Pope Francis Reaffirms that Catholic Marriage is Indissoluble

Indissoluble, unless you purchase an annulment.

The truth is that Tribunals do give negative decisions. The burden of proving a case rests on the Petitioner, that is, the person who applies for an annulment. The Catholic Church presumes that every marriage is a valid union, and there must be sufficient grounds for declaring otherwise. The Tribunal will help the Petitioner to understand what's needed to develop a case, but if there isn't enough proof, the Tribunal will give a negative decision. It is a myth that everyone who applies gets an annulment.

I could have sworn that I read the Pope was ‘evolving’ on that issue. Maybe two weeks ago. I thought I read that he wished to make obtaining annulments easier for Catholics. I guess it never happened.

No, you read that correctly. I was working in the parish office that day when a gentleman called to inquire about the new process. I referred him to the Diocesan Office.

Perhaps this will clarify the situation.

Pope Francis Reforms Annulment Process: 9 things to know and share

That’s not an explanation. It’s a pathetic attempt to defend the indefensible.

Francis needs to make up his mind before his in-flight interviews. He constantly contradicts himself.

From 2013:

Gian Guido Vecchi: (originally in Italian)

Holy Father, also on this trip you have spoken many times about mercy. About the access to the sacraments for those divorced and remarried, does the possibility exist that something might change in the discipline of the Church, that these sacraments are an occasion to bring these people closer rather than a barrier that separates them from other faithful?

Pope Francis: (originally in Italian)
This is a subject that is always asked about. Mercy is greater than that case that you pose. I believe that this is a time of mercy. [During ] this change of epoch, [there are] also so many problems of the Church like the not good witness of some priests, also the problems of corruption in the Church, also the problem of clericalism, to make an example, have left so many wounded, so many wounded.

And the Church is mother, she must go out and heal the wounded, with mercy.

But if the Lord doesn’t tire of forgiving, we don’t have any other choice than this, first of all, to heal the wounded. She is a mother, the Church, and she must go out onto this street of mercy and find a mercy for all. But, I think, when the prodigal son returned home, the father didn’t say to him, “Hey you, take a seat. What did you do with the money?” No! He threw a party! Then, maybe, when the son wanted to speak, he spoke.

The Church must do this. When there is someone… [but] not just waiting for them, going out and finding them! This is mercy.

And I believe that this is a kairós. (8) This time is a kairós of mercy. But this is the first intuition that John paul II had, when he began the Divine Mercy with Faustina Kowalska. He had something. He had intuited that there was a necessity for this time.

About the problem of Communion to those persons in a second union, that the divorced might participate in Communion, there is no problem. When they are in a second union, they can’t.

I believe that it is necessary to keep this within the entirety of pastoral care of marriage. And for this it is a problem. But also... a parenthesis, the Orthodox have a different praxis. They follow the theology of economy, as they called it, and they give a second chance, they allow it. But I believe that this problem, and I close the parenthesis, must be studied in the framework of marriage pastoral ministry.

And for this, two things: first, one of the themes to be consulted with the eight of this council of cardinals, with whom we’ll be meeting the 1st, 2nd and 3rd of October, is how to move ahead in the pastoral care of marriage, and this problem will come up there.