Pope advises Roman Rota on legal and sacramental marriage preparation

Pope Francis received members of the Apostolic Tribunal of the Roman Rota on Saturdya, for the inauguration of the judicial year

In his address the Holy Father spoke about the relationship between faith and marriage. Quoting from his predecessors including Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, he noted the importance of Love and Truth.

"Love needs truth", Pope Francis said. "Just as it is based on truth, love can last over time, overcome the ephemeral moment and stand firm to support a common path. If love has no relationship to the truth, the Holy Father explained, "it is subject to changing feelings and does not stand the test of time. True love, he added, "unifies all the elements of the person and becomes a new light towards a great and full life.

The Pope stressed: "the experiences of faith of those seeking Christian marriage are very different." Faced with this situation, he said, "we need to find valid remedies."

Prescribing the first of two remedies, the Holy Father pointed out that young people needed to be trained through an adequate process of preparation aimed at rediscovering marriage and the family according to God's plan.

He said, it was therefore necessary that operators and organizations in charge of the pastoral care of the family had the specific skills in order to make preparation more effective for the sacrament of marriage.

In this spirit, the Pope reiterated the need for a "new catechumenate" in preparation for marriage.

The Holy Father's second remedy involved helping newlyweds to continue the journey in faith and in the Church even after the wedding celebration.

You need, Pope Francis stressed, to identify with courage and creativity, a training project for young married couples, with initiatives aimed at increasing awareness of the sacrament received.

The Holy Father said, that these two remedies were aimed at encouraging an appropriate context of faith in which to celebrate and live marriage. What was needed, he explained, was to move from a purely legal and formal vision of the preparation of future spouses, to a sacramental foundation.

Pope Francis said that this would require "the generous contribution of Christian men and women, who work with priests in the pastoral care of families, in order to build a loving family according to God's plan.

Source: Vatican Radio