DIOCESAN TRIBUNAL  

 

The Tribunal of the Diocese of Worcester is the local church or ecclesiastical court. Its purpose is to vindicate the rights of persons and to adjudicate cases involving spiritual matters or those connected with the spiritual. It also adjudicates the violation of ecclesiastical laws. Most of the cases handled by the Tribunal involve declarations of marriage nullity.

 

The Diocesan Bishop is the head of the Tribunal, but he exercises his judicial power through the Judicial Vicar, a priest with a degree in canon law. Monsignor F. Stephen Pedone is the Judicial Vicar who serves as the Chief Judge in the Tribunal. The Associate Judicial Vicar is Rev. Paul T. O’Connell. Both serve as judges in the Tribunal, along with Rev. Brice Leavins, OFM. Monsignor Anthony Czarnecki serves as the Defender of the Bond. This office can be exercised by a priest, deacon or lay person whose role is to propose reasons favoring the validity of a particular marriage which has been presented to the Tribunal for study for a possible granting of a declaration of nullity. In 2010 Bishop McManus appointed Rev. Richard F. Reidy also as a Defender of the Bond. Sr. Mary Lou Walsh, SND, is the Promoter of Justice. Similarly, this office can be exercised by a priest, deacon or lay person possessing a canon law degree, whose responsibility is to uphold the public good in matters before the Tribunal. Sister Mary Daniel Malloy, RSM, is the staff psychologist. Eileen Charbonneau is the administrative assistant and ecclesiastical notary. The notary is responsible for preparing the acts of a case in the Tribunal with the additional responsibility of authenticating certain documents.

 

The Metropolitan Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Boston is the Court of Appeals for the Tribunal of Worcester.

 

In 2009, the Tribunal of Worcester processed eighty-eight (88) formal marriage cases and eighty-nine (89) new cases were introduced.