Pope Francis fast-tracks marriage annulment

Pope Francis raised some eyebrows among the Catholic community.
He’s allowing a new fast-track procedure for annulling marriages.

The change overhauls 300 years of a church practice many Catholics said
was costly and time consuming.

For many people walking through doors of a church and getting married before the eyes of God is the most holy union but if needed breaking that holy union could take years.

Holy matrimony can bring great joy and happiness but the phrase ’till death do us part’ doesn’t always work for everyone and getting a marriage annulled through the Catholic church since the 1700’s has required a tribunal or a “church court.”

Both parties have to answer a questionnaire, about 75 questions. A case usually takes a year to be heard locally then there’s an automatic appeal and the case is heard by an appellate court in San Antonio.

“Mine took about two and a half years to get done which is really quick because I’ve heard for people it’s taken 5,6,7 years,” said John Ross.

Ross has been a life-long Catholic, a devoted man to church and God. He even spends some time in the church choir.

“I had been married in the church before and my current wife and I wanted to be married in the church so we had to go through this process,” said Ross.

For Ross it was costly. Some can spend hundreds of dollars for the annulment
and it isn’t easy.

“It’s very personal and very descriptive and some people don’t want to go through that because it brings up a lot of issues maybe past scars that have healed. It brings the past back,” Ross Told ABC-7.

Tuesday Pope Francis announced not only would he speed up the process but also make it free.

Bishop Mark Seitz told ABC-7 in a statement:

“Everyone was hopeful that the holy father would find a way to streamline the annulment process. The Synod made the request last fall. I am delighted with the announcement.”

Ross tells ABC-7 as long as the ideals of the process haven’t altered he welcomes the new change.

“The issues can be taken care at a local level and that’s the value in this so things can get done quicker and people can move on with their lives,” Ross said.

Pope Francis said the reform is aimed at simplifying and speeding up the process so the faithful can find justice and the overall goal is the salvation of souls.