The professor of the Pontifical University of Comillas, Carmen Peña, affirmed that with the publication of the Motu Proprio "Mitis Iudex" the pastoral dimension of judicial activity is recovered in the person of the Bishop. "There is no contradiction between pastoral and law. The function of the Bishop is not strictly juridical, canonical, but also profoundly pastoral". The professor intervened in the XXVIII Course of update in Canon Law of family organized by the School of Canon Law of the University of Navarra.
She explained that although the ecclesial awareness of the need to streamline and improve the processes comes from afar, some contents of the Motu Proprio "are maintained, among others: the skeleton of the structure of the processes, its judicial nature, the right of appeal, the intervention of the defender of the bond, the value of the recognition of each of the parties, the documentary process," she said. "We must rediscover the pastoral value of judicial activity. This is the spirit of the rule".
However, the Motu Proprio "Mitis Iudex" introduces two major reforms: on the one hand, the suppression of the requirement of duplex conformis, that is: two sentences from two different tribunals verifying the nullity of the marriage, and the establishment of an abbreviated process.
 

Pope Francis' criteria that will inspire the new Curia reform

Antonio Viana, Dean of the School of Canon Law, closed the Course of update with an intervention on the Reform of the Curia according to the criteria of Pope Francis. "Each one reflects the influence of the personality and the criteria of government of the Pontiff who drives it," he commented, "with greater reason when it is not a question of a minor reform or of some dicasteries, but one that can affect the Curia as a whole."
The Dean focused on the interview published in La Civiltà Cattolica on September 19, 2013 and on the speech to the Roman Curia of December 22, 2014. In the former Pope Francis warns of the danger of authoritarianism and confirms the importance of listening. In this sense he promotes, on the one hand, synodality, not only with the mere periodic convocation of synods, but by ensuring that these consultations are flexible, real and not merely formal, and on the other hand, consultative collegiality. The Pope does not hesitate to opt for the old principle of Catholic social doctrine: that of subsidiarity, so that the "superior" or central written request (in this case, the Roman Curia) should not excessively limit or absorb what responsibly can and should be assumed by the bishops in the particular Churches and by the episcopal conferences in some cases.
"The Roman Curia, in addition to assisting the Pope and the bishops, is and must be inseparably a written request of service to the faithful, who have the right to be well cared for when they turn to the dicasteries," said Professor Viana. Another aspect that is not without relevance is Pope Francis' insistence on greater recognition of the role of women, not only in civil society but also in the Church.
In preparation for Christmas, in the speech to the Roman Curia of December 22, 2014 he invited to an examination of conscience to his collaborators in the Curia and pointed out some illnesses that can especially affect those people in their usual tasks: Pope Francis warned especially on that occasion "of the need for proper coordination among those who work in the dicasteries, for promote mutual partnership and team spirit, pastoral sense, sobriety and temperance, loyalty in the face of the danger of murmuring, careerism and the lust for power."