Vatican City, Sep 10, 2015 / 07:22 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Vatican today officially announced that Pope Francis will travel to Kenya, Uganda and the Central African Republic in November, a plan informally revealed by the Pope himself this summer.   After accepting “the invitation issued by the respective Heads of State and the Bishops,” Pope Francis is scheduled to visit the African continent from Nov. 25-30, a Sept. 10 communique from the Vatican announced. He will set foot in Kenya first, where he will stay from Nov. 25-27, before moving on to Uganda Nov. 27-29. His last stop will be the Central African Republic, from Nov. 29-30. Francis first announced his intention to travel to Africa – specifically the Central African Republic and Uganda – during a news conference while returning from a trip to Sri Lanka and the Philippines in January. He confirmed the plans in a June 12 meeting with hundreds of priests from around the world participating in the Third World Priests Retreat in the Basilica of St. John Lateran when he answered a question from an African priest about when he planned to visit. “God willing, I will be in Africa in November. In the Central African Republic first and then Uganda,” he responded. The Pope also noted that the trip will come “before the presidential transition in the Central African Republic, and Uganda after the 50th anniversary of the martyrs, though a little late.” The 22 Ugandan Martyrs were killed by the king in the 1880s for refusing to recant their faith. They were canonized Oct. 18, 1964 by Pope Paul VI in St. Peter's Basilica. The Church of Uganda has already begun preparations for the celebration of the Golden Anniversary of the canonization with a diocesan conference on the 22 saints. Although Pope Francis has previously spoken about visiting the African continent, today’s confirmation from the Vatican makes it official. In the June meeting with priests, Pope Francis also addressed pastoral concerns in Africa, noting that while there might be a shortage of priests, the presence of lay catechists is strong. As far as the Church in Africa goes, “the backbone are the catechists. I think that the formation of lay catechists is fundamental in Africa. They are the ones who carry the Church forward,” the Pope said. Besides the catechists, there are two other institutions which stand out in caring for the people, which are the schools and the hospitals, Francis observed. “The tenderness, the care. Many religious sisters, many laity spend years and years and years caring for the sick with great tragedies. How many laity go there to serve as doctors in the tragedies!” he said. Francis also praised the creative spirit present in the African liturgy, saying that behind it lay “a great spiritual experience.” However, he also touched on various challenges Africans face such as terrorism and the exploitation of the land, which he spoke of in his recent encyclical on the environment, “Laudato Si.” Right now in Africa there is “a serious problem of the ideological wars” led by groups such as Boko Haram that needs to be addressed, he said, noting that the continent has also become “a place of despoilment.” “I say this with all respect and with a lot of love: Africa is an attractive place to despoil… (there is) the ability to go there in search of wood, gold or metals, and ravage and leave,” the Pope explained. Pope Francis stressed the need to solve social and developmental problems so that people no longer need to travel to Europe in search of a better life. “This is an emergency. What is needed is that Europe goes there to Africa not to take things out of Africa, but to invest in Africa so that Africa has industry, work, and the people don't need to come here. This is the more social work,” he said. “Europe has been very generous with Africa in terms of what's Catholic. Today the world isn't generous with Africa because they exploit it. They treat it as a land of exploitation.” Read more

Vatican City, Sep 10, 2015 / 03:08 am (CNA/EWTN News).- By reforming the process for discovering the nullity of marriage on Tuesday, mere weeks before the beginning of October's Synod on the Family, Pope Francis has taken that issue out of the hands of the synod fathers. The decision could impact the Synod of Bishops, however, by reducing the perceived need for a quick solution to the issue of granting the divorced-and-remarried access to Communion – since the reformed process may make it easier for many of them to verify the nullity of their first marriage. Pope Francis had in fact already shown his will to remove the discussion of declarations of nullity from the synod hall: his special commission to study a reform of the matrimonial process was announced Sept. 20, 2014, but had been established a month earlier, on Aug. 27, well before the beginning of October 2014 Synod on the Family. In any case, the issue was among those discussed at the synod, and Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio, president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts and one of the members of the commission, addressed the issue in an Oct. 8, 2014 media briefing. He noted there that the commission's aim was that of “drafting a proposal of reform of the process on marriage, trying to speed up the procedure, by streamlining it and at the same time safeguarding the principle of the indissolubility of marriage,” while