The Pope's Annulment Reforms Will Have an Impact on the Synod

Pope Francis’ annulment reform is likely to have significant impact on the upcoming Synod on the Family, effectively taking the wind out of the sails of the highly controversial Cardinal Kasper proposal and allowing other issues to come to the fore.

It’s what many would have liked to have happened before the Extraordinary Synod, to prevent the proposal dominating the discussions, although the reform may well be the proposal in another guise.

As John Allen of the Boston Globe writes: the reform will “recalibrate” the synod, and ensure the debates won’t get bogged down in what a hypothetical reform of the annulment process might look like.

Canonical questions aside, the two motu proprios could also prompt more extensive discussion about why Pope Francis felt such reform was needed in the first place.

One main reason for the Pope’s decision to facilitate declarations of nullity was to help offer a pastoral solution to the increasing numbers of Catholics who have been getting married over the past 50 or so years without adequate preparation or formation.

An observer told me he felt the Pope’s reforms represent a “damning indictment” on the lack of effective catechism over the past five decades. It points to the crisis of faith affecting the West and the steady loss of the sense of the supernatural among the faithful, replaced by a vacuous cultural Catholic self-identity.

The good news is that the synod fathers are set to look at a deeper and more lasting pastoral solution to the underlying causes of the crisis by placing better catechetical programs and formation at the center of the discussions.

Article 85 of the Instrumentum Laboris underlines the importance of “catechesis before marriage”, and articles 94 and 95 are dedicated to the importance of accompanying engaged couples in marriage preparation.

But it needn’t end there. Not only could further formative programs be offered to Catholics who receive annulments to help prevent them repeating the same mistakes if they marry again, but perhaps better formation could be given to others regarding preparation for receiving all the other sacraments.

Any Catholic about to receive the Eucharist or the Sacrament of Penance, seminarians studying for ordination, or adults wishing to be received into the Church could arguably be better prepared.

Those doing the forming, too, need to know what it is to be Catholic — that it’s not about being motivated by social justice politics or being simply being pro-life. And those who had declarations of nullity could also receive better catechesis to prevent them making the same mistakes again.

If the crisis in the family is indeed the consequence of a crisis of faith as many believe, it’ll be interesting to see how much emphasis the synod fathers place on finding better ways to teach and impart the Church’s established doctrine.