Pope Radically Simplifies Annulments
Pope Francis is making it much easier for Catholics to divorce and remarry.
In a move that again showed his desire for the Church to be more merciful to Catholics in difficulty, Francis reaffirmed traditional teaching on the “indissolubility of marriage”, but streamlined annulment procedures which many considered cumbersome, lengthy, outdated and expensive.
Last week Francis made it easier for women who have had abortions to receive absolution if they are truly contrite over their action and confess it to their local priest during the Church’s upcoming Holy Year of Mercy, which starts in December.
In the document, known as a Motu Proprio, Latin for “by his own initiative”, Francis eliminated a previously mandatory automatic review of an annulment decision by a second diocesan tribunal and gave bishops sweeping powers to quickly judge the most simple, clear-cut cases themselves.
Copyright 2015 Liberaland
10 responses to Pope Radically Simplifies Annulments
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Larry Schmitt September 8th, 2015 at 09:33
By his own initiative? That sounds a lot like an executive order that’s been “misused” by a certain president. Cue the exploding heads of the conservative Catholics.
rg9rts September 8th, 2015 at 10:19
I’ll bet there is a hit out on him…
Scopedog September 8th, 2015 at 14:14
Good. I love it when things go kablooey….:)
rg9rts September 8th, 2015 at 10:19
Operative word…EXPENSIVE,,,boy are the conservatives going to be pissed….another cash cow gone
Larry Schmitt September 8th, 2015 at 10:27
A priest told my sister she had to pay a pile of money to get her (now) husband’s first marriage annulled, even though he’s not Catholic. She told the priest to bite her (in so many words) and hasn’t been to a Catholic church since. An Episcopal priest was happy to marry them.
rg9rts September 8th, 2015 at 10:38
Catholics haven’t realized that god…she has a sense of humor
Bunya September 8th, 2015 at 14:11
This is all very well and good, but women who’ve had abortion are still expected to grovel and beg for forgiveness from the church higher-ups, while many serial killers, although in prison, have already received absolution and are back in the good graces of the Cathoic god.
amersham46 September 8th, 2015 at 22:54
The Pope is bring the Catholic Church into the 21st century , a lot of right wing fundamentalist should be taking notes
maggie September 10th, 2015 at 00:33
you would hope the catholic church would learn it’s lesson during the Pence debacle in indiana…(religious entities want to retain the right to refuse and discriminate the basis of their religious beliefs) …the pope might be wising up a little but his colleagues show no signs of letting up in the race to manifest destiny
maggie September 10th, 2015 at 00:30
hey baby steps…he’s in for life…so he still has time to up grade the changes he’s making now…after the year of Mercy is over…notice how it coincides so nicely with US elections…uh huh…;) the pope is trying to surf the wave of campaigning of course to the churches advantage….he is after all the pope….I swear…the pope, bibi, citizens united, the koch bros….they don’t get to vote…but boy do they want to….they reek of desperation…whew! ;)