Published: October 18, 2015

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

As you probably noticed, I was away this past weekend and week. I was in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, attending the annual convention of the Canon Law Society of America. I know it was inconvenient for me to be gone two weeks in a row (remember, the priests of our diocese had their annual retreat at Manresa the previous week), but this year’s canon law convention was special for a number of reasons.

First of all, like all of these gatherings, it’s a happy opportunity to see many old friends, classmates and colleagues from all over North America that I don’t get to see very often. It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost 30 years since Bishop Stanley Joseph Ott assigned me to study canon law in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: it was a great two years of study for me: the snowy cold up there was overcome by the warmth of many friendships made! Many of us have been able to keep up with each other through the work and meetings of our professional society.

This year also I had a presentation to give at the convention. I won’t bore you with the details (my “summary outline” was 12 pages long!), but basically it was a day-and-a-half study of “how to gather and evaluate evidence in a marriage annulment case.” It probably doesn’t sound very interesting to you, but believe me it’s something that canon lawyers and others who minister within the Church’s Tribunals spend a lot of time mastering. Naturally I was nervous before the presentation, but once it was over it was good to relax a little listening to other canon lawyers talk!

But the most interesting thing about this year’s convention was the “buzz” about Pope Francis’ initiative in early September. He actually revised the whole section of the Code of Canon Law on “Marriage Processes,” making changes that – if we put them into effect properly – should shorten the time it takes for many annulment cases to be done. He streamlined the ordinary process a good bit, but also created an entirely new type of process for the bishop to use when persons formerly married can cooperate in seeking an annulment and when the reasons for the invalid wedding are particularly clear. While not every case falls into that category, of course, I think it will be of help to quite a few people – including the priests and lay ministers who work in our Tribunal. Anyway, hundreds of canon lawyers got together to study these changes, and begin figuring out how to put them into practice. After all, we’re the first to note that the Church evaluates failed marriages in a super-cautious way. This is right, because we absolutely would never wish to declare a valid marriage to be non-binding. But now it may be a little less time-consuming, who knows? (Still, I’ll bet the late, great Yogi Berra’s insight will remain true: “It always takes longer than it does!”)

So if you have a spare minute, say two special prayers. One could be for all who work in Tribunal ministry in the Church. But the more important one should be for the many people whose lives have been shattered by marital breakdown, for they’re the ones whom God, Pope Francis, and all of us in the Tribunal are trying to help. People who have suffered such tragedy are the very special focus of God’s love and mercy, and while we usually can’t approve of everything that’s happened, we can do our best to move on and upwards from pain to closure and on to a new hope.

Let’s see, what else can I mention? The whole of October is traditionally known as the month of the Rosary. Have you taken advantage of this wonderful and very time-honored Catholic way to pray recently? It’s a simple prayer to undertake, but its spiritual rewards are profound: meditating on the significant mysteries of our faith while honoring Jesus and Mary in the words of the spoken prayers. You might give some thought to rediscovering this prayer-form – it’s especially good when “two or three gather” to share the spoken prayer.

And don’t forget next month: the Solemnity of All Saints on Sunday, November 1, and the Commemoration of All Souls the next day, November 2, begin a month of remembrance of those who have gone before us. It’s a more somber time, during which we pray for the repose of the souls of the faithful departed. (And I can’t help but repeat the advice that my first pastor after ordination, Msgr. John Weber used to add: “and pray for the unfaithful departed, they need the prayers more!”) After Holy Mass, the next best place to make such prayers are during a visit to a cemetery. Why not plan a visit to your family’s graves soon?

Sincerely in the Lord,

---

See All Headlines