South Florida will be uniquely impacted by Pope Francis' radical transformation of the Catholic Church's process for annulling marriages, according to Archbishop Thomas Wenski of the Archdiocese of Miami.
The Pope issued a new law Tuesday regulating how bishops around the world may determine when an annulment may be granted. In order to receive an annulment, it must be determined that a fundamental flaw has rendered the marriage invalid. An annulment is necessary for Catholics who wish to remarry in the church.
The process has been long criticized for being complicated and costly, especially for Catholics in poor countries where dioceses do not have marriage tribunals.
"If your marriage broke up, you had to go to the Diocese in which your marriage took place," explained Archbishop Thomas.
This presented a unique challenge for South Florida due to the vast number of couples who travel here from other countries to get married.
Archbishop Thomas says the changes are anticipated, and "very welcome."
Catholics have long complained that it can take years to get an annulment, if they can get one at all. Costs can reach into the hundreds or thousands of dollars for legal and tribunal fees.
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Without the annulment, divorced Catholics who remarry outside the church are considered to be adulterers living in sin and are forbidden from receiving Communion.
Pope Francis has stated that the overall aim of the reform "is the salvation of souls."
While Archbishop Thomas welcomes the new rules, he stresses that the reforms do not signal a change in what the church teaches about marriage. He says that while the church is streamlining the annulment process, they are also exploring and working on a bigger push to emphasize the sanctity and importance of marriage.
Still, Thomas says the new rules should help eliminate backlogs and other unnecessary delays in the process for Catholics seeking an annulment.
The new changes are expected to take effect on December 8th.
