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It’s one thing to say it, it’s another thing to actively support it.
“The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) welcomes Pope Francis’ reforms radically simplifying and expediting Catholic marriage annulment procedures,” reports ABS-CBNnews.com.
In a statement, CBCP president and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said, “It is so clear to all of us by now that indeed the principal and all-embracing vision of the papacy of Pope Francis is mercy and compassion. It is mercy and compassion that explains his action and work.”
READ: Pope Francis makes marriage annulment process simpler and free
The report noted: ” In a document known as Motu Proprio, Latin for ‘by his own initiative,’ Pope Francis reaffirmed the traditional teaching on the ‘indissolubility of marriage’ but streamlined procedures that many consider cumbersome, lengthy, outdated, and expensive.”
The means, the Pope “eliminated a previously mandatory review of an annulment decision by a second diocesan tribunal and gave bishops sweeping powers to judge quickly the most clear-cut cases themselves.” Moreover, he also mandated that the procedures, which could cost a hefty sum in legal fees, should be free.
The report added that “according to the Vatican, the new rules are the most substantive changes to annulment laws since the papacy of Benedict XIV, who reigned from 1740 to 1758.”
Photo: CBCP News
