教宗說：不要認為在教堂結婚是理所當然的權利

English Version

　　教宗本篤十六世在一月廿四日告訴梵蒂岡特別法庭：「沒有人對結婚儀式有理所當然的權利。」

　　教宗解釋道：「訂立婚約的權利，設定了雙方能夠、而且的確計劃妥善地舉行婚禮。」簡言之，他說，天主教神父只應該為那些他們確認男女雙方都瞭解婚姻意義的人安排婚禮，即雙方都瞭解「教會所教導的婚姻本質的真理」，且有意踏入真正的基督徒婚姻。

　　在司法年度的開始，教宗聖父向羅馬最高法院宗座法庭發表年度演說，並作出此挑戰性的言論。婚姻案件是羅馬最高法院梵蒂岡上訴法庭最繁重的工作，每年教宗對特別法庭的法官和律師的演說，都把焦點放在教會對婚姻的要求上。

　　教宗本篤在演講中說，即將舉行婚禮的夫妻必須認清他們正進入一種結合：「有結為一體的特點，不可拆散，旨在夫妻的福祉，以及生育和教養子女，兩位領洗者的婚姻代表了新約的聖事之一。」

　　教宗繼續說道，神父們應該付出「最大的牧靈關懷」，確保年輕人瞭解他們的責任。他強烈要求神父們避免「時常發生的惡性循環」，即夫妻因為沒有正確瞭解婚姻的本質就結婚，當婚姻破裂時，便向教會法庭申請宣判婚姻無效（解除婚約）。

　　教宗強力指出，這個問題的產生是因為很多神父認為，「雖然人們把結婚當作一種自然權利是有問題的，但神父們仍應以仁慈寬容的態度繼續讓婚禮進行」。教宗說，希望在聖堂舉行婚禮的人們，必須對聖事性的結合有正確的理解，才有在教會內結婚的權利。

　　教宗說，神父們在幫助年輕人準備進入婚姻時，應該仔細詢問他們，確保他們有正確的態度，並能達到教會法對基督徒婚姻的要求。但是，他也提出警告，「司法並不意味著公式化」，他反對「因儀節問題所形成的一些官僚慣例」。相反地，他說，神父們應該看到婚姻的準備是「獨特的牧靈機會」，他們能夠幫助年輕人更瞭解聖事，更完整的認識婚姻生活的要求。

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Pope: do not presume a 'right' to marry in the Church

中文版

“No one has the right to a marriage ceremony,” Pope Benedict XVI told a Vatican tribunal on January 24.

“The right to contract marriage presupposes that the parties can and do intend to celebrate it properly,” the Pope explained. In short, he said, Catholic pastors should arrange weddings only if they are confident that the parties to the marriage understand ‘the truth of its essence, as taught by the Church,” and intend to enter a genuine Christian marriage.

The Holy Father made this provocative remark in his annual address to the apostolic tribunal of the Roman Rota, which is opening its judicial year. The work of the Roman Rota, the Vatican’s appeals court, is dominated by marriage cases, and each year the Pope’s address to the judges and advocates of the tribunal focuses on the canonical requirements of marriage.

Pope Benedict went on to say that the future husband and wife should recognize that they are entering into a union which “possesses the characteristics of unity and indissolubility, which is ordered for the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of their children and which, among the baptized, represents one of the sacraments of the New Covenant.”
Pastors should take “the greatest pastoral care” to ensure that young people understand their obligations, the Pope continued. He urged pastors to avoid the “vicious circle which often arises” because couples did not properly understand the essence of marriage, and then when their marriages break down they seek declarations of nullity (commonly known as annulments) from Church tribunals.

This problem arises, the Pope argued, because too many priests work on the assumption that “pastors should proceed with leniency, as the natural right of people to marry is in question.” While people do have the right to marry, he said, the celebration of marriage in the Church requires a proper understanding of the sacramental bond.

In preparing young people for marriage, pastors should question them carefully to ensure that they are properly disposed and meet the canonical requirements for Christian marriage, the Pope said. “Judicial, however, does not mean formulaic,” he cautioned, warning against “some bureaucratic routine consisting in the compilation of a form on the basis of ritual questions.” Rather, he said, priests should see the preparation for marriage as “a unique pastoral opportunity,” enabling them to help young people gain a better appreciation for the sacrament and a fuller understanding of what married life requires.