| | | OFFLINE | | Post: 21.983
Post: 4.612 | Registrato il: 28/08/2005
Registrato il: 20/01/2009 | Administratore | Utente Master | |
|
'Right' to Christian marriage
is not automatic, Pope says
22 JAN 2011 (RV) - Pope Benedict XVI today delivered his annual address to the Roman Rota, marking the beginning of the juridical year.
The Apostolic Tribunal of the Sacred Roman Rota is the second highest court of the Church, and functions as a third-instance appellate tribunal. [Its rulings are subject to evaluation by the Supreme Court of the Apostolic Signatura but only as to procedural validity, not to merit. This means the Signatura cannot overturn a Rota ruling but can order a new hearing by the Rota if it deems it necessary.]
Dominating the Rota's case load are petitions seeking marriage annulment, and therefore teh Pope addressed a particular aspect of marriage in his address today.
In view of the current crisis of the family, he called for "the greatest pastoral care" in preparing couples and admitting them to marriage in the Church.
He noted that pre-marriage courses, examination of the spouses, publication of bans and other appropriate investigations are often seen as purely formal obligations.
"In fact," he observed, "there is a widespread mentality that..., pastors should proceed with leniency" in these matters because "it is the natural right of people to marry is in question".
Pope Benedict pointed out that the "right" to marriage in Church, “presupposes that the individuals can and intend to truly celebrate it, in the truth of its essence as taught by the Church”.
He continued “No one can claim the right to a wedding ceremony" in the Church, because ius connubii, the right to marry, “refers to the right to celebrate an authentic marriage".
Therefore, admission to marriage requires "the greatest pastoral care" in the formation of the couple and in "testing their convictions regarding the obligations required for the validity of the Sacrament of Marriage".
"Serious discernment in this matter will avoid impulsive decisions or superficial reasons that lead two young people to take on responsibilities that they will not know how to honour" - and therefore, pre-marital examination of the engaged couple, should never be considered a mere "bureaucratic procedure".
Pope Benedict concluded that marriage preparation is also a key tool in stopping the “vicious circle” of the granting admission to marriage “without adequate preparation or requirements”, and on the other end, granting “a judicial declaration that sometimes just as easily, but of an opposite nature, considers marriage invalid".
THE HOLY FATHER'S REMARKS
Translated from
At 12:15 p.m. on Saturday, the Holy Father received the Prelate Auditors, Officials and Advocates ot the Tribunal of the Roman Rota at the Sala Clementina of the Apostolic Palace to mark the opening of the judicial year. Here is a translation of the Holy Father's remarks:
Dear members of the Tribunal of the Roman Rota:
I am happy to meet with you on this annual encounter at the inauguration of the judicial year.
My heartfelt greeting to the College of Prelate Auditors, starting with the dean, Mons. Antoni Stankiewicz, whom I thank for his kind words. I greet the officials, advocates and other collaborators of this tribunal, and all those who are present.
This offers me the opportunity to renew the expression of my esteem for the work that you do in the service of the Church and to encourage you to an ever greater commitment in a sector that is so sensitive and important for pastoral care and for the salus animarum (the salvation of souls).
The relationship betweeen the law and pastoral work has been at the center of the post-conciliar debate on canon law. The well-known statement by the Venerable Servant of God John Paul II who said "it is not true that in order to be more pastoral, law should be less juridical" (Address to the Roman Rota, 18 January 1990, n. 4: AAS 82 [1990], p. 874) expresses the radical resolution of an apparent contradiction.
"The juridical dimension and the pastoral," he said, "are inseparably united in the pilgrim Church on earth. First of all, they have a harmony arising from their common end: the salvation of souls" (ibid.)
In the first meeting I had with you in 2006, I sought to demonstrate the authentic pastoral sense of the process of annulling a marriage, a process that must be based on love for the truth" (cfr Address to the Roman Rota, Jan, 28, 2006: AAS 98 [2006], pp. 135-138).
Today, I wish to dwell on the juridical dimension as it affects the pastoral activity of preparing couples and admitting them to matrimony, in order to highlight the nexus that runs through such activity and the judicial processes having to do with marriage.
The canonical dimension of preparing for matrimony is probably not an element that is immediately perceptible. In fact, on the one hand, one observes that in the preparation courses for marriage, canonical questions have a very modest, if not insignificant, place, since one tends to think the future spouses have little interest for problems that usually concern specialists.
