“the right not to be deceived by a judgment of nullity which is in conflict with the existence of a true marriage"

In Catholic dioceses in the U.S., declarations of nullity went from 398 in 1968 to 60,000 in the early 1990s (cf., Brian Fraga, OSV Newsweekly, 5/20/2012).  Carried away by "pastoral" concern to reconcile divorced / "remarried" people to the Church, there is growing concern that attempts to foster marital reconciliation are getting ignored.  What have our recent Holy Fathers been saying about marriage and annulments of marriage, in their annual addresses to the Roman Rota (the Vatican's "Supreme Court", if you will)?

Saint Pope John Paul II and the Roman Rota

Following in the footsteps of Pope Leo XIII's Arcanum, Pope Pius XI's Casti Connubii, and Pope Paul VI's Humanae Vitae, Saint Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body proclaimed anew the truth about  marriage/ family/ human sexuality.  His solicitous concern is also evident in Familiaris Consortio, in which he "harvested the fruit of the bishops’ reflections during the 1980 Synod" on the Family.  Truth be told, it is hard to find any JP II talk or writing where concern for marriage/ family/ human sexuality is not apparent.

In his quarter century of addresses to the Roman Rota, JP II evidenced concern about possible misuse of marriage tribunals, speaking of “the right not to be deceived by a judgment of nullity which is in conflict with the existence of a true marriage" (1/18/90).  Early on, he showed great hope that the new Code of Canon Law and its implementation (to say nothing nothing of the later Catechism and its implementation) would catalyze necessary corrections and reform.  Nearing the end of his earthly journey, grave concern about possible misuse of marriage tribunals strongly reappeared, focusing on a misguided "pastoral" perspective that would destabilize marriage and family.  He spoke, for example, of:

• a dangerous exaggeration of psychological difficulties, wrongly leading to a conclusion that a spouse had been incapable of marital consent;
• the danger of adding new requirements for marriage "that are foreign to tradition" (2/1/01);
• the need for "convalidating, where possible, marriages that are otherwise null" (1/28/02);
• how "professionals in the field of civil law should avoid being personally involved in anything that might imply a cooperation with divorce" (1/28/02); and
• the "presumption of its [marriage's] validity in case of doubt" (1/29/04).

JP II's concerns apparently triggered the Vatican's 2005 Dignitas Connubii, which says that "The dignity of marriage, which between the baptised 'is the image of and the participation in the covenant of love between Christ and the Church', demands that the Church with the greatest pastoral solicitude promote marriage and the family founded in marriage, and protect and  defend them with all the means available." 

Pope Benedict XVI and the Roman Rota

In Pope Benedict XVI's addresses to the Roman Rota, he followed his predecessor's cautions, reminding us that "pastoral sensitivity must be directed to avoiding matrimonial nullity when the couple seeks to marry and to striving to help the spouses solve their possible problems and find the path to reconciliation" (1/28/06) and warning that “the conviction that the pastoral good of the person in an irregular marital situation requires a sort of canonical regularization, independently of the validity or nullity of his/her marriage...has also spread in certain ecclesiastical milieus" (1/27/07). 

Pope Francis and the Roman Rota

In Pope Francis' address to the Roman Roman Rota, he was consistent with both his predecessors and his own Lumen Fidei, Evangelii Gaudium, General Audience of 4/2/14, and Discourse to the Delegation of the International Catholic Office of Children: , sketching "a brief profile of the ecclesiastical judge."

Instrumentum Laboris

Instrumentum Laboris was the preparatory document for the current synod, "The Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of Evangelization."  Keeping with the tone of Pope Francis, Instrumentum Laboris stressed the compassionate mercy of God.  At the same time, it made clear that it stood unwaveringly with the the Church's constant teaching, citing the Bible, the Catechism, Humanae Vitae, and the Theology of the Body, among its sources.  Instrumentum Laboris maintained that, "When an overall view of marriage and the family is sufficiently set forth according to tenets of the Christian faith, its truth, goodness and beauty is clearly visible" (# 13). 

Instrumentum Laboris pays great attention to the well being of the entire family - particularly the well being of children - rather than narrowly focusing on adults.  Much is said about the well being of children in challenging situations, such as the absence of a parent, when a teen becomes a parent, and atypical home situations.  In cases of divorce, it notes that well meaning suggestions have come from Europe and North America to "streamline" determinations of marital nullity.  Instrumentum Laboris notes that inherent dangers  would include fostering "in young people’s minds the idea that marriage is not a life-long commitment" and "the mistaken idea that an annulment is simply 'Catholic divorce'" (# 99).

Instrumentum Laboris concludes that "the following three main areas ARE under discussion in the Church: how the Gospel of the Family can be preached in the present-day; how the Church’s pastoral care programme for the family might better respond to the new challenges today; how to assist parents in developing a mentality of openness to life and in upbringing their children."