
Paus Franciscus - 25 november 2017
Dear brothers and sisters,
I am pleased to meet you at the end of the training course for clerics and laity promoted by the Apostolic Tribunal of the Romeinse Rota on the subject of the new matrimonial process and the Super Rato process. I thank the Dean, Msgr. Pinto, for his words. The course that has taken place here in Rome, and those held in other dioceses, are praiseworthy and encouraging initiatives, as they contribute to gaining a proper knowledge and an exchange of experiences at various ecclesial levels regarding major canonical procedures.
In particular, it is necessary to pay great attention and to adequate analyze to the two recent Motu proprio, Paus Franciscus - Motu Proprio
Mitis Iudex Dominus Iesus
De Heer Jezus, barmhartige rechter - Enkele aanpassingen van het kerkelijk wetboek aangaande het huwelijksrecht
(15 augustus 2015) and Paus Franciscus - Motu Proprio
Mitis et Misericors Iesus
De milde en barmhartige Jezus - Inzake enkele aanpassingen in het kerkelijk wetboek van de Oosterse Kerken aangaande het huwelijksrecht (15 augustus 2015), in order to apply the new procedures they establish. These two acts have arisen from a synodal context Red.: De beide documenten zijn terug te voeren op Paus Franciscus' eigen handelen. Ze werden namelijk gepubliceerd ná de 1e Synode over het gezin in 2014, waarbij over deze zaak nauwelijks gesproken werd en vóórafgaand aan de 2e Synode over het gezin (oktober 2015), waarbij in de voorbereidende teksten ook nauwelijks op deze wijze over de kwestie gesproken werd., they are the expression of a synodal method, and they are the arrival point of a serious synodal path. Faced with the most thorny questions concerning the evangelizing mission and the salvation of souls, it is important for the Church increasingly to recover the synodal practice of the first community in Jerusalem, where Peter together with the other Apostles and with the whole community under the action of the Holy Spirit endeavored to act according to the commandment of the Lord Jesus.
This is what has been done in the synodal assemblies on the family, in which, in the spirit of communion and fraternity, representatives of the episcopate from all over the world gathered in assembly to listen to the voice of the communities to discuss, reflect and carry out the work of discernment. Red.: Zie de eerdere noot hiervoor The Synod had the purpose of promoting and defending the Christian family and marriage for the greater good of spouses faithful to the covenant celebrated in Christ. It also had to study the situation and development of the family in today’s world, preparation for marriage, ways to help those who suffer as a result of the failure of their marriage, the education of children, and other issues.
As you return to your communities, strive to be missionaries and witnesses of the synodal spirit that is at their origin, as well as of the pastoral consolation that is the purpose of this new matrimonial provision, so as to strengthen the faith of the holy people of God through charity. May the synodal spirit and pastoral consolation become the form of your action in the Church, especially in field as delicate as that of the family in search of the truth about the conjugal state of spouses. With this attitude, each of you is a sincere collaborator of your bishop, to whom the new norms grant a decisive role, especially in the streamlined briefer process, as he is the natural judge of the particular Church.
In your service, you are called to be close to the solitude and suffering of the faithful who expect from ecclesial justice the competent and factual help to restore peace to their consciences and God’s will on readmission to the Eucharist. Hence, the need and the value of the course you have attended – and I hope that others will be organized – to promote a just approach to the matter and an increasingly wide-ranging and serious study of the new matrimonial process. It is an expression of the Church that is able to welcome and care for those who are wounded in various ways by life and, at the same time, it is an appeal for the defense of the sacredness of the marriage bond.
To make the application of the new law for marriage process, two years after its promulgation, the cause and reason for salvation and peace for the great number of faithful who are wounded in their matrimonial situation, I have decided, in my office as bishop of Rome and Peter’s Successor, to specify some fundamental aspects of the two Motu proprio, especially the figure of the diocesan bishop as personal and single judge in the streamlined process.
The diocesan bishop has always been Iudex unum et idem cum Vicario iudiciali; but since this principle is interpreted as de facto excluding the personal exercise of the diocesan bishop, delegating almost everything to the Tribunals, I establish as follows how I consider to be decisive and exclusive the personal exercise of the role of judge by the diocesan bishop:
The decision to pronounce coram Domino is always and only taken by the diocesan bishop.
In conclusion, I would like to reiterate clearly that this is to occur without asking for permission or authorization from another Institution or from the Apostolic Signatura.
Dear brothers and sisters, I wish you well for this study and for the ecclesial service of each one of you. May the Lord bless you and Our Lady protect you. And please, do not forget to pray for me. Thank you.