distinguishing between a declaration of nullity and the dissolution of a marriage, clarifying that no marriage that is “ratum et consummatum” can be dissolved. As the upcoming synod will now not have to discuss the issue of declarations of nullity, it is possible that Pope Francis' decision may also temper the push for a new praxis on admission to Communion for the divorced-and-remarried. At the same time, the motu proprios could alter the terms of the synod's discussion. The discussion will probably be refocused on other issues, which could be helped by the new rules for the Synod of Bishops. A source involved in the Synod of Bishops told CNA Sept. 7 that there will be no midterm report, and each week will be dedicated to the discussion of one of the three parts of the synod's working document. After a short general introduction, participants of the Synod will split into small linguistic groups, so that there are many small group discussions, but no general discussion among all of the synod fathers. The small groups will then bring their conclusions to the General Secretariat of the Synod and to the general relator, who would give a final report at the end of the synod, which will be concluded with a speech from the Pope. Meanwhile, the number of requests for declarations of nullity may increase. Msgr. Pio Pinto, dean of the Roman Rota and chairman of the commission, addressed this issue in the article he wrote Sept. 8 for L'Osservatore Romano: “Thus Francis, with this fundamental law gives a true start to his reform: putting the poor at the center, that is, the divorced-and-remarried, held or treated as far away, and asking of the bishops a true and proper metanoia. That is, a 'conversion', a change of mentality that convinces and undergirds them to follow the invitation of Christ, presented to them in their brother, the Bishop of Rome, to pass from the restricted number of a few thousand declarations of nullity to the huge number of unhappy people who might obtain the declaration of nullity – for the evident lack of faith … but who are left outside the existing system.” Read more

Vatican City, Sep 10, 2015 / 02:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A member of the Vatican council charged with interpreting Church law says the increased role of bishops in the annulment process is a positive step that will ensure the procedure is done responsibly. Placing a greater emphasis on the role of bishops “will strengthen, and not weaken, the purpose of the process,” Father Cuong Pham told CNA Sept. 9. New changes to the annulment process were published yesterday, Sept. 8, in two motu proprio – or letters issued by the Pope “on his own initiative” – presented in news conference in the Vatican press office. The documents were entitled “Mitis Iudex Dominus Iesus” (The Lord Jesus, a meek judge), which deals with modifications in the Latin Rite's Code of Canon Law, and “Mitis et misericors Iesus” (Jesus, meek and merciful), which outlines changes for Eastern Churches who, although in full communion with Rome, have historically had a different process. Fr. Pham explained that bishops often rely heavily on others to do the work, and noted how many are not personally involved with the day-to-day process of their tribunal. “By placing emphasis on their involvement and their role as chief judge of the local Church, the changes will help ensure that the rights of all are served with diligence."  Fr. Pham is an official of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, whose work is focused on interpreting the laws of the Church. The council's president, Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio, was part of the special commission established by Pope Francis last year to simplify and streamline the nullification process while safeguarding the indissolubility of marriage. In key changes, Pope Francis has declared the process free of charge and has dropped the mandatory appeal when once a first judgment on marriage nullity has been reached. Now, only one judgment will be needed. However, in the case that it is appealed, the Pope said that appeals can be done in the nearest metropolitan diocese, rather than needing to go to Rome. He is also allowing local bishops to make their own judgments on “evident” cases of marriage nullity, and has given them authority to form their own tribunal to process incoming cases. The bishop can be the only judge in the case, or he can establish a three-member tribunal to oversee it. If a three-member tribunal is established, it must have at least one cleric, while the other two members can be laypersons. In a brief introduction to the motu proprio, Pope Francis the Pope recognized that the streamlined process, particularly the new procedures surrounding the decisions made by bishops, could raise concern over the Church’s teaching on the indissolubility of marriage – meaning that marriage lasts forever and is incapable of being dissolved or undone. “It has not escaped me how an abbreviated judgment might put the principle of indissolubility of marriage at risk,” he said. “Indeed, because of this I wanted that in this process the judge would be composed of the bishop, so that the strength of his pastoral office is, with Peter, the best guarantee of Catholic unity in faith and discipline.” The Pope also explained that he wanted to offer the new process to bishops so it can be “applied in cases in which the accused nullity