Christian Marriage and the Ministry of the Tribunal
Christian marriage is a sacrament, a sign of the unity of Christ and the Church. It is a holy covenant of life and love. It demands a mature commitment and decision to love from the partners, a response to the ever-present grace of God, and a daily self-sacrifice and reaffirmation of the commitment made on the wedding day. This calls for effort that is often heroic. For this reason, marriages do not always succeed.
A distressing aspect of the contemporary scene is the high rate of divorce, and it is continuing to rise. At present in our country, nearly two marriages in every five end in divorce. Even among Catholics the statistics are not significantly different. Some estimate that there are several million Catholics who have suffered marriage failure and are struggling with its consequences.
The Church must be concerned about this tragic situation. As the public wedding ceremony attests, marriage is not just a private affair between a man and a woman. Both Church and State have an interest in the covenant of marriage made by a man and a woman. The human family is both the basic unit of society and the “Church in miniature,” and therefore the entire community must be interested in and committed to its success, and concerned and supportive should a marriage for some reason fail.
Whenever there is a breakdown in domestic harmony, whenever children are deprived of a parent's love, whenever divorce and remarriage result in the exclusion of persons from full participation in its sacramental life, the Church is affected. While unambiguously promoting the values of indissolubility and fidelity, the Church must also bring help and healing to the victims of this tragedy. For this reason the search for effective remedies continues without ceasing.
The first effort of the Church must be to strengthen the marriage commitment of its members, to encourage prayer and programs for enriching family life, and to offer guidance when difficulties occur. If separation and divorce are sought, then the Church should offer pastoral counseling and spiritual support to those suffering a marital breakdown.
Our Ministry
The Tribunal ministry is one part of the Church’s effort to offer healing and hope for the victims of broken marriages. The Tribunal investigates cases of marital failure to determine whether parties in certain instances may be free to remarry. It draws upon both traditional sources of understanding what constitutes a true marriage according to divine law and Catholic faith, as well as the insights of contemporary psychology and sociology into the interpersonal elements of the marriage partnership. Faithful to Catholic tradition, it maintains the Gospel's prohibition of arbitrary and unwarranted divorce while at the same time sustaining the basic right of individuals to enter a true marital union, a partnership of the whole of life, and recognizing the obstacles that sometimes prevent such a partnership from coming into being.
The Roman Catholic Church has always maintained the sanctity and indissolubility of a sacramental marriage. Divorce is something that is not recognized by the Church to have any effect on such a marriage. Because of this, once a sacramental marriage occurs, and once it is consummated, no power on earth can dissolve it.
Our Work
By the same token, the Church recognizes that the marriages of some people do end, for one reason or another. This is the reality which is of concern to the Tribunal system of the Church. We in the Tribunal are asked to investigate a failed marriage to determine whether or not the marriage in question met the expectations the Church has for a true marital union and whether God holds the parties bound to the vows they made. Fidelity to the Christian teaching on the sacredness and indissolubility of the marriage bond demands that the marriage be considered valid, unless there is sufficient proof to the contrary. Thus the burden of proof rests with the spouse who is challenging the validity of the marriage.
Our Mission
Our Tribunal is here to assist the parties in investigating the facts and ultimately to render judgment on whether the marriage in question is proved invalid. This pastoral work is exercised with an understanding of the personal nature of the subject. We do try to be sensitive to the anguish which the discussion of such personal matters can cause. We try to make the procedures outlined in Church law as painless as possible. However, the search for the truth of the conjugal relationship requires honesty from all participants and a willingness to probe the depth of facts and feelings in the hope that ultimate healing and new life can emerge.
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