Not a Pretty Picture

The gospel this morning was the gruesome one where Jesus starts by telling you to pluck out your eye and ends with divorce being pretty bad for your eternal life possibilities.  There are people who cite these words out of context, with such force that canon lawyers label them “Angry Respondents”.  The Tribunal staff is trying to be as pastoral as they can be in a bad situation, but those ARs make it very tough.  They don’t care who they hurt or how much it costs to appeal over and over and over, right to the Holy See.  By that time, it can be obvious to everyone involved why the Petitioner is requesting a marriage annulment from this AR in the first place!  Don’t get me wrong, there are some angry Petitioners out there too, but not as unhinged as the ARs can seem.

            Church/sacramental marriages are declining in numbers.  Marriage Tribunals are looking into forming regional marriage tribunals with other dioceses because the Petitions for Marriage Annulments are also declining.  That way they can combine staff and costs.  If sacramental marriages have dropped it follows that petitions for annulment have too.  It’s easier to just walk away from a marriage failure than it is to learn from any mistake.  So, the amount of work for Marriage Tribunals is dwindling.  From the outside looking in, it would seem that this is a good thing and coincides with the declining number of priestly vocations; fewer priests to do the work in a marriage tribunal.  But lay people have turned to canon law in a larger number than ever before.  (In some small dioceses this can be helpful.)  The number of jobs left in marriage tribunals being fewer, means that the availability of positions for canon lawyers in marriage tribunals is very low.   In my mind, that means that those thinking about a career in canon law have no good prospects.  In some dioceses the employment interview takes place before the canon law school.  That way the diocese can contribute to paying for that education in return for a work commitment after graduation.  Most times that happens with a person from the actual diocese that is offering to contribute to the education and not the result of a cattle call for canon lawyers. 

So, the gospel today is daunting and so are the prospects for budding canon lawyers.  Neither one paints a pretty picture for our Church.

(Happy Birthday, Dad!  I still miss you!)