Pope says marriage annulment process should be free of charge

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Addressing the Vatican tribunal primarily responsible for hearing requests for marriage annulments, Pope Francis said all annulment processes should be free of charge.
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“The sacraments are free. The sacraments give us grace. And a matrimonial process pertains to the sacrament of matrimony. How I wish that all processes were free,” the pope said Jan. 24, at a meeting to inaugurate the Roman Rota’s judicial year.
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Pope Francis also said that, because contemporary culture portrays marriage as a “mere form of emotional gratification,” people often marry without a true understanding of the sacrament, meaning many such marriages might actually be invalid.
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catholicphilly.com/2015/01/news/world-news/pope-says-marriage-annulment-process-should-be-free-of-charge/
 
Possibly a good idea. But tribunal personnel have to eat too. Somebody’s got to pay for the tribunal. Will it be assessed to the parishes? And if so, to whose parish?
 
The sacraments are free? Maybe in theory, but not so much in practice around here. Preparation for Confirmation runs about $200.00 at my parish, and when my niece was confirmed last year, we were led to believe the fee and the preparation were not optional. I guess we need our old nuns who did everything for a small stipend to come back again, so Catholic education and services could be much cheaper or free, but until then, the money for time and expenses would have to be redirected from parish coffers. But I wish it could all be free too.
 
christofirst said:
The sacraments are free? Maybe in theory, but not so much in practice around here. Preparation for Confirmation runs about $200.00 at my parish, and when my niece was confirmed last year, we were led to believe the fee and the preparation were not optional. I guess we need our old nuns who did everything for a small stipend to come back again, so Catholic education and services could be much cheaper or free, but until then, the money for time and expenses would have to be redirected from parish coffers. But I wish it could all be free too.
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I sure do agree that we need the teaching nuns again. There are a few teaching orders left, one that I know of in my diocese. And there are ways of paying for education rather than tuition, but it requires Catholics to be willing to tithe to their parish. It really is a shame that parishes have so many fees concerning sacramental preparation, but I also sympathize with parish finance committees who are practically begging parishioners for weekly support.
 
Charging money for the sacraments themselves is a serious sin, that of simony (named for Simon Magus who tried to buy the Holy Spirit from St. Peter). The faithful have a right to the sacraments and cannot be denied them on financial grounds.

It is permissible to charge for various aspects that surround the sacrament proper (preparation classes, use of the church at an unusual time, etc.), though one cannot be denied the sacrament for being unable to afford those things.

Usagi
 
I think the annulment process should be free or a small fee or donation.
 
Dioceses / Parishes wouldn’t have to charge administrative fees for annulments, marriage prep, or anything else if the average Catholic in the pew followed the Precepts of the Church and supported his parish materially according to his needs. Its well known that Catholics, at least in North America, give a lot less to their parishes than Evangelicals do to their churches. Growing up in my home town in British Columbia, Canada, the local Catholic parish and the local Baptist church had about the same size Sunday congregation. The Baptist church had a budget that was 3 to 4 times larger than the Catholic parish and employed a staff of 7 or 8 full time pastors / ministers / office staff. The Catholic parish had the one priest, a part time secretary and a part time religious education director. Was the Catholic parish a poor parish? Not by a long shot. Catholics simply tend to be far less generous. Most of my family is Evangelical Protestant and I’ve known many, even those who just get by on blue collar salaries, who literally tithe (10% of their income). How many Catholics given even close to that? 1-2% if you’re lucky…and that would be a middle class family who have enough income for an annual vacation to Mexico.
 
As they say, no such thing as a free lunch. One is still required to put in a lot of time answering questions, getting witnesses, facing a psychologist, etc. Of course there are people on the other side with expenses as well. The $500 is nothing really. How much did that wedding cost?
 
ProVobis said:
As they say, no such thing as a free lunch. One is still required to put in a lot of time answering questions, getting witnesses, facing a psychologist, etc. Of course there are people on the other side with expenses as well. The $500 is nothing really. How much did that wedding cost?
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I didn’t have a wedding-married by justice of the peace.
I wasn’t Catholic either.
 
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