastoral prudence and their forensic experience who, under the guidance of the   
   Most Excellent Dean of the Roman Rota, have drafted a plan for reform, without   
   prejudice to the principle of the indissolubility of the marriage bond. ...   
   This   
   Group has developed a framework for reform which, after thoughtful   
   consideration   
   with the assistance of other experts, has provided the basis for this 'Motu   
   proprio'".   
    "It is therefore the concern for the salvation of souls that, today as   
   yesterday, remains the supreme objective of the institutions and laws, and   
   drives the Bishop of Rome to offer to the Bishops this reform document, insofar   
   as they share with him the task of the Church to protect unity in faith and in   
   discipline regarding marriage, the cornerstone and origin of the Christian   
   family. The drive to reform has been fuelled by the enormous number of faithful   
   who, while wishing to be at peace with their conscience, are too often   
   separated   
   from the legal structures of the Churches due to physical or moral distance;   
   charity and mercy therefore require that the same Church, as a mother, to be   
   closer to her children who consider themselves separated".   
    "This direction was also indicated by the votes of the majority of my Brothers   
   in the Episcopate, gathered in the recent extraordinary Synod, who called for   
   faster and more accessible processes. In full harmony with this desire I have   
   decided to introduce, by this Motu proprio, provisions that favour not the   
   nullity of marriage but rather the speed of processes, along with the   
   appropriate simplicity, so that the heart of the faithful who await   
   clarification of their status is not long oppressed by the darkness of doubt   
   due   
   to the lengthy wait for a conclusion".   
    "I have done so following in the footsteps of my predecessors, who wanted   
   procedures for the declaration of nullity of marriage to be treated by judicial   
   rather than administrative means, not because the nature of the matter imposes   
   this but because it is demanded by the need to protect to the greatest extent   
   possible the truth of the sacred bond; and this is precisely what is ensured by   
   the guarantees of the judicial order".   
    The Pope goes on to indicate a number of fundamental criteria that guide the   
   reform:   
    "1. A single judgement in favour of executive nullity: it would appear   
   appropriate to no longer require a double conforming decision in favour of the   
   nullity of the marriage to enable the parties to be able to contract a further   
   canonical marriage, instead considering sufficient the moral certainty reached   
   by the first judge in accordance with the rules of law.   
    2. A single judge under the responsibility of the bishop: the constitution of   
   the single judge, in any case clerical, is in the first instance the   
   responsibility of the bishop, who in the pastoral exercise of his judicial   
   power   
   must ensure that the former does not engage in any form of laxity.   
    3. The same bishop is the judge: ... The bishop in his Church, of which he is   
   constituted pastor and head, is for this reason judge among the faithful   
   entrusted to him. It is hoped, therefore, that in both large and small dioceses   
   the same bishop may offer a sign of the conversion of the ecclesiastical   
   structures, rather than completely delegating the judicial function in matters   
   of marriage to the offices of the curia. This is especially relevant to the   
   shorter procedure, established to resolve the most evident cases of nullity".   
    4. Short procedure: Indeed, aside from streamlining processes for the   
   declaration of nullity, a form of shorter process is designated - in addition   
   to   
   the current documentary procedure - to be applied in cases in which the alleged   
   nullity of the marriage is supported by particularly clear arguments". The Holy   
   Father observes that "it does not pass unnoticed that a shorter procedure may   
   endanger the principle of the indissolubility of marriage; for precisely this   
   reason I have required that in such a procedure the judge be the bishop himself   
   who, due to his pastoral office, is with Peter the greatest guarantor of   
   Catholic unity in faith and in discipline".   
    5. Appeal to the Metropolitan See: it would be appropriate to restore the   
   faculty of appeal to the Metropolitan See, since this office of the head of the   
   ecclesiastical province, stable throughout the centuries, is a distinctive sign   
   of the synodality of the Church.   
    6. The competence of the Episcopal Conferences: the Episcopal Conferences,   
   which must be above all driven by the apostolic eagerness to reach the lost   
   faithful, are strongly aware of their duty to share in the aforementioned   
   conversion, and fully respect the right of the bishops to organise the judicial   
   power in their own particular Churches. ... Along with their proximity to the   
   judge, the Episcopal Conferences, to the extent possible, must ensure just and   
   dignified retribution to tribunal staff, ensuring that the processes are free,   
   since the Church, in a matter so closely linked to the salvation of souls,   
   demonstrates the gratuitous love of Christ by which we have all been saved".   
    7. Appeal to the Apostolic See: It is convenient, in all forms, to maintain   
   the   
   appeal to the ordinary Tribunal of the Apostolic See, that is the Roman Rota,   
   respecting an ancient judicial principle, so as to strengthen the bond between   
   the See of Peter and the particular Churches, in any case taking care, in the   
   discipline of such appeal, to limit any abuse of the right, so that it does not   
   jeopardise the salvation of souls.   
    The law of the Roman Rota will be adapted as soon as possible to the rules of   
   the reformed procedure, within the limits of necessity.   
    In the eighth point the Pope mentioned that, given the specific ecclesial and   
   disciplinary order of the Eastern Churches, the norms for the reform of the   
   discipline of marriage processes have been issued separately in the Code of   
   Canons of the Eastern Churches.   
    Finally, he decrees and institutes that the Book VI of the Code of Canon Law   
   (part III, title I, chapter I) on processes for the declaration of the nullity   
   of marriage (canons 1671 to 1691) will be entirely substituted by the new   
   norms,   
   with effect from 8 December 2015.   
    In the Motu proprio "Mitis et misericors Iesus", addressed to the Eastern   
   Churches, Pope Francis notes that his venerated predecessor, St. John Paul II,   
   in promulgating the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, affirmed that   
   "since   
   the beginning of the canonical codification of the Eastern Churches, the same   
   consistent will of the Roman pontiffs to promulgate two codices, one for the   
   Latin Church and one for the Eastern Catholic Churches, has shown very clearly   
   that these latter wish to conserve what has occurred by divine providence in   
   the   
   Church, that is, that reunited by a single Spirit, she must breathe with the   
   two   
   lungs of East and West, and burn with Christ's charity like a single heart   
   composed of two ventricles".   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)