Thematrimonial nullity trial reforms of Pope Francis are the reforms of theCanon law of the Catholic Church governing such trials, made public on 8 September 2015. The reforms were effected by two separateapostolic letters[1] fromPope Francis: themotu proprioMitis Iudex Dominus Iesus amending the1983Code of Canon Law, and themotu proprioMitis et misericors Iesus amending theCode of Canons of the Eastern Churches.[2] This was in response to thebishops who, during the 2014 Synod on the Family, called for the simplification of the procedure whereby a canonicallyinvalidmarriage is declarednull.[3]
At the press conference announcing the reforms, CardinalFrancesco Coccopalmerio, the president of thePontifical Council for Legislative Texts, emphasized that the church does not decree the "annulment" of a legally valid marriage, but rather declares the "nullity" of a legally invalid marriage.[4]
There are three main reforms:[5]
The reformstook legal effect on 8 December 2015.[7]
The expedited process may take as few as 120 days.[6]
The reforms were proposed by a group of experts in matrimonial jurisprudence.[2] According to experts at the Vatican, they are the most expansive revision in matrimonial nullity jurisprudence in centuries. The reforms are a departure from the 18th-century matrimonial nullity reforms of the canonistPope Benedict XIV.[1]
Austen Ivereigh described the reforms as "revolutionary" and says that they are the broadest reforms in 300 years.[1]
Kurt Martens, a canon law professor, worries that the reduction in procedure will not guarantee a fair trial. He likened the reforms to the Catholic Church providing a means of no-fault divorce.[1] In an article published by conservative religious journalFirst Things, Martens stated that many Italian jurists fear that there might be a spike in conflicts between the canonical, Italian, and European Union judicial systems, since the reforms abolish a number of "basic due process norms" which are neither respected nor acknowledged. In his view, this renders the canonical judicial system "incompatible with modern procedural norms".[8]
Pope Francis reflected after the2014 Synod on the Family that: "A great number of synod fathers emphasized the need to make the procedure in cases of nullity more accessible and less time-consuming, and, if possible, at no expense."[7] Between 1970 and 1983 the United States bishops had experimented with the possibility of one rather than two hearings and 90 % of the cases were decided without the second tribunal. But the Code of Canon Law of 1983 eliminated this possibility, now restored through Pope Francis' revisions.[9] Others saw that "Putting the poor at the centre is what distinguishes the reform of Pope Francis."[10] In the words of themotu proprio: "Care is to be taken that everyone, parties or witnesses, can participate in the process at a minimum of cost."[11]
