NATURE AND PARTICULIARITIES OF THE BRIEFER PROCESS BEFORE THE BISHOP Little Rock, August 6th, 2019, Mons. Alejandro W. Bunge Introduction To be applied in an evident case of nullity, and at the same time, with an easily and irrefutable proven evidence, and without the danger of conflict between the parties... It requires the dedication and personal involvement of the Bishop... 1.- Who: The competent judge 1.1. The Bishop only Francis, November 25th, 2017: The bishop himself, as shepherd and head of his particular Church, is the judge of those faithful entrusted to his care... Ad validitatem: the episcopate, and the fact of being the head of a diocesan community of faithful...

Of the place of celebration 1.2. Which bishop? Of the place of celebration Of the domicile or quasi-domicile of one or the other party Of the place where most of the evidence is collected Always following the criteria of closeness and proximity... 1.3. Bishops’ support offices 1.3.1. The Judicial Vicar In ideal conditions, if there are a diocesan tribunal... If there are not a diocesan tribunal... If there are not a Judicial Vicar... 1.3.2. The instructor The one who is in charge of collecting the evidence... The importance of his duty demands experience and prudence...

1.3.3. The assessor Of upright life, expert in juridical or human sciences... 1.3.4. The defender of the bond and the notary The defender of the bond: cleric or lay person, of unimpaired reputation, doctor or licensed in canon law, and proven prudence and zeal for justice... The notary: with an unimpaired reputation and being above any suspicion... 1.3.5. The help of the Bishops’ Conference To respect, to stimulate, to help...... 2.- When: The necessary conditions 2.1. The agreement between the parties 2.2. Evidence of nullity

2.2. Evidence of nullity “Circumstances of things and persons recur, with substantiating testimonies and records, which do not demand a more accurate inquiry or investigation, and which render the nullity manifest” The circumstances of things and persons, Proven by the depositions of the parties and witnesses... Make the nullity of the marriage evident and clear... The Rules of Proceeding list some of this circumstances (art. 14 § 1): a) The defect of faith which can generate simulation of consent or error that determines the will: Simulation A lack of faith such that it may be able to bring to exclude some element or essential property of the marriage, or to make an error on one of them... Error To keep in mind the circumstances: the human and cultural formation of people, the context of the values of faith (or their absence), a closed subjectivism in the immanence of reason or feelings (Evangelii gaudium, n. 53)

b) A brief conjugal cohabitation: A strong indication of a possible defect of consent (for example due to the exclusion)... c) An abortion procured to avoid procreation: A strong indication of the will contrary to the offspring The depositions of the parties and witness, the documents such as medical certificates... d) An obstinate persistence in an extra conjugal relationship at the time of the wedding or immediately following it: It can be presumed the exclusion of the obligation of conjugal fidelity... e) The deceitful concealment of sterility, or grave contagious illness, or children from a previous relationship, or incarcerations: The malice intent aims at obtaining matrimonial consent from the other party...

f) A cause of marriage completely extraneous to married life, or consisting of the unexpected pregnancy of the woman: A cause totally extraneous to married life... A purpose absolutely other than those of marriage... A complete unwillingness to contract marriage... g) Physical violence inflicted to extort consent: The violence perpetrated aims at obliging the spouse to give matrimonial consent... We must verify if the consent a real human act... h) The lack of the use of reason which is proved by medical documents (can. 1095, 1°): Incontrovertible medical or scientific documents (such as medical records, medical reports, etc.), to obtain a certainty without a shadow of doubts about the nullity of marriage... The other psychic incapacities (can. 1095, 2°-3°): it will be much more difficult, but not impossible...

3.- How: The stages of the process 3.1. The introduction of the case The libellus: presented to the judicial Vicar or directly to the Bishop... If signed by only one part, the other part must be invited to express its will to associate with the petition and participate to the process... In the same decree: the admission, the determination of the doubt, the appointment of the instructor and the assessor, the citations to the proof gathering session, to be held no later than thirty days... 3.2. Instruction and discussion of the case Presentation of the queries: up to three days before the proof session... A single session, or at most two... The “briefer” process should not be denatured... The instructor set the deadline of fifteen days to submit the observations of the parties and the defenses of the Defender of the bond...

3.3. The decision of the case The instructor delivers the acts of the case to the Bishop... After a first study, the Bishop must consult both the instructor and the assessor, together or in separate meetings... The Bishop must take a penetrating but positive look at the judicial confession and the declarations of the parties which, supported by witnesses about their credibility, can have the value of full proof... The Bishop must examine the observations of the Defender of the bond and the defenses of the parties... If the Bishop arrives at the moral certainty of the nullity of the marriage, he will have to issue the sentence... If not, the Bishop by decree has to remit it to the ordinary process...

3.4. Challenges and execution of the sentence The Bishop’s sentence admits an appeal, although it is reasonable to consider that it will happen very rarely... First, both parties have requested together the declaration of nullity, then it does not seem logical that they appeal the obtained sentence... Secondly, if the Defender of the bond had presented reasonable observations, the Bishop should arrive at reach the sentence only when able to refute through his argumentation these observations... The sentence of the diocesan Bishop appeals before the Metropolitan or the Roman Rota. That of the Metropolitan, before the oldest appointed suffragan Bishop, or the Roman Rota... The appeal is to be rejected at the outset whenever it appears to be merely dilatory... If it is admitted, the case is remitted to ordinary examination before the competent tribunal...

Conclusion A precise, demanding and obligatory law... This process is to be applied whenever the conditions of the joint request of the parties and the evidence of nullity make it possible... Francis, November 25, 2017: “The streamlined process is not an option that the diocesan bishop can choose, but rather an obligation that derives from his consecration and from the missio received...”... Mercy, one of the fundamental criteria ensuring the salus, requires that the diocesan bishop implement the briefer process as soon as possible... Finally, I pray: Jesus Christ, our Lord, allows all of us “useless servants” to be adequate instruments to help the Bishops respond promptly to this need of the faithful...