Pope Francis will announce some changes to the way Catholics may gain a marriage annulment, the Vatican said Monday.
Exactly how the process will be reformed is still unknown, but Francis is expected to lift requirements for gaining annulments that some have seen as burdensome, perhaps allowing just one diocese to approve an annulment instead of two.
The Tuesday announcement will come one month before a conference on family life the pope has organized in Rome in October. The conference could lead to some changes in church practice and doctrine around marriages and children.
Francis will announce the marriage annulment reforms by issuing two decrees called, in Latin, Mitis ludex Dominus Iesus and Mitis et misericors Iesus. The names suggest the reforms could have to do with Jesus’ qualities of being merciful and meek.
Francis has spoken several times of a need to reform the annulment process, which Catholics seeking to invalidate a marriage must go through. A marriage could be annulled for several reasons, like if it wasn’t performed by a Catholic priest or if one spouse deceived another about a personal trait that could gravely harm the marriage.
Some Catholics have complained that the annulment process takes too long and costs too much money. Francis has appeared sympathetic to some of the concerns, at one point saying “how I wish all marriage proceedings were free of charge!”
American lawmakers and religious leaders are preparing for Francis’ first-ever visit to the U.S. later this month, when he plans to address Congress.
