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A little while back I had the opportunity to attend a small conference about Marriage and Evolution, as in Darwinian evolution, specifically addressing the damage that the Evolutionary theory has done to society in general, and to the cultural foundation of marriage and family, namely by the Evolutionary base premise that everything is constantly changing and that everything “new” is “better” and everything “old” is “inferior” or, sin-of-sins, “unevolved”. The morning session was a series of presentations on marriage and family, and then the afternoon sessions were incredibly interesting hard science – fossil records, genetics, molecular biology, etc. The final...

Synod Fatigue is sure to be setting in now, if it hasn’t already.Just wait. It’ll get worse.But you must stay focused. Don’t tune out Synod news.“But Father! But Father!”, some will say, “It’s all too much! I just can’t take it any more. It’s too depressing. Besides, we can’t do anything about it and it just makes me sad and scared.”Good. I want you to be sad and scared.I want you to feel some anxiety. Use your apprehension to stay focused on the issues. You must be ready and willing to talk about them with clarity in your own spheres...

See also our previous pieces: Can zealous Bishops and Cardinals question the Annulment Reform and ask for its abrogation? For the record: Cardinal Burke's latest address on the Synod and "Annulment" Reform. Rorate reminder: 2015 Synod poised to assault Humanae Vitae too. Head of Vatican Commission Admits in Official Paper: Surge in Number of "Annulments" Intended Something is definitely in the air: Prominent canonists initially lauding the marriage nullity reforms, then backtracking, then public coming out strongly against these, and very real talk of discontent among a significant number of canon lawyers and prelates. And we're not talking about traditionalists...

Sandro Magister has documented the vulnus inflicted on Christian matrimony by Pope Francis’ two Motu Proprio with an in-depth article, which adds to Antonio Socci’s comments in “Libero”, Paolo Pasqualucci’s on “Chiesa e Post Concilio” and to my article in Corrispondenza Romana. Confirmation that there is an atmosphere of deep unease in the Vatican has come from the other side from the news service “Die Zeit” of September 10th, concerning the dossier that is apparently circulating in the Vatican against the marriage annulment procedures of Pope Francis. At this point a delicate problem is now placed before many consciences. Whatever...

Quo usque tandem.... I know, I know… I am borrowing heavily from Cicero here. But it seems to me that the Vatican Catilina is not going to enjoy the rest of his disgraceful pontificate, which we hope will be short anyway. The rather explosive news is now everywhere: a seven-page document gravely accusing Francis of incompetence and tampering with doctrine is being circulated within the Vatican, and has been very fittingly leaked to the press. We do not have the translation, but there can be no doubt that the content is brutal. From what I can see the grievances concern...

If Pope Francis’ Mitis Iudex becomes law it will require, among other things, that arch/bishops personally assess, and in some cases adjudicate, certain kinds of marriage nullity petitions. Now obviously some, perhaps many, prelates will feel (based on their lack of advanced canonical training, and/or their personal indisposition toward juridic work, and/or their concerns for negative implications to their wider pastoral work that having to choose between types of petitions and individual parties in annulment cases will inevitably provoke) inadequate to this task. Already I am hearing, however, that arch/bishops looking to avoid their looming judicial and procedural responsibilities under...

Mark Silk is a guy who evidently fancies himself as knowing something about Catholicism. And journalism. But neither of these things is in particular evidence in his most recent piece for Religion News Service.

Just imagine this scenario: A local politician goes to the bishop and tells him his daughter needs an annulment so she can have a great big wedding, a time of civic rejoicing. The bishop, a timid man, not exactly faith filled, however having looked into the matter is doubtful and says that it should follow the ordinary course. The politician, a bit of a bully, says he will go to the secularised press and insure they put up yet another story of the 'un-pastoral' style of the bishop, and he will certainly complain about him to his powerful friends in...

The new rules about annulment may well make of the Catholic sacrament of marriage – better said, of its indissolubility as perceived by the populace – a tragic farce. In a world in which most people think in term of “rights”, and think they have the right to get whatever they want, there will be no scarcity of people ready to (wink wink) lie to a priest willing to (wink wink) believe the lie, particularly in those dioceses in which the bishops will steer things towards a very frequent use of the “fast track” procedure; fast track for which a...

This week Pope Francis announced sweeping changes to canon law that will make it almost as quick and easy for Catholics to get their marriage “annulled” as it is to get a no-fault civil divorce. The indissolubility of sacramental marriage, the annulment process, civil divorce, “remarriage” and reception of the Eucharist by civilly divorced Catholics were hotly contested subjects in the months leading up to and during the October 2014 Extraordinary Synod on the Family. Many observers have anticipated a rigorous defense of sacramental marriage at the upcoming Synod this October. Instead, it appears that Pope Francis has now mooted...

The two motu proprio of Pope Francis Mitis iudex Dominus Iesus for the Latin Church and Mitis et misericors Jesus for the Oriental Churches, which were announced on September 8, 2015 have dealt Christian marriage a serious wound. The indissolubility of marriage is divine and immutable law of Jesus Christ. The Church can not "cancel" a marriage in the sense of dissolution. You can, with a declaration of invalidity, consider its non-existence, if those conditions are not met which ensure their validity. This means that it is not the interest of the spouse which has priority in a canonical process...

John Kerry is a man full of contradiction.In 1995, already divorced from his first wife Julia Thorne, John Kerry pressed for an annulment.He didn't bother to tell Ms. Thorne. The church simply informed her by way of a letter that this was the case. Ms. Thorne had been severely depressed and near suicide when Kerry walked out on her, and in pressing for an annulment he cast his daughters into the bizarre state of illigimacy. (one of them was still a teenager at the time) Compare that with the Jack Ryan Illinois Senate case where both parents were arguing to...