of the marriage is sustained by particularly evident arguments.” In his remarks, Fr. Pham said that allowing bishops to be judges of cases in their own dioceses is a way to clearly manifest the Second Vatican Council’s teaching on collegiality, hierarchical communion, and the proper relationship between pastors and the faithful while not taking away from the bishops’ prerogatives “in appointing suitable and qualified individuals to assist him in the task.” However, he noted that some bishops might hesitate to get involved in the process due to the demands of their workload and a lack of experience in canon law. “Naturally, the changes will cause much anxiety and uneasiness as a great number of our bishops are not canonists at all, besides being so overburdened with other responsibilities already in the Church,” he said. On the other hand, the priest stressed that when the issues at hand become clearer and once they are given more concrete directives on how to implement the changes, “bishops will find these new structures to be quite helpful in addressing the urgent needs of many faithful today.” The priest also pointed out that the exclusion of marriage indissolubility, meaning when one or both spouses do not believe marriage is an unbreakable, lifelong commitment, is always a ground for annulment. Declaring the nullity of marriage therefore consists “in seeing if any of those conditions exists that may render the marriage null from the beginning,” he said. He said it’s important to remember that the process “has to do with verifying, and not inventing, the eventual existence of any ground.” “Consequently, the changes introduced do not alter the doctrine in any way, it is instead quintessentially pastoral in nature and consists in rendering the procedures for the declaration more quick and agile for the sake of the faithful who find themselves in such situations.” Read more

Vatican City, Sep 9, 2015 / 07:13 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis Wednesday spoke of the bond which must exist between families and the Christian community, stressing that the Church, in following the Gospel, must always keep its doors open. "Churches, parishes, and institutions whose doors are closed should not call themselves churches,” the Pope said. “They should call themselves museums!” The Church, in living out the Gospel, must welcome people “with doors open, always,” he said. The Pope's remarks on the family at his Sept. 9 General Audience are the latest in a series of  weekly catecheses, beginning last year as part of the lead-up to the World Day of Families in September, as well as October’s Synod of Bishops on the Family. During the Audience, Pope Francis focused on the relationship between the family and the Christian community. Citing the Vatican II document Lumen Gentium, he explained this relationship falls within the context of the Church being a spiritual family, and the family being a small Church. “The Christian community is the home of those who believe in Jesus as the source of fraternity among all  men,” he said. “The Church walks among the people, in the history of men and women, of fathers and mothers, of sons and daughters: This is the history which counts for the Lord.” Although there are major world events which appear in the history books, the Pope said “the history of human affection is written directly on the heart of God; and this is the story that remains in eternity.” “The family is the place of our initiation – unique, indelible – into this history: to this history of full life, which ends in contemplation of God for all eternity in Heaven, but (which) begins in the family!” Pope Francis reflected on how Jesus, who himself was born into a family, was “assimilated into the human condition” for thirty years before establishing a community around himself. “This is the meaning of the word 'church',” the pontiff said. The community formed around Jesus was not an “exclusive sect,” but included “the hungry and the thirsty, the stranger and the persecuted, the sinner and the publican, the pharisee and the crowds,” the Pope said, adding that the disciples were tasked with caring for “this family of God's guests.” “The strengthening of the bond between the family and the Christian community is essential and urgent,” he said. “There is need of a generous faith for rediscovering the intelligence and courage” needed for renewing this alliance. Acknowledging that many families many feel they lack the strength and ability to be welcoming, the Pope nonetheless reminded them that this strength and ability comes from God. “Without the grace of God, we can do nothing,” he said. “The Lord never arrives in a new family without performing some miracle.” The Christian community is also called to do its part, Pope Francis said: for instance, by looking to rise above overly legislative and utilitarian attitudes, “favoring interpersonal  dialogue, understanding, and mutual respect.” “Families take on initiatives and responsible for bringing their precious gifts to the community.” “The family and parish must carry out the miracle of a more communal life for the whole of society.” Pope Francis concluded by inviting families and parish communities to be inspired by Mary at the wedding feast of Cana, who told her hosts: “Do whatever he tells you.” “In doing all that Jesus tells us,” he said, “we find ourselves in facing a miracle, a miracle every day!” Read more