Pope reminds Church judges they are primarily pastors

January 24, 2014 - Pope Francis on Friday told judges in ecclesiastical courts that in their juridical function they are primarily pastors of souls, reminding them that behind every case there are persons awaiting justice. Pope Francis made the point to members of the Roman Rota, a court in the Vatican that handles appeals of marriage annulment cases in the Catholic Church. Meeting them for their first time, at the start of the judicial year, the Pope said that the Church’s judiciary is a service to truth in justice, and has a deep pastoral connotation aimed at the good of the faithful and the building up the Christian community.

The Holy Father briefly touched upon the human, judicial and pastoral qualities of an ecclesiastical judge. A prelate auditor or judge of the Roman Rota has to have human maturity that is shown in his serenity of judgment and detachment from personal views, which make him deliver a justice that is not legalistic and abstract but which is an answer to concrete reality. This calls for entering deeply into the situations of both sides in annulment cases. Besides a strong juridical and theological background, a judge must also be objective and impartial, while safeguarding truth and the law, not forgetting the delicate and human qualities of a pastor of souls. This calls for pastoral solicitude and a genuine spirit of service. An ecclesial judge is the ‘servant of justice’ with the ‘pastoral love’ of the Good Shepherd. Reminding them that behind every file, position and case there are persons awaiting justice, Pope Francis urged members of the Roman Rota to carry out their function with “scrupulousness and meekness.”

The Roman Rota mainly deals with marriage annulment, a process by which the Church effectively declares that a marriage never took place because of the lack of certain requirements. The Catholic Church does not recognize divorce for Catholics, only annulments, and does so only under specific circumstances, such as when a husband or wife refuses to have children or if a spouse was found psychologically incapable of contracting a valid marriage.