Catholic lawyers should handle divorce cases, especially for Catholic clients. I believe this is consistent with what Pope John Paul II actually said on Jan. 28 to the Tribunal of the Roman Rota, which is the Vatican tribunal that handles appeals of Catholic Church marriage annulment decisions. It was widely reported that the pope said that “lawyers, as independent professionals, must always decline to use their profession to an end contrary to justice, such as divorce.” He also said, with reference to divorce, that “lawyers should only collaborate in such an activity when it, in the client’s intent, is not aimed at the breaking of the marriage, but to other legitimate effects.”
If you are a Catholic lawyer who handles primarily family law cases, your first reaction may have been relief over the inclusion of the “other legitimate effects” loophole. That was my reaction. And since the Catholic Church will not consider granting an annulment until after there has been a divorce, how can the pope tell me not to handle divorce cases?
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