Pope Francis: The indissolubility of marriage is a promise of God

Pope Francis recalled that the indissolubility of marriage It is not a “limit” to the freedom of husbands, but a “promise” of God, upon receiving this morning at the Court of the Roman Rota on the occasion of the inauguration of the judicial year.

“The husbands united in marriage have received the gift of indissolubility, which is not a goal to be achieved by their own effort, not even a limit to their freedom, but a promise of God, whose fidelity makes possible that of human beings” , said the pontiff, who also focused on the work of discernment of this judicial instance on the existence or not of a valid marriage.

In fact, he said that these processes allow the faithful to “know and accept the truth of their personal reality.”

Citing the speech of his predecessor, San Juan Pablo IIto the Roman Rota on January 29, 2002, he said that every fair trial of validity or nullity of marriage is “a contribution to the culture of indissolubility both in the Church and in the world.”

This year the tenth anniversary of the two is fulfilled Movement Proper Mild Judge Lord Jesus y Mild and merciful Jesus with which the Holy Father reformed the process for the declaration of nullity of marriage, placing the final responsibility of the administration of justice and the application of nullity in the diocesan bishop.

This reform had been previously requested by the Synod Parents gathered in the Extraordinary Assembly of 2014, in which they formulated precisely the request to make the most accessible and agile processes.

In this context, Pope Francis considered that it is still a little known reality. “We are sad to know that the faithful do not know the existence of this route,” he said.

In addition, it valued the investment that the Catholic Church is making in the training of workers, scientific, human and spiritual, to always benefit the faithful, “who have the right to make their requests considered carefully, even when they receive a negative response ”.

Pain and hope of those looking for clarity

“We are questioned by the pain and hope of so many faithful who seek clarity about the truth of their personal condition and, consequently, about the possibility of fully participating in sacramental life,” he determined.

In any case, the Pontiff made it clear that the recent reform does not intend to favor the nullity of marriages, but “the speed of processes”, as well as “a fair simplicity, so that, because of the delay in the definition of the sentence, The hearts of the faithful waiting for the clarification of their statute are not oppressed for a long time because of the darkness of the doubt. ”

In fact, one of the main reforms adopted in cases of nullity is the suppression of the need for double conformity judgment.

Pope Francis also stressed that the family is a “living reflection of the communion of love that is God”, so he called to act with veneration to those who work in this type of canonical processes. “