La dimensión moral de la actuación en los procesos de nulidad matrimonial. Comentario al Discurso de Juan Pablo II al Tribunal de la Rota Romana de 29.I.2005

Abstract

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The messages directed by Pope John Paul II to the Rota in the last few years show a real knowledge of the present-day situation in many places and a constant demand for quality in the concrete application of justice in marriage processes. It would appear that the Pope is attempting to shine some light on the basis and connections between the current so-called post-modern cultural mentality, the intervention of civil ordinance, the secularization of numerous societies with Catholic roots and the influence of all these elements on the attitude of those who work in the area of marriage processes. In some ways, the 2005 Address to the Tribunal of the Roman Rota is atypical, because it centers on the ethical dimension of those who deal with justice: no one had ever spoken at any length about the responsibility of bishops with regard to judges in their courts and with regard to the results of judicial activity in those same courts. Nor was it frequent to speak of the responsibility of the conscience of the spouses. In relation to the behavior of judges and attorneys Pope John Paul II emphasizes the most common dangers and the needed «tension toward truth» which must preside the whole proceedings: a truth which exists objectively and which can be found.