Marriage tribunals do not pit law against pastoral care, pope says

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Theology, law and pastoral concern always go together in the work of Catholic tribunals considering marriage cases, Pope Leo XIV said.

The three approaches are not "watertight compartments," the pope said, nor can they be seen as being in opposition to each other "as if the more theological or the more pastoral (approach) necessarily implied the less juridical" focus.

The pope met Nov. 21 with students attending a course offered by the Roman Rota, a Vatican court that deals primarily with marriage cases. The four-day course looked specifically at developments in the 10 years since Pope Francis simplified the processes for determining the validity or nullity of a marriage.

Pope Leo said it was "superficial" to view "the juridical reality of matrimonial nullity processes as a merely technical field, of interest exclusively to specialists, or as a means aimed only at obtaining a person's freedom to marry."

The aim of judicial proceedings, he said, is "the diakonia" or ministry and service of truth.

While the church absolutely believes God is a loving and merciful father, always ready to forgive, "the human judgment concerning matrimonial nullity should not be manipulated by a false mercy," Pope Leo said. "Any activity contrary to the service of truth during the process must be deemed unjust."

The process of determining the validity of a marriage, he said, "can be seen as a contribution by legal practitioners to satisfying the deep need for justice within the faithful's conscience, thereby accomplishing a just work moved by true mercy."

The aim of Pope Francis' reforms -- "to make the processes more accessible and quicker, yet never at the expense of truth -- thus appears as a manifestation of both justice and mercy," Pope Leo said.

The pope noted an increasing awareness that the work of the tribunals must be seen as part of the church's overall ministry to families.

"This pastoral ministry cannot ignore or underestimate the work of ecclesiastical tribunals, and the latter must not forget that their specific contribution to justice is one component in the larger mission of promoting the good of families, with particular concern for those in difficulty," the pope said. "This work belongs to everyone in the church -- both pastors and lay faithful -- and in a particular way to legal practitioners."

One sign of that growing awareness, he said, is the more frequent conducting of preliminary investigations that help couples see if there are grounds to initiate a nullity case.

Part of the process, he added, is "the effort to foster reconciliation between spouses."