CHURCH MARRIAGE TRIBUNAL: AN APOSTOLATE OF MERCY

Abstract

Courts or tribunals are established in the society to handle cases and controversies. When individuals or bodies recognized as legal entities within a legal system have issues needing resolutions, they often approach the courts. Courts are therefore meant to resolve conflicts that are brought before them. The Church as a society establishes courts to handle cases between or among her members. One of such is the marriage tribunals. This handles matters affecting marriages where at least one of the parties is a baptised Catholic or received into the Catholic Church. It deals only with the sacramental effects of marriage and nothing more. This study examines the work at the Church marriage Tribunal. It discovers that Church marriage tribunal is a special kind of tribunal that did not find guilt or apportion blames. Its sole goal is to bring parties of disturbed marriages to realise the truth of their marriage and get reconciled with themselves, with the Church and with God. It is essentially a throne of mercy where everyone is forgiven and no one is punished/penalized. Looking at the Church marriage tribunal from the angle of mercy, the paper recommends ways to optimise its operations/performance for the good of the Christian faithful.