In his historical motu proprios, Pope Francis rewrote a section of the Latin rite Code of Canon Law and the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches.

He made it clear he was not “promoting the nullity of marriages but the quickness of the processes as well as a correct simplicity” of the procedures so that Catholic couples are not “oppressed by the shadow of doubt” for prolonged periods.

A motu proprio has the force of law in the Catholic Church.

The Pope maintained the meaning of annulment, namely a decree from a Church tribunal that a marriage between two persons was invalidly contracted.

His decree for the Latin rite Church effectively changes as well as updates canons 1679-1691 in the Code of Canon Law.

The Pope attached to this decree 20 new procedural rules for bishops dealing with annulment cases to guide them in their work on those matters. Briefly, in these procedural rules the Pope gives examples of when a bishop might be able to decide an annulment on his own authority without using the normal process of the Church tribunal.

Two innovations are: a) the removal of the obligation of an automatic appeal without denying the right of one of the parties to appeal the decision, and b) the possibility of the Court of Appeal to turn down right from the start an appeal if it believes the appeal is “obviously a delaying tactic”. In civil law, we call such an appeal “frivolous and vexatious”. In such cases, the Church Court of Appeal will issue a decree confirming the nullity of the marriage without a full process.

Pope Francis’s motu proprios will enter into force on December 8, the opening day of the Year of Mercy.

To date, automatic appeal is still compulsory.