08 September 2015

Bishop Paprocki Welcomes Reforms of Pope Francis

In his statement following the release of the two letters motu proprio of the Holy Father Pope Francis given to reform the canonical procedure for declaring the nullity of marriage, the Most Reverend Thomas John Paprocki, Bishop of Springfield in Illinois, has welcome the reforms, saying he is "happy to see to it that these modifications will be put into effect" in the tribunal.

Indeed, part of these reforms have already been in place in the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois. Bishop Paprocki noted that "we have for over thirty years made use of a provision which is now being made normative for the whole world: that cases are usually to be judged by a single judge who is an ordained person, instead of by a panel of three judges."
we have for over thirty years made use of a provision which is now being made normative for the whole world: that cases are usually to be judged by a single judge who is an ordained person, instead of by a panel of three judges - See more at: http://www.dio.org/communications/press-releases/393-statement-by-bishop-thomas-john-paprocki-pope-francis-reform-of-canonical-procedure-for-the-annulment-of-marriage.html#sthash.2SFSDU1p.hj8lRzrk.dpuf

Back in February, the Bishop expressed his desire to eliminate the standard fee for the processing of petitions for the declaration of the nullity of marriage and asked the faithful to be generous to help bring about this desire. I expressed this same desire in November of 2014.

In keeping with the Holy Father's desire that the fees be eliminated, Bishop Paprocki said, "We are happy to do this," noting that "we have never delayed the administration of justice because of non-payment on a petitioner’s part." What is more, he expressed his desire for the assistance of the faithful in this regard, saying, "We rely upon the continued generosity of Catholic Christians so that we may meet the expenses associated with this judicial work."

Within the statement, Bishop Paprocki also provides a helpful explanation of the reality of declarations of marriage nullity and, first, about the reality of marriage:
The Catholic Church continues to teach that a marriage, once validly entered, is permanent and cannot be dissolved by the mere will of one of the parties.  We understand that marriage comes to be through the spouses’ act of consent to bind themselves to one another in a marriage bond which is in accord with God’s plan for a permanent, exclusive union, open to the possibility of the generation of children.  We presume in favor of the validity of all marriages, but we recognize, in our theology and law, that a party’s marriage consent may have been insufficient in some fundamental way.  Therefore, we enumerate reasons for possible nullity of marriage, and we apply legal procedures by which a party, following a civil divorce, might seek to prove the nullity of a marriage and, having proved this fact, proceed to enter a new marriage which can be recognized by the Catholic Church.
Be sure to read the entire statement here.
happy to see to it that these modifications will be put into effect in our diocesan tribunals - See more at: http://www.dio.org/communications/press-releases/393-statement-by-bishop-thomas-john-paprocki-pope-francis-reform-of-canonical-procedure-for-the-annulment-of-marriage.html#sthash.2SFSDU1p.hj8lRzrk.dpuf
happy to see to it that these modifications will be put into effect in our diocesan tribunals - See more at: http://www.dio.org/communications/press-releases/393-statement-by-bishop-thomas-john-paprocki-pope-francis-reform-of-canonical-procedure-for-the-annulment-of-marriage.html#sthash.2SFSDU1p.hj8lRzrk.dpuf
happy to see to it that these modifications will be put into effect in our diocesan tribunals - See more at: http://www.dio.org/communications/press-releases/393-statement-by-bishop-thomas-john-paprocki-pope-francis-reform-of-canonical-procedure-for-the-annulment-of-marriage.html#sthash.2SFSDU1p.hj8lRzrk.dpuf

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