Pope tells judges at Vatican-based tribunal that prayer is essential

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — A tribunal judge for the Catholic Church must have a rich prayer life, if not, he should quit, Pope Francis said.

A judge’s prayer life “is essential to his task. If a judge does not pray or cannot pray, it’s better he go and pursue another profession,” the pope told members of the Roman Rota, a Vatican-based tribunal that deals mainly with marriage cases and requests for marriage annulments.

“Dear judges, without prayer, you cannot be a judge. If any of you do not pray, please, resign, it’s for the best,” he told tribunal members during an audience at the Vatican Jan. 25.

As the members inaugurated the tribunal’s judicial year, Pope Francis said he wanted to focus his talk on discernment, particularly the specific form of discernment required of them when working on marriage cases and deciding whether there are grounds for annulment.

Recognizing the difficulty of making such judgments, the pope said achieving moral certainty about nullity requires that discernment be part of the entire process, especially the preliminary phase.

“Such discernment constitutes a great responsibility that the church entrusts to you, because it strongly affects the lives of individuals and families. You must approach this task with courage and clarity but, first of all, it is decisive to count on the light and strength of the Holy Spirit,” he said.

“Let us always remember this: discernment is done ‘on one’s knees’ — and a judge who cannot get down on his knees is better off resigning — imploring the gift of the Holy Spirit,” the pope said.

“Only in this way can decisions be reached that go in the direction of what’s best for individuals and the whole church community,” he said.

“The objectivity of judicial discernment therefore requires one to be free from any bias, either for or against the declaration of nullity,” he said, which means being free both “from the rigorism of those who would demand absolute certainty and from an attitude inspired by the false belief that the best answer is always nullity, what St. John Paul II called the ‘risk of a misunderstood compassion … only apparently pastoral.'”

Judicial discernment requires the virtues of prudence and justice, “which must be informed by charity,” he said. “Just discernment implies an act of pastoral charity, even when the judgment may be negative. And also a risk.”

The discernment of the validity of the marriage bond is complex, he said, since church law must be interpreted “in the light of the truth about indissoluble marriage, which the church safeguards and spreads in its preaching and mission.”

The pope also told the judges to be and feel part of the church. “Do you pray, feel with the church? Are you humble in prayer, asking the Lord for light?”