A streamlined annulment process announced by Pope Francis is a positive step for the Catholic Church and has the potential to help many divorced Catholics in the healing process, according to Father Paul Counce, judicial vicar for the Diocese of Baton Rouge. “The church is reaching out to people who are hurting,” said Father Counce said. “We’re making it easier for them to lead lives of faith, to come to church, to come to Communion.” The Vatican released Sept. 8 the texts of two papal documents, “Mitis Iudex Dominus Iesus” (“The Lord Jesus, the Gentle Judge”) for the Latin-rite church and “Mitis et misericors Iesus,” (“The Meek and Merciful Jesus”) for the Eastern Catholic churches. The changes, including the option of a brief process without the obligatory automatic appeal, go into effect Dec. 8, the opening day of the Year of Mercy. Pope Francis said the annulment process must be quicker, cheaper and much more of a pastoral ministry. The pope’s revised policy provides that in some cases, annulments may be obtained in as little as a matter of weeks. The pontiff emphasized he was not “promoting the nullity of marriages, but the quickness of the processes, as well as a correct simplicity” so that Catholic couples are not “oppressed by the shadow of doubt” for prolonged periods. Father Counce explained that the procedures announced by the pope contain two basic differences. One is the new abbreviated process, where if both parties are not contesting the annulment and are cooperating, then an annulment may be granted in as little as five to six weeks. In a significant shift, those decisions will be made by the local bishop after consulting with the tribunal. The second major difference occurs at the back end of the more traditional process, where no longer will each case be required to go to a mandatory appellate review. Father Counce said that alone could lop off as much as seven weeks or more off a process that previously could easily take a year or more, depending on the diocese. Father Counce said the pope’s emphasis is on being merciful and pastoral and added the pontiff does not want Catholics to be put off by the bureaucratic process or expense to obtain an annulment.