Pope establishes commission to reform the annulment process

Pope Francis has established a special commission in order to review the marriage annulment process.

Although the establishment of the commission was only announced on Saturday, the decision was reached on August 2 of this year.

The work of the commission is due to start as soon as possible and will focus on reforming the matrimonial processs in order to make it more simple and to safeguard marriage’s indissoluble nature.

The process of annulments was expected to be a dominant topic of discussion at the Extraordinary Synod of the Family which is due to start in two weeks.

This committee will be chaired by Msgr Pio Vito Pinto, Dean of the Roman Rota. The other members are: Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio, President of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts; Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, SJ, secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Bishop Dimitri Salachas, Apostolic Exarch of the Greek Byzantine Catholic Church; Msgrs. Maurice Monier, Leo Xavier Michael Arokiaraj and Alejandro W. Bunge, Prelate Auditors of the Tribunal of the Roman Rota; the Rev. Fr. Nikolaus Schöch, O.F.M., Substitute Promotor of Justice of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura; Fr. Konštanc Miroslav Adam, O.P., Rector of the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum); Fr. Jorge Horta Espinoza, O.F.M., Dean of the Faculty of Canon Law of the Pontifical University Antoniamum; and Prof. Paolo Moneta, formerly professor of Canon Law at the University of Pisa.