Pope Benedict makes the issue of Catholic re-marriage a priority
By FRANCES D'EMILIO (Associated Press)
VATICAN CITY, Mar 3, 2006 (www.chron.com) - Pope Benedict XVI has acknowledged concern about the plight of divorced Catholics, who are not permitted to receive Communion after remarriage, and appealed to a Vatican tribunal to issue "rapid" rulings on annulment requests.
He told the Roman Rota that its decisions should come quickly for the sake of the faithful, but he reminded church jurists that their paramount task in making a ruling on this issue was determining the "truth" about whether the marriage was valid.
An annulment means that the marriage was invalid, essentially concluding that the marriage never existed, leaving the faithful free to remarry and receive Communion.
