CHARLOTTE — More people are seeking marriage annulments in the Diocese of Charlotte following the reforms of Pope Francis last year, and diocesan staff are speeding up the review process in light of the pope’s instruction to “carry out justice and mercy” for those “who experienced the failure of marriage.”
An annulment – officially a “declaration of nullity” – is a judgment by the Church that a marriage was never valid. It is not a type of divorce, but a recognition that the marriage bond never existed in the first place. The annulment process is governed by Church law and overseen by each diocese’s tribunal, or Church court.
Tribunal staff in the Charlotte diocese are seeing an increase in the number of people seeking an annulment over the 10 months since Pope Francis issued new rules aimed at simplifying and expediting the annulment process. While many of the reforms are aimed at small dioceses without a tribunal, some of the new rules have affected this diocese, diocesan staff say – even just in raising awareness during this Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy as Catholics seek resolution with the Church over divorces or second marriages.
As of July 15, the diocesan tribunal is outpacing last year’s caseload – running three months ahead of this time last year, with a total of 225 active cases.
Tribunal staff have handled a total of 253 cases so far this year, and they anticipate the total being 400 cases before year’s end – an increase of approximately 37 percent over last year’s 292 cases. In comparison, the tribunal was handling around 270 cases per year just three years ago.
The pope’s reforms, which came in response to the 2014 and 2015 synods of bishops, aim to make the Church’s marriage annulment process quicker, cheaper and more of a pastoral ministry.
The changes simplify procedures for determining whether a marriage is valid, doing away with the automatic appeal of tribunal decisions, establishing an abbreviated process when the nullity is clear and ordering a reduction in the cost to couples. The new rules replace canons 1671-1691 of the Code of Canon Law and canons 1357-1377 of the Eastern code.
Pope Francis urged tribunal staffs to accept and study the new procedures and the motives behind making them “in order to render a service of justice and charity to families.”
“For many people, who have lived through an unhappy marriage experience, the verification of whether or not it was valid represents an important possibility, and these people must be helped to follow this path as easily as possible,” he reiterated March 12 during a meeting with Vatican court officials. “The Church is mother and wants to show everyone the face of God, who is faithful to His love, merciful and always able to give strength and hope.”
The Charlotte diocese received the English translation of the new rules in December, then extensively trained staff and advocates on the new procedures as well as how to handle the anticipated rise in the number of annulment requests.
“The tribunal staff has worked diligently to implement the changes promulgated by Pope Francis in the procedural laws concerning marriage,” said Father John Putnam, diocesan judicial vicar. “It’s clear from our experience thus far that his message is reaching people, since the number of cases coming to us has increased.”
Besides the increased caseload, tribunal staff say they are finding it easier to process cases for people who are not native to the U.S.
Staff Advocate Joy Barnes, who has 50 cases right now on her desk, said the most noticeable change is no longer having to get permission to hear a case if a person lives outside the diocese – what’s known as establishing competency. “Which, for people who live in other countries, was an adventure all its own,” Barnes said.
Lisa Sarvis, head of the tribunal chancery, noted, “If (the other tribunal) wouldn’t give us permission, like in other countries, we might never hear back. The one thing that came from all this, which was incredibly helpful, was relaxing of some of those restrictions.”
“If the person lives here, if the proofs are here, or if the contract was here, we can now establish competency,” added Barnes. “That really simplified things.”
Besides fewer internal hurdles, the diocesan tribunal has worked to shorten the time it takes to review a case – to less than a year in most cases.
“Before the changes, we were averaging nine months for a formal case, and that’s very good,” Barnes said. “Father Putnam’s goal, when he started the advocate program, had been no longer than a year.”
Following the pope’s reforms, she noted, “We have decreased that. When everybody cooperates and everybody does things in a timely manner, then we can get them done a little bit sooner now.”
“We keep a spreadsheet of every formal case and every step that it goes through, and we give each step 30 days – but they usually don’t take 30 days each, and some steps run concurrently,” she said.
In keeping with the pope’s directive that annulments should be affordable, the diocese is also continuing its policy of not turning anyone away because of the cost, which ranges from $75 to $1,000 depending on the type of annulment case.
“No one is turned away because of an inability to pay,” Sarvis stressed. “All anybody has to do is write a letter stating the fee would be a hardship and request a waiver of the fee in part or in total.”
The increased caseload is also being managed smoothly thanks to 50 volunteer advocates serving in parishes across western North Carolina, and the tribunal is training another 10 future advocates through an online training program.
“Our tribunal ministry relies heavily on the assistance of parish advocates who do so much to accompany the petitioners during the process,” Father Putnam said, adding, “We are always looking for others who might be interested in this important work for the Church.”
Deacon Bill Shaw of St. Pius X Church in Greensboro has been an advocate for the tribunal in the Charlotte diocese for more than 13 years. Prior to that he served in his home diocese of Rockville Centre, N.Y., starting in 1975 assisting a Jesuit priest from Fordham University in the tribunal and then as a deacon. The stories he hears from people who want an annulment are varied, he said, but the underlying reason always seems to be the same: “healing and wholeness in holiness.”
“Each of those seeking a decree of nullity are not coming because of a canon law, they come for mercy. And in light of those changes instituted by Pope Francis last Dec. 8, this has become the journey,” he explained.
Yes, the process is now somewhat simpler and takes less time, he said, but in the case of the Charlotte diocese, “we have worked zealously to reduce the overall time of the process to its lowest possible cumulative time and have been doing so for a number of years. This is in complete contradiction to other dioceses that have taken two to four years. Where was the mercy and charity in that?”
No matter what, he emphasized, each annulment case is unique and Church staff must serve the people involved with sensitivity and compassion, no matter whether the annulment is granted or not.
“Each requires a desire to close a very tender, sometimes painful portion of their lives, and yet to find in the mercy and love of God the joy of not judging themselves as being any less than a beautiful creation of God.”
Deacon Shaw serves in the ministry as an advocate because, as paradoxical as it may seem, the work gives him joy.
“There is nothing greater than to see the face and hear the voice of someone who has been ‘freed’ from all the stress and pain of their past life, that they have carried believing there was no hope.
“There is nothing more damaging to a person’s soul than the loss of hope, and this process returns what for many has been lost. I have had those in the journey completely turn their personal lives around and over to our loving Lord.
“I have known those who had believed their life was not of any value to anyone and were ready to quit life. I have worked with some who have been victims of the most horrific abuse and believed they could never trust another individual on the level of interpersonal commitment to marriage again, and after this process have moved on and found someone to love and allow them to love in return.”
Deacon Shaw says that in those he assists he sees something special. “The face of Christ has many faces, but they are all the One Face...the Face of God.”
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter. Catholic News Service contributed.
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