Ghanaian Catholics hail Pope as divorce becomes easy

A section of Catho­lics in Ghana have hailed Pope Francis’s move to streamline procedures for annulling mar­riages. In various interviews, they described the move as relevant, timely and helpful to further strengthen the family apostolate.
Leading the way is Naomi Nunoamesi, Secretary to the National Catholic Laity Coun­cil, who believes that said the Pontiff’s decision is a step in the right direction and would help to address countless instances of breakdown of marriages.
She was quick to point out, however, that the reform “does not in any way favour annulments but will only support the speed­ing up of the procedures for those who require prompt attention to officially resign and begin a more fruitful journey with another person.”
She was reacting to the Pon­tiff’s authorization on Tuesday, 8th September 2015, of major overhaul of the Church’s system for granting annulments.
According to the Vatican, the changes are designed to stream­line the process of annulling marriages out of “concern for the salvation of souls,” while main­taining Catholicism’s traditional ban on divorce.
Welcoming the alteration, Robert Dela Mawunyega, a youth of the St. Ann Parish at Teshie in Accra, observed that the changes show that the Catholic Church is dynamic and ready to reform.
He argued that the move would bring a breather to parties suf­fering and frustrated in pursuing annulment, but urged the church to look out for those who might abuse the process.
Speed of the process
In Tuesday’s decision, Pope Francis noted that in tune with the desire of the bishops, he has decided to issue provisions “that favour not marriage annulments, but the speed of the processes” af­ter last October’s (2014) Synod of Bishops on the family requested a simplification of the process.
According to zenit.org, the documents signed by the Pontiff on August 15, 2015 contains changes presented in two forms: Motu proprio: “Mitis Iudex Do­minus Iesus” (The Gentle Judge, The Lord Jesus) for the Latin Church and “Mitis et misericors Iesus” (The Meek and Merciful Jesus) for the faithful that belong to one of the 23 Eastern Churches in full communion with Rome that historically have had a dif­ferent process with regard to the processes.
An “annulment” means a find­ing by a Church court that a union between a man and a woman, even if it was ratified with a Church wedding, was not a real marriage, because it did not meet one of the traditional tests for va­lidity, such as informed consent.
Catholics under the rules, whose relationships break down and who wish to marry someone else in the Church must first obtain an annulment.
Describing his reform as “no less than a just simplicity,” the Pontiff says his aim was that “the heart of the faithful await­ing clarification (of their marital status) is not long oppressed by the darkness of doubt.”
Don’t come to Rome
Under the approved changes by the Pope, the process will now need only one sentence, unless an appeal is made. In the instance of an appeal, the Pontiff also ruled that it can be handled by the nearest archdiocese, techni­cally known as the “metropolitan see,” rather than having to come to Rome.
Prior to this point, the system required annulments to be issued by one court and confirmed by another, a stipulation that critics blamed for unnecessary delays, especially in cases in which no one contested the results.
The pontiff decreed that the annulment process will be free of charge, and that every diocese in the world has the responsibil­ity of naming a judge or a church tribunal to process requests, with the possibility of the bishops act­ing as judges.
Other changes by Pope Francis for the Latin Church include the provision that under certain circumstances, each bishop can himself serve as the judge.
In case of the annulment being “evident,” there will be an even shorter process, with the local bishops’ conferences being urged to help individual bishops through the reform process, and guaran­tee, save for the “just and decent remuneration of workers of the courts,” that the process be free of charge.
An Appeal of a sentence, in case it is required, can be dealt with locally (on the level of the nearest archdiocese), instead of taking it to the Vatican, whereas a second appeal can be made to the Apostolic See, or the Vatican.
The Pontiff with these decrees for the Latin rite churches effec­tively updates and changes canons 1679-1691 in the church’s Code of Canon Law. The pope also at­tached 20 new “procedural rules” for bishops dealing with annul­ment cases, saying he wanted to offer them as “other instruments” for tools in their work on those matters. The changes will how­ever take effect from December 8, 2015, the first day of the Holy Year of Mercy.
Speaking with Weekend Sun, Mr. Ofori Sarpong, a mar­riage Counselor at the St. Mark Catholic Church at Ashongman in Accra, commented that the changes were a good step in the right direction, and would hasten the process for those seeking annulment, but noted that the Church’s law on divorce remains unchanged.
Similarly, Madam Agnes Gan­daa, a parishioner of the Saints Peter & Paul Parish in Tamale, also expressed delight about the new changes, describing them as relevant, timely and helpful to people wishing to seek annul­ment.
She stated that the new decrees which empower the local church’s tribunal, gives it the confidence to adjudicate on annulment cases in an easier and faster manner, there­by ensuring people’s concerns and anxiety were addressed timely.
Remarking that the Pontiff’s move was not a deviation of the Biblical position of indissolubil­ity of marriage unions, Madam Gandaa disagreed that the changes were a license for couples to an­nul their marriages when faced with challenges.
The changes, according to her, will rather motivate and strength­en marriages and families, since the couples will fully be aware of the implications of marriage vows before venturing into it.
Nunoamesi posits that delegat­ing powers to bishops to oversee the process, which will restore relationships while reconciling people with Christ in the Holy Eucharist, was a great idea.
“Marriage in the Catholic Church is sacred and remains a sacramental union instituted by Christ between a man and a woman upon their informed con­sent for various purposes.”

THE SUN | kwesi yirenkyi BOATENG