Church in India endorses SC order on marriage annulment

The Catholic Church in India, on Jan 30 has endorsed a Supreme Court (SC) order that invalidated Church courts or ecclesiastic tribunals annulling marriage of a Catholic couple.

The president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) Cardinal Oswald Gracias said at a press conference,  organized at the Bhopal Pastoral Centre that there is no contradiction in the SC order as they  have been following it even before.

The prelate also made it clear that the annulment of the marriages by the church courts does not violate any civil law and hence, make no offence.

The SC in its January 19 order declared the divorce granted by the ecclesiastical tribunal under the Christian personal law as invalid as it cannot override the laws of the land while dismissing a public interest litigation (PIL) that sought direction to legalize the marriage annulment by the church courts.

The vice president of the CCBI, Bishop Filipe Neri Ferrao, secretary general of the CCBI, Bishop Varghese Chakkalakal, Archbishop of Bhopal Leo Cornelio and vice secretary general of the CCBI Father Stephen Alatara also joined the cardinal to address the media to shed light on the 29th Plenary Assembly of bishops in the Central Indian capital of Madhya Pradesh state. 

The Assembly will begin on January 31 and conclude on February 8 with the election of new office bearers to head the Church body consisting 132 dioceses with 182 Bishops.  (Mattersindia)