On the other hand, even if no one could possibly ignore the need for juridical activities preceding the matrimony, aimed at verifying that "no one opposes its valid and legitimate celebration" (CIC, can. 1066), it is widely thought that examination of the spouses, matrimonial banns, and other necessary measures to comply with pre-marriage investigations (cfr ibid., can. 1067), along with pre-marriage courses, constitute compliance that is almost exclusively formalistic.
In fact, it is often maintained that in admitting couples to marriage, pastors should proceed with leniency, since it simply has to do with the natural right of persons to get married.
In this respect, it is well to reflect on the juridical dimension of marriage itself. It is an argument that I have referred to in the context of a reflection on the truth in matrimony, in which I stated, among other things: "In view of the subjectivist and libertarian relativization of the sexual experience, Church Tradition affirms clearly the natural juridical character of matrimony, namely, that it belongs inherently to the field of justice in interpersonal relations. In this perspective, the right to marry is truly interwoven with life and love, as it is meant to be (Address to the Roman Rota, Jan. 27, 2007, AAS 99 [2007], p. 90).
In other words, there does not exist a matrimony of life and another one of law: there is only one matrimony, which is constitutively a real juridical bond between a man and a woman, a bond on which the authentic conjugal dynamic of life and love rests.
The matrimony celebrated by two spouses - that which concerns pastoral care, and that which takes place under canon law - constitute one natural and salvific reality, whose richness gives rise to a variety of approaches without thereby diminishing their essential identity.
The juridical aspect is intrinsically bound to the essence of metrimony. This can be understood not in a positivist concept of the law, but rather according to a relationship in terms of justice.
The right to marry - ius connubii - must be seen in this perspectiveL It is not a subjective claim that must be satisfied by pastors through merely formal recognition, independent of the effective content of the union.
The right to contract matrimony assumes that the partners can and intend to celebrate it truly, that is, in the truth of its essence as the Church teaches. No one can simply claim the right to a marriage celebration.
The ius connubii refers to the right to celebrate an authentic matrimony. Therefore, the ius connubii cannot be granted when it is evident that the premises for its exercise are lacking - which means, when the capacity is clearly lacking for the marriage requested, or when marriage is desired for a reason other than the natural reality of matrimony.
In this respect, I wish to reiterate what I wrote after the Synodal Assembly on the Eucharist: "Given the complexity of the cultural context in which the Church lives in many countries, the Synod recommended maximum pastoral care in the formation of couples to be married, and prior verification of their conviction about the irrenunciable commitments required for a valid matrimony.
Serious discernment in this respect can avoid emotional impulses or superficial reasons that could induce two young persons to take on responsibilities that they are not later able to honpr (cfr Propositio 40).
The Church and society itself expect so much good to come from marriage and from the family based on it, for it not to commit itself fully in this specific pastoral field of action. Matrimony and family are institutions that should be promoted and defended from any possible equivocation about their truth, because every damage to these institutions is. in fact, a wound to human coexistence itself (Post-Synoda; Apost. Exh. Sacramentum caritatis, 22 Feb 2007, n. 29: AAS 99 [2007], p. 130).
Preparation for matrimony, in its various phases as described by Pope John Paul II in his Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris consortio, certainly has purposes that transcend the juridical dimension, since their horizons are constituted by the integral, human and Christian good of the spouses and their future children (cfr n. 66: AAS 73 [1981], pp. 159-162), and definitely aimed at holiness in their lives (cfr CIC, can. 1063,2°).
Nonetheless, we must never forget that the immediate objective of such preparation is to promote the free celebration of a true matrimony, thus, the constitution of a bond of justice and love between the spouses, with the characteristics of unity and indissolubility, aimed at the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of children, and which among baptized persons, constitutes one of the sacraments of the New Covenant.
This is not an extrinsic ideological message for couples, much less is it imposed as a cultural model. Rather, the engaged couple are prepared to be able to discover the truth of a natural human inclination and about their capacity to commit to each other which is inscribed in their man-woman relationship.
From that relationship comes 'right' as an essential component of the matrimonial relationship, rooted in the natural potential of the spouses that is actualized by their consensual self-giving.
Reason and faith both illuminate this truth of life, but it must remain clear, as the Venerable John Paul II also taught, that "The Church does not refuse marriage to be celebrated between two people who are 'properly disposed', even if imperfectly prepared from the supernatural point of view, as long as they have the correct intention to be married according to the natural reality of conjugal life. (Address to the Roman Rota, Jan. 30, 2003, n. 8: AAS 95 [2003], p. 397).
