Headlines
Pope to announce changes for divorced Catholics
Vatican City, Sep 8
Pope Francis is expected
to announce revisions to the process by which Catholics may annul their
marriages, a media report said on Tuesday.
A statement from the
Vatican does not detail the proposed reforms, but Francis has said that
obtaining annulments can be too cumbersome and costly, dragging on for
years and can be quite expensive, CNN reported.
The Catholic
Church does not recognise civil divorces. Instead, its theology holds
that marital unions sanctified by God are indissoluble.
Annulments,
available only through church tribunals, state that the marriage
contract was fundamentally flawed from the start, and hence invalid in
the eyes of the church. In the 1980s, the church added another step to
the process, requiring a second review before an annulment can be
granted.
Without an annulment, a divorced Catholic who remarries
is considered an adulterer and may not participate in some sacraments,
including Holy Communion.
Led by Pope Francis, the church is
holding high-level meetings, called synods, to debate that teaching. The
next synod is to be held in October.
The announcement is expected to be yet another step in Pope Francis' efforts to reform the church.
Last
week, he announced that during an upcoming "Year of Mercy," Catholic
priests around the world will be able to forgive the "sin" of abortion.
Under canon law, absolution of certain serious sins, including abortion,
is usually reserved only to bishops.
Pope Francis says all priests can forgive women who have had abortions