"The Tribunal process is an important pastoral ministry within the Church at a very difficult time in people's lives," said Cardinal John Dew, Moderator of the Tribunal.

"The Bishops wanted to ensure that cost was no longer a barrier to people seeking an annulment."

The decision was made at the April meeting of the Bishops' Conference.

But time was needed to inform current clients and to seek expert advice on tax matters.

Tribunal staff have now informed those who are currently undertaking an annulment process that fees will not be required.

The tax issue relates to whether any donation made by the client is in fact a disguised fee for service without a GST component.

For this reason donations will not be solicited or accepted from clients of the Tribunal.

However Cardinal John made it clear that the decision to drop fees has been made for purely pastoral reasons.

It is not it an attempt to evade tax responsibilities.

The Bishops have not yet decided where money will be found to fund the work of the Tribunal.

"We acknowledge that the fees people have paid in the past have helped in the development of the Tribunal process that we have today," Cardinal John said.

"The six Dioceses have always funded the bulk of the costs associated with the Tribunals operation."

"The Dioceses have pressures of their own, so we will need to find a way to fund what had previously been covered by the fees."

The bishops will decide later this year whether they will ask the wider Catholic community for help in supporting the work of the Tribunal.

The annulment process is undertaken following a civil divorce.

Those who would like to know more about engaging in this process should contact their local Diocesan office of the tribunal

Details are also available on the New Zealand Catholic Bishops' website

Source

• catholic.org.nz
• Image: myfamilylife.org

The factors contributing to the crisis are complex.

They span generations and virtually every human institution: families, peer groups, schools, churches, work environments, law, and culture.

As scholars and marriage advocates from around the world consider new initiatives to strengthen marriages and families, it may be helpful to remind ourselves of the sources of this crisis—why it has emerged and how it has been sustained.

The Nature and Causes of the Marriage Crisis

The US marriage rate is currently the lowest ever recorded, cohabitation is rapidly becoming both a precursor and alternative to marriage among young adults, and more than half of births to women under thirty years of age now occur outside of marriage.

Among those over age thirty-five, divorce rates continue to rise, even as an increasing number of divorcees choose cohabitation over remarriage.

No longer are abuse and infidelity the main reasons given for divorce (although some research suggests infidelity occurs around the time of most divorces).

Rather, divorcing spouses routinely claim they have simply "grown apart."

Explaining how an institution like marriage—as old as civilization itself and revered by virtually all societies and religions—reached such a state of decay in the West is not a simple task, but certain sociological trends are undeniably significant.

For example, studies show that religious faith—an important component of happy, permanent marriages for women in particular—is in rapid decline.

A 2012 Pew survey found that "One-fifth of the U.S. public—and a third of adults under 30—are religiously unaffiliated today, the highest percentages ever in Pew Research Center polling."

This finding is of particular concern in light of recent data showing narcissism on the rise and empathy indecline among younger generations. Continue reading

Sources

• The Witherspoon Institute
• Image: The Marriage Counselling Blog

The report pinpoints the fall in the marriage rate since 1989 from seven per 1000 population to 5.5 - and the rise in children born to couples in de facto relationships as fundamental to the fraying social environment. It says marriage makes a difference because of the commitment involved.

The author of the report, Patrick Parkinson, Professor of Law at the University of Sydney, has called for a review of government policy to ensure marriage is not being undermined. He says it is time to question whether the nation can afford to maintain policies that give neither encouragement nor support to marriage.

This is an Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) commissioned report.

Read the report
Listen to interview with Father Chris Reilly

Source

• Sydney Morning Herald
• Image: Scoop