The inauguration of the Judicial Year of the Tribunal of the Roman Rota was the main act of the Holy Father last Friday, when he received at audience the prelate auditors, officials, lawyers and collaborators of the Tribunal, presided over by its dean, the Spanish archbishop Monsignor Alejandro Arellano Cedillo.
Before the speech of the Pope, he delivered a few words of greeting Monsignor ArellanoIn them, he recalled that "on Christmas Eve, after opening the Holy Door and giving the starting signal for the Jubilee Year, you firmly addressed the whole world: set out without delay to 'rediscover lost hope, renew it in us, sow it in the desolations of our time and of our world'".
"Sowers of hope".
"Holy Father," added the dean of the CourtWe feel directly challenged by the challenges of the present and the future, aware that the Roman Rota, as the Tribunal of the Christian family, is only a 'flap of the mantle' of the Church; nevertheless, it seems to us that it is not foreign to our hope that, by the touch of that mantle, through the administration of justice, wounded persons may find peace, in order to foster tranquillitas ordinis in the Church.
In this line, the dean said, among other things, that "this is our desire: to be sowers of hope for all wounded families, far from the Church or in difficulty, who have lost hope in justice, in mercy, in the love of God that resurrects man and restores his dignity".
Clarify the marital situation
The inauguration of the Judicial Year of the Court of the Roman Rota "gives me the opportunity to renew the expression of my appreciation and gratitude for your work. I cordially greet the Dean and all of you who serve in this Tribunal," the Pope began.
"This year marks the tenth anniversary of the two Motu Proprio 'Mitis Iudex Dominus Iesus' and 'Mitis et Misericors Iesus', with which I reformed the process for the declaration of the nullity of marriage. It seems appropriate to me to take advantage of this traditional occasion to meet with you to recall the spirit that permeated that reform, which you applied with competence and diligence for the benefit of all the faithful".
The aim of the reform was to "respond in the best possible way to those who turn to the Church to clarify their marital situation (cf. Speech to the Tribunal of the Roman Rota, January 23, 2015).
That the faithful are aware of the process and the gratuity
"I wanted the diocesan bishop to be at the center of the reform. Indeed, it is up to him to administer justice in the diocese, both as the guarantor of the proximity of the tribunals and of vigilance over them, and as the judge who must decide personally in cases where nullity is manifest, that is, through the 'processus brevior' as an expression of the solicitude of the 'salus animarum,'" the Pontiff continued.
"For this reason, I have urged that the activity of the tribunals be incorporated into diocesan pastoral care, charging the bishops to see to it that the faithful are made aware of the existence of the 'processus brevior' as a possible remedy to the situation of need in which they find themselves," the Pope noted. "It is sometimes sad to note that the faithful are unaware of the existence of this path. Moreover, it is important 'that the gratuitousness of the procedures be assured, so that the Church [...] manifests the gratuitous love of Christ by which we have all been saved' (Proemium, VI)."
Tribunal: well-trained and qualified persons
In particular, Francis specifies, "the bishop's concern is to guarantee by law the constitution in his diocese of the tribunal, staffed by persons - clerics and laity - well trained and suitable for this function; and to ensure that they carry out their work with justice and diligence. Investment in the formation of these workers-scientific, human and spiritual formation-always benefits the faithful, who have the right to have their petitions considered with attention, even when they receive a negative response."
Concern for the salvation of souls
"Concern for the salvation of souls (cf. Mitis Iudex, Proemium) has guided the reform and must guide its implementation. We are challenged by the pain and hope of so many of the faithful who seek clarity about the truth of their personal condition and, consequently, about the possibility of participating fully in the sacramental life. For so many who 'have lived an unhappy marital experience, the verification of the validity or otherwise of marriage represents an important possibility; and these people must be helped to travel this path as smoothly as possible' (Address to the participants in the Course promoted by the Roman Rota, March 12, 2016)".
"To favor not the nullity of marriages, but the celerity of the processes."
The recent reform, the Holy Father concluded, "also wished to favor 'not the nullity of marriages, but the celerity of the processes, no less than a just simplicity, so that, because of the delay in the definition of the sentence, the hearts of the faithful who await the clarification of their state may not be oppressed for a long time by the darkness of doubt' (Mitis Iudex, Proemio)" (Mitis Iudex, Proemio)".
Indeed, "in order to prevent the saying 'summum ius summa iniuria' ('Excessive right, excessive injustice') (Cicero, De Officiis I,10,33) from occurring as a result of overly complex procedures, I have abolished the need for the trial of double conformation and have encouraged more rapid decision in cases where nullity is manifest, seeking the good of the faithful and wishing to bring peace to their consciences".
All this, the Pope noted, "requires two great virtues: prudence and justice, which must be informed by charity. There is an intimate connection between prudence and justice, since the exercise of prudentia iuris aims at knowing what is just in the concrete case' (Speech to the Roman Rota, January 25, 2024)".
Discernment work
"Every protagonist in the process approaches the conjugal and family reality with veneration," the Pontiff stressed at the end of his reflection. "Because the family is a living reflection of the communion of love that is God the Trinity (cf. Amoris laetitia, 11). Moreover, spouses united in marriage have received the gift of indissolubility, which is not a goal to be attained by their own efforts, nor even a limitation on their freedom, but a promise of God, whose fidelity makes human beings possible".
"Your work of discerning whether or not a valid marriage exists," the Pope told the prelate auditors, "is a service to the salus animarum, for it enables the faithful to know and accept the truth of their personal reality. Indeed, 'every just judgment on the validity or nullity of a marriage is a contribution to the culture of indissolubility, both in the Church and in the world' (St. John Paul II, Speech to the Roman Rota, January 29, 2002)".
In concluding, Pope Francis invoked upon all, "pilgrims in spem, the grace of joyful conversion and the light to accompany the faithful to Christ, who is the meek and merciful Judge. I bless you from my heart and I ask you, please, to pray for me. Thank you.
