In Both Cases Pope Francis Directed the Church for Pastoral Reasons to Improve the Processes

With great enthusiasm the Church has received Pope Francis’s two special communications (called a motu proprio) concerning the process of seeking a possible declaration of nullity. This process is often called incolloquial terms, ‘getting an annulment’. The Holy Father issued a motu proprio for each branch of the Church – the Western (Latin) and Eastern (Oriental) branches. The one directed to the Latin branch of the Church is known asMitis Iudex Dominus Iesus– “The Lord Jesus, Clement Judge”; Mitis et misericorsIesusor “Clement and merciful Jesus” is the one directed to the Oriental branch of the Church.

In both cases Pope Francis directed the Church for pastoral reasons to improve the processes of handling cases at the different levels of administration within the dioceses, the ecclesiastical regions and in Rome. The Holy Father’s goal is to streamline the process and thus make it faster, more easily accessible and also free of cost to people all over the world who are seeking a resolution to their situation of civil divorce and possible remarriage in the Church.

Here in the Archdiocese of Ottawa, the Marriage Tribunal has already been restructured to reduce the time it takes to process an application. Some situations can be complicated and require correspondence with parties who are outside of the local area. Wait times, however, have been cut in half from over two years to presently under a year in many cases. As well, the Archdiocese already does not charge for this service, though applicants are informed of the cost to process the case and are welcome to make a donation. No-one is ever turned away due to a lack of money. In the months before this motu proprio takes effect on December 8th at the beginning of the “Year of Mercy,” we will be working on understanding and applying the Holy Father’s directions for further simplifying and expediting the process here in Ottawa. This new development is evidence of Pope Francis’s concern that the Church be present to people in pain and to be an agent of mercy and healing. It is a great blessing and we are looking forward to implementing the changes in this upcoming Year of Mercy.