In this perspective, special attention must be given to accompanying the couple through all the phases of the marriage preparation, whether the planned matrimony is distant, near, or immediate. (cfr John Paul II, Apost. Exh. Familiaris consortio, Nov. 22, 1981, n. 66: AAS 73 [1981], pp. 159-162)
Among the means for ascertaining whether the couple's intention is truly conjugal, the pre-matrimonial examination stands out. This has a principally juridical intention: to ascertain that nothing can be opposed to the valid and legitimate celebration of marriage.
Juridical does not mean formalistic, as if this were merely a bureaucratic procedure that consists in filling out a form with ritual questions. Instead, this is a unique pastoral opportunity - that must be given all the seriousness and attention it requires - during which, through a respectful and sincere dialog, the pastor seeks to help each of the future spouses face the truth about themselves and the human and Christian vocation of matrimony.
In this sense, the dialog, which is always done separately with each of the future spouses - without diminishing the need for conversations with both of them together - requires an atmosphere of full sincerity, in which each partner must be made aware that they are the primary interested parties who are obliged in conscience to celebrate a valid marriage.
With various means on hand for a careful preparation and verification of the futire spouses, one can develop effective pastoral action that also aims to prevent any future marriage annulments.
Everything must be done to break the vicios cycle that often results from a careless admission to marriage, without adequate preparation nor serious examination that the couple do fulfill the requirements needed to contract matrimony, and at the other end, a judicial declaration that is equally easily obtained to annul a marriage solely as a result of its failure.
It is true that not all the reasons for an eventual annulment can be traced to the failure of adequate preparation. At the same time, it would not be right to oppose marriage on the basis of unfounded presumptions, such as that persons today are generally incapable of true matrimonial intentions or that their intentions are only apparently matrimonial.
In such cases, it becomes important for their pastors to make them acutely aware of the responsibilities in marriage. Canon law in general, and in particular, matrimonial and related procedural law, require that couples undergo a special preparation for marriage.
Equally, knowledge of the fundamental aspects and immediate practical matters of canon law constitute a formative necessity of the first importance for all pastoral workers, especially those who minister to families.
Ecclesiastical tribunals must transmit a uniform message on what is essential in matrimony, a message that conforms to the Magisterium and canon law, and one that they speak with one voice.
Expecting unity in the jurisprudence entrusted to this tribunal, other ecclesial courts must adapt themselves to the jurisprudence of the Rota (cfr John Paul II, Address to the Roman Rota, Jan. 17, 1998, n. 4: AAS 90 [1998], p. 783).
Recently, I insisted on the need to judge correctly on cases that have to do with consensual incapacity (cfr Address to the Roman Rota, Jan. 28, 2008: AAS 101 [2009], pp. 124-128). The question remains very topical, but unfortunately, incorrect positions persist, as in identifying the judicial discretion required for matrimony (cfr CIC, can. 1095, n. 2), with the desired prudence in deciding to get married, thus confusing a question of judicial incapacity with something that does not affect the validity of the marriage, since it has to do with the level of practical knowledge leading to a decision that is genuinely matrimonial in intention. The misunderstanding is even worse if one would attribute an invalidating effect to imprudent decisions made during the marriage.
As for annulment because of exclusion from the essential benefits of matrimony [what canon law calls bonum coniugum, 'the good of the spouses', essentially, the grace and holiness derived from good conjugal living) (cfr ibid., can. 1101, § 2), a serious commitment is eqully needed so that judicial pronouncements reflect the truth on matrimony, the same that should illuminate the process of admission to marriage.
II am thinking specifically of the exclusion of the bonum coniugum, in which the danger seems to repeat itself about an incorrect application on the norm regarding incapacity, which is to seek reasons for annulment not in the original constitution of the marriage bond but in its actualization during married life.
The temptation must be resisted to transform the simple deficiencies of the spouses during their married life into original consensual defects...
[I am omitting three sentences discussing the 'bonum coniugum', since I do not understand the legal points made, even if the language seems apparently simple.]
In concluding my reflections, I turn back to considering the relationship between canon law and pastoral work which is often misunderstood at the expense of the law, but also, sometimes, to the detriment of pastoral work.
What is needed is to promote in all sectors a dynamic of both aspects, toward a profound harmony between pastoral care and juridicity, which should prove to be fruitful for the services rendered in the field of marriage.
Dear members of the Tribunal of the Roman Rota, I entrust you all to the powerful intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, so that you may never lack divine assistance in carrying out your daily work with fidelity and a spirit of service. I gladly impart on all special Apostolic Blessing.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 22/01/2011 23:08] |