Giving concrete room to “the catechumenate of newly-weds” and to the role of parish priests as teachers and witnesses, in their capacities as the primary counsellors at local level, before entering the phase for the filing of a marriage annulment application, equally in the preparation of prospective spouses and in the period immediately after. These are some of the proposals that emerged in the training course on the new matrimonial process promoted by the Apostolic Tribunal of the Roman Rota, that closed with the Papal audience and speech. The event was attended by some 350 parish priests from world continents and regions. SIR addressed the theme with Monsignor Pio Vito Pinto, Dean of the Roman Rota.
Why are the priests the first to be “trained” for the new matrimonial process introduced by the Pope? Because the parish is the place of the living Church, where the Church is active and engaged. Marriage is a very important bond. That’s why Pope Francis proposes a catechumenate.
The Pope tells the pastors that they are entrusted this catechumenate, and their first task is to accept and welcome this request.
Marriage preparation courses, that need to be held months before the date of marriage, constitute a path that the priests are called to undertake along with the prospective spouses and with the support of the laity, in order to help all those preparing for marriage learn what is the wish of Christ, God and the Church as a minister with regard to the consent – that must always be free – to this sacrament.
In parishes where the courses are held, and where a certain environment is created, the priests are the teachers. They are the “pillars” of the Church, as Paul VI described them.
Is the matrimonial catechumenate proposed by Pope Francis already under way in our parishes? We ought to follow the flow of time, notably its signs of wisdom: every Church must reflect on the timeframe set by the Holy Spirit. “Time is greater than space”, states Evangelii Gaudium. Moreover, in the same Apostolic Exhortation Pope Francis reminds us about the need for a “pedagogy that will introduce people, step by step, to the full appropriation of the mystery.” Achieving full maturity, namely, that stage whereby people are capable of making authentically free and responsible decisions, requires time, as well as a huge amount of patience. As Blessed Pietro Fabro said: “Time is God’s messenger.” This principle is true for all realities connected with the ecclesial community.
Pope Francis, a true pastor, strongly perceives the concrete situations of many families today, having witnessed, in his long priestly ministry, a high number of failures as well as difficult and sad situations.
There is need for a Church that is a “field hospital”, another image used by the Pope: a change in sensitivity is needed along with the ability to adjust, going from the formal marriage preparation of prospective spouses to a truer, concrete approach, less perfunctory, that will extend beyond a few meetings before the marriage.
“Neither laxity nor rigor”, is the line indicated by the Pope in the post-synodal Exhortation Amoris Laetitia …
As Cardinal Schönborn said during the training course, all the “isms” are wrong, especially in a delicate field such as the difficult situations experienced by the families. That’s why it’s necessary to exit the sphere of abstract ideas and enter the concrete fabric of the community. Unlike the experts – such as the members of the Court or the professors of Canon Law – parish priests are able to identify all “isms” that could prevent the growth, or have brought about the failure, of the couple they are following. And the main evidence is found in the facts.
In his latest speech to the Roman Rota – which just like all the Pope’s speeches and those by the Pontiffs that preceded him is part of Church Magisterium – Pope Francis says that true consensus requires a catechumenal effort in terms of marriage preparation.
To what extent is the parish priest’s role exerted in terms of a “counsellor” during the stage prior to the filing of a nullity application, and to what extent is the diocesan office present at territorial level, whose constitution is recommended in “Mitis Iudex”? During the Synod on the Family, that I have taken part in – in order to avert the risk of excessive focus on the bureaucratic aspects – the bishops urged to reconsider the layout of these structures. The juridical-pastoral offices decreed in Mitis Judex must serve as places to listen, as places of welcome, of closeness and accompaniment in order to identify and provide the most appropriate answers to requests nationwide, following the Pope’s exhortation.
Moreover, it’s necessary to move from the “form” to the local realities, identifying their needs and demands.
In Evangelii gaudium Pope Francis calls upon parish priests, and upon Catholic laity engaged inside the parish, to be “men and women who, on the basis of their experience of accompanying others, are familiar with processes which call for prudence, understanding, patience and docility to the Spirit…We need to practice the art of listening, which is more than simply hearing. Listening, in communication, is an openness of heart which makes possible that closeness without which genuine spiritual encounter cannot occur. Listening helps us to find the right gesture and word which shows that we are more than simply bystanders. Only through such respectful and compassionate listening can we enter on the paths of true growth and awaken a yearning for the Christian ideal: the desire to respond fully to God’s love and to bring to fruition what he has sown in our lives.”
What is the relationship between the parish priest and the bishop, in facing the challenges of the new matrimonial process? The bishop is a “born judge” in the particular Church: he is tasked with judgement in the “breviore” process. The bishop is the fountainhead, the sacrament, as defined by Saint Ignatius of Antioch, who at the same time said: “Nothing can be done by the priest without the bishop”, “And nothing can be done by the presbyter without the bishop”, we could add, with regard to the inextricable bond connecting the two: the bishop is nothing without the parish priests. He needs the presbyters, who, as stated in the Council, are his “necessary collaborators.”
What is your answer to those who claim that with the new norms of the process Pope Francis intends to “make concessions” on the sacrament of marriage? In the post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, and in the two Motu Proprio on the matrimonial process, Pope Francis never questions the indissolubility of the sacrament of marriage. In fact, in his intention to reiterate it he grants further trust to presbyters and bishops, who feel the responsibility of their commitment to defend the sacredness of the marriage bond. The Holy Father has faith in Episcopal consecration. Indeed, the bishops are human persons, and as such they may incur in error, but in their particular Churches “they are authentic teachers, that is, teachers endowed with the authority of Christ, who preach to the people committed to them the faith they must believe and put into practice” (Lumen Gentium, 25).
This is Pope Francis’ theological motivation: to believe in the Episcopate.
The bishops, “who by divine institution succeed to the place of the Apostles through the Holy Spirit who has been given to them, are constituted pastors in the Church, so that they are teachers of doctrine, priests of sacred worship, and ministers of governance.” (Can. 375) Hence they do not need juridical titles, but this doesn’t mean that they are not required to cultivate their juridical formation and be helped by those that are appropriately competent in this field. It could be said that every bishop is a “born judge” but he becomes a “mature judge” through his continuing formation.
In your speech to participants, you addressed, inter alia, the obligation of nullity as a “moral duty” that should be granted, where possible, to the couples that wish to marry in the fullness of the sacrament… It’s the nature of “salus animarum”: salvation can’t be constrained, for example, by an attitude of closure of the bishops. There is need for a Church with open doors: a Church that goes forth, capable of going to the places where people live. The Church thrives in the parish, and the parish is the field hospital dreamt by Pope Francis, capable of welcoming and treating those that were hurt by life in different ways: “I prefer a church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security”, wrote the Pope.
