My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Last summer Pope Francis announced some changes in the processes for handling cases of the nullity of marriage. These changes went into effect this past week on Dec. 8, so I would like to describe them briefly here.

Sometimes these cases are popularly referred to as a marriage annulment, but that is technically not accurate, since the church is not declaring an existing marriage to be null, but is examining whether the marriage was null from the outset on one or more grounds that affect the ability of one or both parties to give their valid consent to marry. If the marriage is valid, we say that it is indissoluble, since Jesus taught that "what God has joined together, no human being must separate" (Mark 10:9 and Matthew 19:6).

The motivation for the reform of the processes for examining cases involving the nullity of marriage was expressed by Pope Francis in his own words in the introductory paragraphs of the document amending the pertinent provisions of canon law where he says, "The zeal to reform has been fueled by the enormous number of faithful who, while wishing to act according to their consciences, are too often separated from the legal structures of the Church due to physical or moral distance."

Here in the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois, we are blessed to have a fully functioning Tribunal with a highly competent staff who possess the required credentials. In addition to a religious brother with a canon law degree who serves as Defender of the Bond, we currently have four priests along with me who have canon law degrees to serve as judges and a fifth priest who will be completing his canon law studies at the end of the current academic year.

One of the key points of emphasis noted by Pope Francis in various parts of the document is the role of the diocesan bishop. The Holy Father urged diocesan bishops not to "leave the judicial function in matrimonial matters completely delegated to the offices of his curia." In keeping with the pope's request, I plan to be more involved in the cases of marriage nullity in our Tribunal than I have been in the past. My involvement in marriage nullity cases will be greatly assisted by the fact that I have a doctorate in canon law (J.C.D.) and experience serving for several years as a judge on the Court of Appeals for the Province of Chicago. This will also help me to exercise my pastoral role more fully to govern, teach and sanctify the faithful with the executive, legislative and judicial authority entrusted to me as diocesan bishop.

In light of some media reports that may give rise to unrealistic expectations regarding the shortening of the process for obtaining a declaration of nullity, it should be noted that most marriage-nullity processes will still take many months to complete. As of Dec. 8, 2015, decisions in favor of marriage nullity issuing from our diocesan Tribunal no longer require a second conforming decision from another tribunal, that is, a mandatory appeal of the decision will no longer be required. This change alone will make the entire process approximately three months shorter than people had been experiencing in recent years. Media references to faster processes refer to provisions of the new law which will only pertain to a limited number of cases meeting very precise criteria. As in the past, it will still take many months to assure that the rights of both parties are guaranteed and all necessary information is gathered for a just decision.

Also, our Office for Tribunal Services is no longer charging fees for processing marriage-nullity cases, but will accept donations. As noted on our Tribunal stationery, this office is "supported by the Annual Catholic Services Appeal," by which the Catholic Christians of our diocese meet the expenses of diocesan administration. Pope Francis himself, upon issuing these changes, expressed his preference that fees are not to be charged for this work if at all possible. Still, he recognizes that the functioning of diocesan tribunals relies upon meeting necessary expenses, including just remuneration of those who work in the tribunal. Therefore, we do invite donations from petitioners for helping the people of the local church to meet these expenses. A suggested donation is $500, which is approximately one-third of total Tribunal expenses regarding a petition, although an offering of any amount is gratefully received at any time for the services rendered.

Petitioning for a declaration of nullity of marriage is not an easy undertaking and I understand that the process may be unfamiliar to most people. The staff members of our diocesan Tribunal have many years of experience in carefully guiding people through this process.

May God give us this grace. Amen.